Perry County, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

Perry County’s permitting runs through the Perry County Fiscal Court at 481 Main Street, Hazard (606-439-1816, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays). The state’s contact sheet for the county (updated March 3, 2026) has a local building inspector entry, with a residential line, at the fiscal court’s number, but the entry is headed “City of Burnside” (a Pulaski County city), so confirm with the fiscal court which inspector covers your site. In October 2026 the fiscal court took up Ordinance 2026-032 to create a county electrical inspection permit program and fee schedule. Plumbing permits are the state’s, and septic systems go through the Perry County Health Department.

What requires a building permit in Perry County?

Perry County’s website does not post a building code ordinance, a permit list or a building fee schedule, so the clearest written evidence is the state contact sheet and the fiscal court’s agendas. Together they show a local building inspector entry at the fiscal court’s number (headed with another county’s city name), a residential line, and a new county electrical permit program. On that basis:

The county has no zoning office or planning commission on its website, and none of the 2025 and 2026 fiscal court agendas posted there deals with zoning.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The fiscal court sets the county’s own programs: the local building inspector arrangement, the electrical permit program and its fees, road adoption and the occupational license tax. The state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction issues plumbing and HVAC permits, licenses the trades, and reviews the buildings that the Kentucky Building Code keeps at state level. The health department, a separate agency, permits septic systems.

Perry County building department: who handles permitting

The state sheet’s local building inspector entry gives the fiscal court’s office number, 606-439-1816, and adds a separate residential entry. The same entry carries the heading “City of Burnside”, which is a city in Pulaski County, not Perry, so ask the fiscal court which inspector covers your site. The sheet also lists the state building, manufactured housing, electrical, elevator, HVAC, plumbing and boiler inspectors assigned to Perry County.

Cities in Perry County

The fiscal court’s 2026 regular meetings fall on Tuesdays (January 13, May 12, August 11 and November 10, for example), and the October 20 and November 10 agendas set them for 10:00 a.m.; special called meetings are frequent in between, and every agenda is posted on the county website. The county also posts a road index giving directions to each county road and an online form for reporting a missing or damaged street sign. Hazard’s City Commission, the mayor and four commissioners, meets at City Hall on the first Monday of the month at 4:00 p.m. and the third Monday at 7:00 p.m., and the city’s codified ordinances are published in American Legal Publishing’s online code library.

Perry County permit types

Perry County posts no permit application forms online. The permits that do exist come from the fiscal court’s programs, the state and the health department.

Residential permits

For a house, line up the septic permit (where there is no public sewer), the electrical permit, the state plumbing permit and the state HVAC permit. Because the state sheet shows a residential inspection entry for the county, call the fiscal court before you start to ask whether the local inspector will want plans and inspections for the structure itself. If no local single-family inspection applies to your site, the state’s rule is that the house must still meet the Kentucky Residential Code, with only the HVAC and electrical work inspected.

For a manufactured home, the state contact sheet names the state manufactured housing inspector who covers Perry County, and the home needs the same electrical permit and septic or sewer approval as a site-built house before it is occupied.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work follows the Kentucky Building Code’s split between local and state review: the larger and higher-risk buildings go to the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction for plan review and inspection, and the state permitting portal asks applicants to settle first whether a project is under local, expanded or state jurisdiction. The fiscal court can tell you whether the local inspector handles a smaller commercial project.

Plumbing plans for buildings that serve the public go to the state plumbing division for review, separately from the building plans, and commercial buildings with elevators or boilers are inspected by the state elevator and boiler inspectors the contact sheet lists for the county.

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. Site evaluation and permit from the Perry County Health Department.
• Flood risk. Perry County had floods in 2022 and 2025; the county’s emergency manager reported 32 families displaced by the 2025 flood, and the fiscal court has run buyout programs for flood-damaged property under both disasters. Check the current flood map before buying or building near a stream.
• Roads. The fiscal court adds roads to the county system by ordinance, with a first and second reading at regular meetings, as its October 2026 agenda shows for several new and renamed roads.
• State highways. A new entrance on a state road needs a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet permit; Perry County is in District 10.
• Occupational license. Businesses, contractors included, pay the county’s 1% occupational license tax, and inside Hazard the city’s tax as well.

Perry County permit costs and fees

The fiscal court has not posted a building permit fee schedule, and the fee schedule in Ordinance 2026-032 for electrical permits appears on the agendas only by title. Call the fiscal court at 606-439-1816 for both. The state and county charges that are published:

On the state plumbing schedule a house with 15 openings costs $50 plus 15 × $14, or $260. Septic evaluation and permit fees are set by the health department; call 606-436-2196. The county occupational tax office, on the second floor at 481 Main Street (606-436-0803), posts its business license application and return forms online.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. Ordinance 2026-032, “Establishing an Electrical Inspection Permit Program and Fee Schedule for Perry County” under KRS 227.480, had its first reading on October 1, 2026 and was on the October 2, 2026 agenda for second reading and adoption. The fiscal court posts agendas but not minutes, so ask the judge/executive’s office for the adopted text, the fee schedule and the inspector to call. The state permit portal does not issue private-property electrical permits. Electricians need state licenses.
• Plumbing. State permit and state inspector, with a desk at the Perry County Health Department on Friday mornings, 8:00 to 9:30 Eastern; the sheet’s Tuesday hours are misprinted, so call 606-436-2196 to confirm them. Licensed master plumbers can buy permits, and so can homeowners plumbing their own residence.
• HVAC. A state HVAC permit is required for all new construction, bought through the state’s SmartGov portal by a licensed or authorized installer.
• Contractors. No state general contractor license exists. Contractors working in the county file for the county occupational license; inside Hazard they also need a city business license, and the city’s business forms include a subcontractor list.

How to get a project permitted in Perry County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The commonest delay in Perry County is not plan review but sequencing: the plumbing permit waits for the septic permit, the electrical work waits for its inspection, and a lot in a flood zone may need floodplain approval before any of it. Settle the local inspector’s role with the fiscal court before you order materials or book trades.

Inspections in Perry County

Electrical inspections, rough-in and final, are done by a certified electrical inspector under the county’s program. The state plumbing inspector inspects plumbing on its permit and the state HVAC division inspects heating and air systems. For the structure itself, ask the local building inspector through the fiscal court what stages it inspects on your project. Commercial buildings reviewed by the state are inspected by the state building inspector assigned to the county; elevators and boilers have their own state inspectors.

Ask the fiscal court at the start whether a certificate of occupancy or final sign-off will issue at the end of your project.

Kentucky building code in Perry County

Work in Perry County is built to the 2018 Kentucky Building Code (fourth edition) and the 2018 Kentucky Residential Code (third edition), both based on the 2015 International Codes. FEMA lists Perry County as a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program, on a current flood map effective August 14, 2024.

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

Permit search and official resources

There is no online permit search. For county records, contact the judge/executive’s office at 481 Main Street (606-439-1816); fiscal court agendas for 2025 and 2026 are posted on the county website. Plumbing and HVAC permits are state records. In Hazard, the city clerk handles open records requests, agendas and minutes.

• Perry County Fiscal Court contact page
• Perry County elected officials
• Fiscal court meeting agendas
• Agenda, October 1, 2026 (first reading, Ordinance 2026-032)
• Agenda, October 2, 2026 (second reading, Ordinance 2026-032)
• Perry County Emergency Management (flood recovery)
• Perry County occupational license
• City of Hazard contacts
• City of Hazard forms and licenses
• State contact sheet for Perry County inspectors
• State building codes: local and state jurisdiction
• State Division of Plumbing: permits and fees
• State HVAC division: permits
• Kentucky Transportation Cabinet permits
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

Perry County permit FAQs

Who do I call about a building permit in Perry County?

The Perry County Fiscal Court at 606-439-1816, the number the state lists for the county’s local building inspector.

Does Perry County have an electrical permit program?

Yes, it is being set up by Ordinance 2026-032, read for the first time on October 1, 2026 and scheduled for adoption on October 2, 2026, with its own fee schedule.

Does Perry County have zoning?

The county’s website shows no zoning ordinance or planning commission, and its 2025–2026 agendas include no zoning items.

Where do I get a plumbing permit?

From the state plumbing inspector, who has Friday morning hours at the Perry County Health Department, 239 Lovern Street, Hazard. Homeowners can get one for their own residence.

Do contractors pay a county tax?

Yes, the 1% county occupational license tax, plus Hazard’s city tax for work inside the city limits.

Is Perry County in the flood insurance program?

Yes. The current FEMA flood map is dated August 14, 2024, and the county has run buyouts after the 2022 and 2025 floods.

When does the fiscal court meet?

Its 2026 regular meetings have been on Tuesdays, recently at 10:00 a.m., with special called meetings between them; agendas are posted online.

Who handles a new driveway onto a state road?

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, District 10, through its encroachment permit.

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