The Oldham County Inspections Office, set up by the Oldham County Fiscal Court at 100 West Jefferson Street in La Grange (502-222-3967, Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm, PermitsInspections@OldhamCountyKY.gov), enforces the building and electrical codes for the county immediately north-east of Louisville Metro along the Ohio River. It does not issue plumbing, septic or HVAC permits, which come from the state and the health department. Its work is largely residential: Oldham’s growth has come mostly as single-family subdivision development spilling out of Jefferson County, so the Kentucky Residential Code at 815 KAR 7:125 governs the great majority of files here.
That code covers detached single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings and townhouses, and is a mini/maxi code in its own right: it sets both the minimum and the maximum requirements for those units, and local governments may not adopt or enforce any other building code on them. What Oldham County controls is its zoning, its subdivision regulations, its fee schedule and its inspection programme — and in a county whose planning decisions shape a sought-after housing market, the zoning is where the local argument actually happens.
This guide covers Oldham County, including La Grange, Crestwood, Pewee Valley, Goshen and Prospect's Oldham portion. Jefferson County to the south-west is Louisville Metro, and Trimble, Henry, Shelby and Spencer counties around it run their own arrangements.
The residential code is a maximum as well as a minimum. The Kentucky Residential Code sets minimum and maximum building code requirements for detached single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings and townhouses, and local governments may not adopt or enforce any other building code on those units. A county cannot require more of a house than the code does — which is why in Oldham the argument is about zoning and subdivision, not construction standards.
What requires a building permit in Oldham County?
What is local in Oldham County is the inspection programme, the fee schedule, zoning and planning, contractor registration, and the county's zoning and subdivision regulations.
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- Any construction, alteration, repair, demolition or change of occupancy under the Kentucky Residential Code or Building Code
- Zoning and subdivision approval under the county's or the applicable city's ordinance
- Electrical, plumbing and heating and air work, each by a state-licensed contractor on its own permit
- New buildings, additions and any structural work on an existing building
- Alterations, repairs and renovations under the building or residential code, and any change of occupancy
- Decks, accessory structures above the code threshold, retaining walls over 4 feet and in-ground swimming pools
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems, and agricultural buildings within the statutory definition
- Ordinary repairs that do not alter structure, egress or systems
- Painting, papering, flooring, cabinets and similar finish work
- Like-for-like replacement that the codes place below the permit threshold
- Small accessory structures below the code's threshold — the zoning ordinance still applies
What is actually local, and what is not
The code is the Commonwealth's and cannot be added to. Oldham County's layer is its building inspection programme and the certified inspectors staffing it, the fee schedule its ordinance sets, the zoning ordinance and planning commission that govern use and site development, any local contractor registration it requires, and the county's zoning and subdivision regulations, which are where the local control over residential development actually sits.
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 programme reviews smaller ones. Kentucky rules
Who handles permitting in Oldham County?
The Oldham County Inspections Office enforces the building and electrical codes for the county, reviewing plans and inspecting with certified inspectors as the state regulation requires; HVAC permits go through the state’s online portal, and plumbing and septic through the state plumbing inspector and the health department. Planning and zoning are handled separately, the planning commission and board of adjustments hear zoning matters, and the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction retains its role on certain commercial projects and licenses the trades.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | Oldham County Inspections Office (building and electrical permits) |
| Office | 100 West Jefferson Street, La Grange, KY 40031 · Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm |
| Phone | (502) 222-3967 · PermitsInspections@OldhamCountyKY.gov |
| Cities | La Grange, Crestwood, Pewee Valley, Goshen and others |
| Residential code | 815 KAR 7:125, a minimum and maximum standard |
| Codes | Kentucky Building Code and Residential Code, without local amendment |
In 2025, building permits issued by Oldham County authorized 276 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.
Permit types
Residential permits
An Oldham County house project files its building and electrical permits with the county inspections office against the Kentucky Residential Code and the applicable zoning and subdivision regulations, with the electrical, plumbing and heating and air work carried out by state-licensed contractors on their own permits. On unsewered land the health department's on-site sewage approval runs alongside, and in a county of large lots that is a common condition.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Oldham County is modest by comparison with its residential volume — the La Grange and Crestwood corridors and the interstate interchanges — and clears zoning first, then building plan review either locally or at the state Division of Building Codes Enforcement depending on which side of the code's jurisdictional division it falls.
Plan review, local programmes and the state's role
In Oldham County the Ohio River frontage and the county's creeks bring floodplain review into the file, the health department's on-site sewage approvals govern the unsewered large-lot land, and the county's subdivision regulations shape the residential growth. Fees a local government charges are required by statute to cover the cost of the service performed and not to exceed it.
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Call 1-855-478-4290 →Kentucky has no general contractor licence: the state licenses the trades, and cities or counties may require their own contractor registration. Kentucky rules
Oldham County permit costs and fees
Fees follow the county's schedule, which by statute may not exceed the cost of the service performed, with the trades permitted separately under the state licences.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | The county's fee schedule, by project type and construction value |
| Zoning and subdivision | Under the county's or the applicable city's ordinance and subdivision regulations |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing and heating and air by state-licensed contractors |
| On-site sewage | Health department approval on unsewered land |
| Statutory limit | Local fees may not exceed the cost of the service performed |
| State fees | Department fees where it reviews the project |
Local fees are capped by statute. Kentucky's statute authorises each local government to set a fee schedule designed to cover the cost of the service performed but not to exceed such cost. A Kentucky building permit fee is a cost-recovery charge by law, not a revenue instrument — which is why the figures across the Commonwealth's counties sit in a narrower band than in most states.
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Get a free quote →Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- Unsewered large-lot sites — health department on-site sewage approval alongside the building permit
- Electrical — state-licensed electrical contractor; separate permit and a certified electrical inspector
- Plumbing — state-licensed master plumber; separate plumbing permit, inspected under the state plumbing code
- Heating and air conditioning — state-licensed HVAC contractor; separate mechanical permit
- Fire sprinkler and fire alarm — sprinklers by a state-licensed fire sprinkler contractor and alarms by a state-licensed electrical contractor; system plans are reviewed with the building plans, and the fire official may inspect
Typically exempt
- Like-for-like replacement the trade codes place below the permit threshold
- Electrical or heating and air work a homeowner does on their own home, which state law exempts from the trade licence — a permit is still needed
The trades are permitted separately and done by contractors holding state licences. Kentucky rules
How to apply for an Oldham County building permit
Zoning approval, and planning commission or site development review where the ordinance requires it, precede the building permit.
The state reviews plans for larger and higher-risk buildings, and the local programme reviews smaller ones; homes are local.
The state licenses the trades; general contractor registration, where it exists, is the city's or county's own.
Reviewed against the Kentucky Building Code or Kentucky Residential Code as adopted, with no local amendments to satisfy.
Fees are set by local ordinance and by statute may not exceed the cost of the service performed.
Footing to final, with the trades inspected on their own permits, then the certificate of occupancy.
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Oldham County reviews residential work locally and refers the larger commercial projects to the state under the code's division. What delays a file here is a subdivision question raised at the permit counter rather than the planning commission, and an on-site sewage approval started late on a large lot.
Inspections in Oldham County
Inspections follow the codes' sequence — footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation and final — and are requested from the local inspection programme by permit number, with the electrical inspections carried by a certified electrical inspector. Work that passes final receives a certificate of occupancy for new buildings and changes of occupancy. Oldham County inspects in the codes' sequence through its own programme, with electrical inspections carried by a certified electrical inspector as the state regulation requires, and the certificate of occupancy following the finals.
Oldham County permit search and official resources
- Oldham County — the county government and its planning and zoning office
- 815 KAR 7:125 — Kentucky Residential Code — the minimum and maximum standard for houses, duplexes and townhouses
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — the statewide codes and trade licensing
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — the statewide codes, trade licensing and the Division of Building Code Enforcement
- 815 KAR 7:120 — Kentucky Building Code — the mandatory uniform state building code and its general provisions
- 815 KAR 7:125 — Kentucky Residential Code — the code governing one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Frequently asked questions
Can Oldham County require more than the residential code?
No. The Kentucky Residential Code sets both minimum and maximum requirements for detached houses, two-family dwellings and townhouses, and no local government may adopt or enforce any other building code on them.
What is local, then?
Zoning, subdivision regulation, the fee schedule and the inspection programme — which in a county with Oldham's residential growth is where the substantive local control lies.
Do I need a health department approval?
On unsewered land, yes — on-site sewage approval runs alongside the building permit, which is common on the county's larger lots.
How are permit fees set?
By local ordinance, and by statute designed to cover the cost of the service performed but not to exceed it.
Is there a local contractor licence?
Kentucky issues no statewide general contractor licence; confirm any local registration requirement before applying.
Which code editions apply?
The 2018 Kentucky Building Code, Fourth Edition and the 2018 Kentucky Residential Code, Third Edition, both built on the 2015 International Codes with Kentucky amendments.
Simplify Oldham County permitting with Alliance Permitting
Oldham County's construction standard is fixed by the Commonwealth and its zoning is not. We put the effort where the discretion is — subdivision and zoning — and file the residential permit against a code no county can add to.
Ready to break ground in Oldham County sooner?
Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Oldham County Inspections Office, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More Kentucky permitting guides
More Kentucky permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Oldham County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.