McCreary County, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

McCreary County has no incorporated city, so the county and the state are the only permitting governments. The state’s contact sheet, updated November 14, 2025, lists a local building inspector for the county but gives only individual contact details, and the county’s own department list has no building office; start with the judge/executive’s office in Whitley City (606-376-2413). Plumbing and HVAC permits are the state’s, and septic permits come from the McCreary County Health Department on Medical Lane.

What requires a building permit in McCreary County?

The sheet’s entry shows a local building inspector serves McCreary County, but neither it nor the county’s website says which buildings that inspector permits or what the fee is. Ask the judge/executive’s office before you build, and in particular whether a house needs a county permit. What the state requires is published.

What the county decides and what the state holds

A Kentucky county can run an inspection program but cannot change the state codes. HBC’s Division of Building Code Enforcement keeps plan review and inspection of the buildings its code assigns to the state, and its manufactured housing section (502-573-1795) covers manufactured home installation. The fiscal court, meeting the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at the courthouse in Whitley City, sets county policy and the budget.

McCreary County building department: who handles permitting

HBC’s McCreary County sheet lists the local building inspector and the state building, manufactured housing, electrical, elevator, HVAC, plumbing and boiler inspectors. For the local electrical inspector, it says to contact the county judge/executive’s office.

Cities in McCreary County

The Census lists no incorporated city in McCreary County. Whitley City, Stearns and Pine Knot are communities, not cities with their own governments, so there is no city building office or city zoning anywhere in the county.

McCreary County permit types

No county permit form or portal is posted. Get any local application through the judge/executive’s office; state permits are filed with HBC, largely through SmartGov.

Residential permits

For a house, three permits are certain: electrical, through the local electrical inspector; HVAC, bought from HBC by a licensed or authorized person; and plumbing, from HBC to a licensed master plumber or to the owner. An owner’s plumbing permit covers a home the owner lives in or is building for personal use, must be issued before work starts, needs a signed affidavit and requires the owner to do all the work; HBC limits each person to one homeowner permit for a new home in five years. Ask the judge/executive’s office whether the local building inspector also needs to permit the house.

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

Commercial permits

Businesses looking at the county’s industrial and business complex or its Opportunity Zone are directed to the Economic Development Director in the judge/executive’s office (606-376-2413). Commercial buildings in the state’s jurisdiction go to HBC’s Division of Building Code Enforcement for plan review before construction, and HBC’s Division of Plumbing reviews plumbing plans for every building serving the public.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Septic. A site without sewer needs the health department’s onsite sewage permit first.
• Floodplain. McCreary County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, so building in a mapped flood zone needs county floodplain approval; ask the judge/executive’s office.
• Road access. The county road department maintains county roads; a driveway on a state highway needs a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet encroachment permit from District 8.
• Land records. Deeds and plats are filed with the county clerk.

McCreary County permit fees

The county posts no building permit fee schedule; ask the judge/executive’s office what the local inspector charges. HBC’s plumbing fees, in force since March 1, 2022, apply to every plumbing permit in the county.

Worked example. A house with 14 plumbing openings: $50 + (14 × $14) = $246 for the state plumbing permit.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. Electrical work is permitted and inspected by a certified electrical inspector; the HBC sheet sends you to the judge/executive’s office to find the local one. HBC licenses electricians and electrical contractors; a homeowner may wire their own home with a permit.
• HVAC. McCreary County is not one of HBC’s local HVAC jurisdictions, so HBC issues HVAC permits here through SmartGov, and its state HVAC inspector for the county inspects.
• Plumbing. HBC’s Division of Plumbing issues permits and inspects. The plumbing inspector for the county keeps Thursday office hours, 8 to 9 a.m., at the health department (606-376-2412, ext. 5248). Work not done by a homeowner on their own permit must be installed by a licensed journeyman plumber under a licensed master plumber.
• Elevators, boilers and manufactured homes. Separate state inspectors, all on the sheet.

How to get permits for a McCreary County project

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Because the county publishes no permit procedure, delays mostly come from not asking first: confirm the local requirements with the judge/executive’s office before you order materials. A plumbing permit must be in hand before any plumbing starts, and the inspector’s office hour is once a week. For a farmstead plumbing exemption, register the farm with the PVA first.

Inspections in McCreary County

The local building inspector inspects the work the county program covers; ask the judge/executive’s office how to request a visit. Electrical inspections are made by a certified electrical inspector, heating and air systems by HBC’s HVAC inspector and plumbing by the state plumbing inspector. Buildings in the state’s jurisdiction are inspected by HBC’s state building inspector for McCreary County, and manufactured home installations by the state manufactured housing inspector.

Kentucky building code

Construction anywhere in McCreary County follows the 2018 Kentucky Building Code or Kentucky Residential Code. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists McCreary County as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, on a flood map dated March 16, 2015.

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

McCreary County permit search and official resources

For county records, McCreary County takes open records applications at the judge/executive’s office or by post to McCreary County Fiscal Court, Open Records, P.O. Box 579, Whitley City, KY 42653; records are inspected at the courthouse. State permits and plan approvals are tracked in HBC’s SmartGov portal.

• McCreary County Fiscal Court and open records
• McCreary County elected officials
• McCreary County departments
• McCreary County community development
• HBC McCreary County inspector contact sheet
• HBC Contact an Inspector
• HBC Building Codes: state and local jurisdiction
• HBC Division of Building Code Enforcement
• HBC Division of Plumbing: permits and fees
• HBC plumbing FAQ: farmstead exemption
• HBC Division of HVAC
• HBC SmartGov portal
• KYTC highway districts by county
• KYTC permit contacts by district
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

McCreary County permit FAQs

Is there a building inspector in McCreary County?

HBC’s sheet, updated November 14, 2025, lists a local building inspector, but only with individual contact details; ask the judge/executive’s office (606-376-2413) how to reach the inspector.

Are there any cities with their own permit office?

No. McCreary County has no incorporated cities, so Whitley City, Stearns and Pine Knot are all county land.

Where do I get a septic permit?

The McCreary County Health Department, 119 Medical Lane, Whitley City (606-376-2412).

Who issues HVAC and plumbing permits?

The state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction.

Can I do my own electrical or plumbing work?

A homeowner may do their own electrical work with a permit, and may take out an HBC plumbing permit for their own residence before starting.

When does the fiscal court meet?

The second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at the courthouse in Whitley City.

Simplify McCreary 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 McCreary County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.