Mason County, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

In Mason County you deal with one building official whether the lot is inside Maysville or out in the county: the office at 216 Bridge Street, Maysville (606-564-2525, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) takes residential, non-residential, pool, demolition and floodplain applications on forms headed “City of Maysville and Mason County”. Call to book an appointment and bring plans and the fee with the form. Zoning comes first, through the Mason County Joint Planning Commission’s shared Land Use Management Ordinance, and the fiscal court added data center rules and a new manufactured home category in 2026.

What requires a building permit in Mason County?

The county’s Building Inspection page and the city’s carry the same rule: a permit is needed before anyone builds, enlarges, alters, repairs, moves or demolishes a building, changes its occupancy, or installs, removes or replaces an electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system. Within that rule the office lists the permits and inspections below.

The two zoning-permit descriptions do not match. The web page says a zoning permit covers structures of 200 sq ft or less and manufactured homes; the zoning permit form itself lists accessory buildings between 100 and 399 sq ft, manufactured homes, business use changes and changes of occupancy. Ask the zoning office which applies to a shed or garage near those sizes.

What the county decides and what the state holds

Because Mason County has a local inspection program, a house in the unincorporated county needs a local building permit just as one in Maysville does; the residential application asks you to tick whether the site is inside the city limits or in unincorporated Mason County. The state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (HBC) still reviews the buildings its code reserves to it, and the local non-residential form charges a separate $150 plan review fee for a “state inspected project”. Land use is local: the fiscal court and the Maysville Board of Commissioners share one Land Use Management Ordinance, with separate zoning maps for the city and the county.

Mason County building department: who handles permitting

HBC’s Mason County contact sheet, updated August 5, 2026, lists the Maysville building inspector as the county’s local building inspector, along with the state building, manufactured housing, electrical, elevator, HVAC, plumbing and boiler inspectors. Both governments’ websites name Jim Fawcett as the building official.

Cities in Mason County

Maysville is the only large city, and its building office is the one that serves the county. Germantown and Sardis lie mostly in neighboring counties, with small parts in Mason.

Mason County permit types

Every form is a printable PDF on the city’s Forms page, linked from the county’s Building Inspection page. There is no online portal: forms, plans and the fee go to the Bridge Street office.

Residential permits

The residential application covers new construction, additions and remodeling of one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses. It asks for four drawings at minimum: a site plan with lot corners, setbacks, easements, water and sewer laterals and the driveway; a floor plan with room uses, smoke detectors, furnace and water heater; a wall section from footing to roof deck; and a floor framing plan with joist sizes and spans. It also records the deed book and page, estimated cost, electric supplier (Kentucky Utilities or Fleming-Mason RECC), whether sewage is gravity, grinder or septic, and footing, foundation and framing details. Property lines must be located and staked, a complete subcontractor list goes to the building official before work starts, and a permit is normally issued within one week of a complete application.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit filing, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Non-residential work uses a separate application that asks for the zoning district, square footage, construction cost, occupant load, number of employees, parking spaces and construction type, with a site plan, four sets of building plans, a subcontractor list and a landscape plan. Fire suppression, fire alarm, range hood and elevator plans are submitted separately. Before approval the plans are signed off by the building inspector, the utility manager, the city engineer and the assistant fire chief.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning. Check the zone on the city or county map under the Land Use Management Ordinance. Variances, conditional uses and appeals go to the Board of Adjustment (Maysville’s meets the second Monday at 5:30 p.m.; the ordinance also provides a Mason County board). Map changes go through the Joint Planning Commission, which meets the first Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Maysville Municipal Building, and then the fiscal court or city commission.
• Historic overlays. The Maysville/Washington Board of Architectural Review covers the Downtown Maysville and Old Washington historic overlay districts; its certificate of appropriateness application is on the Forms page.
• Floodplain. A Flood Hazard Area Development Permit ($100) under Maysville Code chapter 277 or the county’s Ordinance 13-02.
• Septic. A permit from the Mason County Health Department where there is no sewer.
• State roads. A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet encroachment permit from District 9 for an entrance onto a state highway.
• Subdivision. Plats follow the joint Maysville-Mason County subdivision regulations.

Mason County permit fees

No separate fee schedule is posted; the amounts below are printed on the application forms. The residential and demolition forms ask for the fee to be paid with the application but do not print an amount, so ask the office before you go.

Worked example. A new 5,000 sq ft shop building: 5,000 × $0.04 = $200, plus $100, so the local permit is $300. If the building also falls under state plan review, the form adds the $150 plan review fee.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. All new wiring and any change to existing wiring must be inspected. The inspectors are not city employees; the Maysville Board of Commissioners approves a short list of independent electrical inspectors, and the Building Inspection page gives their names and numbers. HBC’s sheet sends county callers to the Judge/Executive’s office or the city office for the local electrical inspector. HBC licenses electricians and electrical contractors.
• Plumbing. HBC’s Division of Plumbing permits and inspects plumbing; the inspector keeps Thursday morning office hours at the health department on East Second Street. Permits go to licensed master plumbers or to homeowners plumbing their own home, who must apply before starting, sign an affidavit and do the work themselves.
• HVAC. Mason County is not on HBC’s list of local HVAC jurisdictions, so HVAC permits are bought from HBC through SmartGov by licensed or authorized people, and a state HVAC inspector covers the county.
• Fire systems. Sprinkler, alarm and range hood plans are filed with the non-residential permit and reviewed with the fire department’s sign-off.

How to apply for a Mason County building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

A complete residential application is normally decided within a week. What holds files up: unstaked property lines, missing drawings from the form’s list of four, a non-residential plan set short of four copies or missing a landscape plan, and plans that still need sign-off from the utility manager, city engineer or fire department. Floodway projects need a no-rise certification, and any flood variance goes to a hearing with notice to neighbors; an owner that is a company must be represented there by an attorney.

Inspections in Mason County

Building inspections are arranged with the building official’s office at 606-564-2525. The residential form records a certificate of occupancy date, so a new house is closed out with a certificate of occupancy once it passes. Electrical work is inspected by one of the approved independent electrical inspectors, plumbing by the state plumbing inspector and HVAC by the state HVAC inspector. Demolition sites must be cleared, cellars and cisterns backfilled and the lot graded and seeded or rocked, with debris taken to a permitted landfill; burning needs a Maysville Fire Department burn permit, and demolitions must be reported to the state Division of Air Quality for asbestos rules.

Kentucky building code

The forms tie each permit to the state codes: houses to the Kentucky Residential Code and pools to section 3109 of the Kentucky Building Code. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Mason County as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, on a flood map dated January 29, 2021; the county’s own flood damage prevention ordinance is No. 13-02, and Maysville’s is chapter 277 of the city code.

2026 land use changes

The Joint Planning Commission held hearings on data centers on December 3, 9 and 10, 2025, and the fiscal court then adopted Ordinance 26-01 with data center regulations for unincorporated Mason County. On May 22, 2026 it adopted Ordinance 26-03, rezoning 28 properties, about 2,080 acres north of Germantown Road, to I-3 Rural Industrial for a proposed data center. Ordinance 26-04, adopted July 14, 2026, created a “qualified manufactured home” category under KRS 100.348; such homes may not be placed in the Downtown Maysville or Old Washington historic overlays or in private subdivisions whose restrictions bar manufactured homes. Separately, the land use chart notes that a lot of five acres or more whose main use is a house is not an agricultural use.

Kentucky has one mandatory statewide building code that local governments may not add to. Cities and counties enforce it and run zoning. The state reviews plans for larger and higher-risk buildings, and the local program reviews smaller ones. Kentucky rules

Mason County permit search and official resources

There is no online permit search. Permit files sit with the building office on Bridge Street; Maysville takes public records requests on its own form, with a separate certification for commercial-purpose requests, and the county posts its ordinances in a document center.

• Mason County Building Inspection page
• Maysville Building Inspections page
• Maysville forms: permit applications and records request
• Residential permit application
• Non-residential permit application and fee calculator
• Swimming pool permit application ($35)
• Zoning permit application ($35)
• Demolition permit application
• Flood hazard area development permit application ($100)
• Maysville/Mason County Land Use Management Ordinance
• Mason County Joint Planning Commission
• Maysville Planning and Zoning
• Maysville Board of Adjustment
• Data center zoning information page
• Mason County ordinances
• Ordinance 26-04: qualified manufactured homes
• Mason County Road Department
• HBC Mason County inspector contact sheet
• HBC Building Codes: state and local jurisdiction
• HBC Division of Plumbing: permits and fees
• HBC Division of HVAC
• KYTC permit contacts by district
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

Mason County permit FAQs

Do I need a permit to build a house in unincorporated Mason County?

Yes. The building official issues permits for both Maysville and the unincorporated county, and the residential form covers new houses, additions and remodels.

Where do I apply?

At 216 Bridge Street, Maysville. Call 606-564-2525 for an appointment and bring the form, plans and fee.

How much is a commercial building permit?

4 cents per square foot plus $100 for new construction or additions, $100 for a remodel, and $150 more for plan review on a state-inspected project.

Does a pool need a permit?

Yes, every in-ground and above-ground pool. The permit is $35 and the pool must meet section 3109 of the Kentucky Building Code.

Who inspects electrical work?

An independent electrical inspector approved by the Maysville Board of Commissioners; the list is on the Building Inspection page.

Can I put a manufactured home on my land?

It needs a $35 zoning permit and must suit the zone. Since July 14, 2026 qualified manufactured homes are a listed residential use, but not in the two historic overlays or restricted subdivisions.

Can I do my own plumbing?

Yes, in a home you occupy or are building for yourself, with an HBC homeowner permit taken out before work starts.

Simplify Mason County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Kentucky. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Mason County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.