Radcliff, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

Building permits inside Radcliff come from the city, not from Hardin County. The City of Radcliff Planning Department, part of Economic Development, Planning and Building at City Hall (270-351-1875), reviews building permit applications together with zone changes, subdivisions and development plans, runs local floodplain administration and code compliance, and keeps the official zoning and street maps; Murray Wanner is the Planning Director. HBC’s Hardin County contact sheet, updated September 28, 2026, lists Radcliff’s inspector separately from those of Elizabethtown, Vine Grove and the county. Plumbing permits are state permits, and new water or sewer taps come from Hardin County Water District No. 1.

What requires a building permit in Radcliff?

The city’s department reviews building permit applications for work inside the city limits, and its business page says the commercial inspector issues permits for, and inspects, renovations and additions. The permit and site forms the city posts show the kinds of work it handles.

What the city decides and what the state holds

Radcliff controls land use through its Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinance and Development Regulations, and Subdivision Regulations, which the planning commission prepares and updates and the City Council adopts. The city’s posted ordinances include one on flood damage prevention. Because Radcliff borders the Fort Knox Army post, the city’s comprehensive plan page lists, among the plan’s required elements, provisions to accommodate military installations of 300 acres or more abutting the planning unit, with the goal of minimizing conflicts between the installation and nearby residents. The code itself is Kentucky’s. Section 104.16 of the 2018 Kentucky Building Code sends to the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (HBC) the assembly, business, factory and mercantile buildings for more than 100 people (church buildings only above 400 people and 6,000 square feet), every educational, high-hazard and institutional building, industrialized building systems, buildings over three stories or 20,000 square feet and buildings on state-owned property.

Radcliff building department: who handles permitting

The department’s staff list a building department manager who is a certified permits technician and a building inspector, both on the department’s main number. Other city offices handle the rest.

City Hall’s general line is 270-351-4714 (fax 270-351-7329), and mail goes to P.O. Box 519, Radcliff, KY 40159-0519. Land outside the city limits is permitted by the Hardin County Planning and Development Commission in Elizabethtown; see the Hardin County guide.

Radcliff permit types

The city keeps its applications in a shared Documents & Forms folder linked from its website, grouped into a commercial building packet, site applications and permits, conditional uses and variances, signs, subdivision, zoning and annexation, business license, and a vacant residential property registry.

Residential permits

House projects start with the department at 270-351-1875, which reviews the building permit against the zoning ordinance’s setbacks and lot rules; the Zoning Ordinance regulates the size and location of structures, buildings and signs. Fences and driveways have their own applications, and work in a city easement needs an easement construction authorization. A new house connecting to water or sewer must show a plumbing permit before Hardin County Water District No. 1 will set a new tap, and the district’s service application asks for the plumbing contract.

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

Commercial permits

The commercial building packet holds the building permit, a plan submission guide, the Kentucky energy conservation workbook, HBC’s fire suppression design criteria worksheet, the erosion and sediment control permit applications and an affidavit of exemption from workers’ compensation. Projects that need a development plan file the development plan application for planning commission review, and a new business also needs a city business license from the Finance Office.

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

• Zoning. The planning commission (six members, first Thursday of each month at 5 p.m., second floor of City Hall) reviews site plans, subdivision plans and zone map amendments.
• Variances and conditional uses. The Board of Adjustment (five members, second Thursday at 5 p.m.) hears conditional use permits, variances and appeals of administrative decisions under Article V, Section 5.9 of the zoning ordinance.
• Subdivision. New lots follow the Subdivision Regulations’ street and lot design and improvement rules.
• Stormwater. Construction site runoff control and post-construction stormwater management are part of the stormwater program the city runs under the Kentucky Division of Water small MS4 permit issued on April 1, 2010.
• Floodplain. The department administers floodplain development locally.
• State road access. A driveway onto a state highway needs a Transportation Cabinet encroachment permit.

Radcliff permit costs and fees

Radcliff does not post its building permit fees on its department web page; the building department quotes them when the application is reviewed (270-351-1875). Where a building falls under the state’s jurisdiction, HBC charges its own plan review fee under section 121 of the 2018 Kentucky Building Code, in addition to any city charges.

Worked example: a new 8,000-square-foot store for more than 100 occupants, reviewed by HBC as a mercantile building, owes 8,000 × 15 cents = $1,200 in state plan review fees; city permit fees, the state plumbing and HVAC permits and water and sewer tap charges are separate.

Water connections are priced in Hardin County Water District No. 1’s tariff on file with the Public Service Commission. Its meter connection fee table (sheet 7A, effective March 1, 2017) charges $1,150 for a 5/8-by-3/4-inch meter and $1,484 for a 1-inch meter; larger meters are billed at actual cost, with an estimate paid in advance. The fee must be paid before a new service is installed, a permanent water supply and meter cannot be installed until the building’s interior plumbing has been installed and inspected, the meter goes at the street right-of-way or property line, each dwelling unit gets its own meter, and a tap application lapses if the customer is not ready to connect within two years. Sewer service in Radcliff runs under the district’s separate Radcliff sewer tariff. Business license fees and occupational payroll tax are collected by the city’s Finance Office.

The state plumbing permit has its own published price: HBC’s Division of Plumbing charges, since March 1, 2022, a $50 base fee plus $14 per opening for a one- or two-family house, $50 for a water-heater-only permit, and $50 plus $20 per opening for commercial work. A house with 15 openings pays $50 + 15 × $14 = $260, and that permit must be in hand before the water district sets a new tap.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. HBC’s Hardin County sheet sends applicants to the city office where the work is done, or the County Judge/Executive’s office, for the local electrical inspector; inside Radcliff, start at City Hall. Electricians hold HBC licenses; a homeowner may wire his or her own home with a permit.
• Plumbing. A state permit. The state plumbing inspectors for Hardin County keep office hours at the Hardin County Health Department, 580-C Westport Road in Elizabethtown, every weekday from 8 to 9 a.m. Eastern. HBC issues plumbing permits to licensed master plumbers and to homeowners for plumbing in their own residence, and the water district needs that permit before a new tap.
• Heating and air conditioning. State HVAC permits, inspected by HBC’s HVAC inspectors for the county; a homeowner may do his or her own HVAC work with a permit.
• Contractors. Kentucky has no general contractor license. Businesses working in Radcliff deal with the Finance Office for the city business license and occupational payroll tax.

How to get a building permit in Radcliff

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Projects that need a board decision wait for the monthly meetings: the planning commission on the first Thursday and the Board of Adjustment on the second. A new building’s water or sewer tap cannot be set until a plumbing permit is issued.

Inspections in Radcliff

The city’s building inspector carries out building inspections on city permits, and the department lists site inspections and code compliance among its duties; call 270-351-1875 to schedule. Plumbing and HVAC work is inspected by the state inspectors and wiring by the local electrical inspector. The fire department makes fire safety inspections of businesses and takes inspection requests and burn permit requests through links on its web page. Code violations go to the Code Enforcement Board, which meets on the second Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Fire Station 1, 604 South Wilson Road.

Kentucky building code

Radcliff enforces the Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code inside its limits through its own building department. The city participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (community 210366); FEMA’s Community Status Book shows a current effective flood map of October 16, 2025 and Community Rating System class 9, which gives policyholders a 5% discount. The city publishes a flood information newsletter on its NFIP page.

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

Radcliff permit search and official resources

The department’s Permits link opens the city’s iWorQ permit portal. For permit files and other records, Radcliff posts its open records policy and the Attorney General’s standard records request form in the Public Records folder of its Documents & Forms page; send the request to City Hall.

• Economic Development, Planning and Building
• Documents and forms (permit applications, commercial packet, records forms)
• Radcliff Zoning Ordinance
• Subdivision Regulations
• National Flood Insurance Program and flood newsletter
• Engineering and Stormwater
• Stormwater management (MS4 permit)
• Doing business in Radcliff
• Finance Office (business license)
• Public Works
• Radcliff Fire Department (inspections, burn permits)
• Comprehensive Plan
• Mayor, council, ordinances and minutes
• City Hall contact
• Hardin County Water District No. 1
• Water and sewer service application
• Hardin County Water District No. 1 water tariff
• Radcliff sewer tariff (HCWD1)
• HBC county contact sheet, Hardin County (updated September 28, 2026)
• HBC building codes: state and local jurisdiction
• 2018 Kentucky Building Code, Fourth Edition
• HBC Division of Plumbing
• HBC SmartGov portal
• Kentucky Transportation Cabinet permits
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

Radcliff permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Radcliff?

The city’s Economic Development, Planning and Building department at City Hall, 411 West Lincoln Trail Boulevard (270-351-1875). Hardin County’s commission handles only land outside the city.

How much is a building permit in Radcliff?

The city does not post its fee amounts online, so ask the building department. Commercial buildings reviewed by HBC also pay the state’s plan review fee, from 13 to 16 cents a square foot with a $285 minimum.

Do I need a permit for a fence or driveway?

Yes. The city posts a fence permit application and a driveway permit among its site applications.

When does the Board of Adjustment meet?

At 5 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month, on the second floor of City Hall. It hears variances, conditional use permits and appeals of administrative decisions.

Can I do my own plumbing?

Yes, in your own home: HBC issues plumbing permits to homeowners as well as to master plumbers. The state inspectors keep office hours at the health department in Elizabethtown each weekday from 8 to 9 a.m.

Who provides water and sewer?

Hardin County Water District No. 1 supplies water to Radcliff and runs the Radcliff sewer system; a new building’s tap requires a plumbing permit first.

Do I need a permit to burn brush?

The Radcliff Fire Department handles burn permits; its web page has a Request a Burn Permit link.

Is Radcliff in the flood insurance program?

Yes. It participates in the NFIP and holds Community Rating System class 9, a 5% discount on flood insurance, and the department administers floodplain development locally.

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