Versailles, Kentucky Building Permit Guide

Building permits in Versailles come from a joint office rather than a city department. Permits for homes, businesses, signs, fences and wiring inside the city are issued by the Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Planning Commission, Suite 204 of the Woodford County Courthouse, 103 South Main Street (859-873-8611), under a zoning ordinance the City Council adopted jointly with Midway and the county. Commercial work costs $0.25 per square foot with a $250 minimum, houses $0.20 per square foot, and every building application carries a $25 plan review fee.

What work needs a permit in Versailles?

Under Article IV of the joint zoning ordinance, a Versailles owner needs a building permit before erecting, moving, adding to or structurally altering any building, and before starting or changing the use of a property. Tearing down all or part of a building takes a separate demolition (wrecking) permit, and every new or altered sign needs a sign permit from the Zoning Administrator.

What the city decides and what the state holds

The Versailles City Council takes final action on zone changes, zoning text changes and local historic designations inside the city, and it appoints four of the nine Planning Commission members; the Fiscal Court and Midway appoint the rest. The commission’s Building Inspector reviews and inspects city projects under the Kentucky codes. Larger or higher-risk buildings assigned to the state by the Kentucky Building Code are also reviewed by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction; the local schedule lists a permit to build fee of $0.10 per square foot, capped at $25,000, for buildings under state jurisdiction.

Versailles building department: who handles permitting

The joint Planning Commission’s office, headed by Planning Director Steve Hunter, takes the applications, collects the fees and sends out the inspector. City Hall comes in for utility and street questions: the permit checklist lists the city’s number, 859-873-5436, with extension 128 for water and sewer and extension 124 for streets and stormwater. The state’s contact sheet for Woodford County (updated November 14, 2025) lists one local building inspector for the county, with Versailles not excluded, and the state electrical, HVAC and plumbing inspectors.

For permits in the rest of the county and in Midway, see the Woodford County guide.

Versailles permit types

All forms are on the Planning Commission’s Applications & Fees page and are filed at Suite 204; the office will not accept an application until the fee is paid.

Residential permits

For a house, addition or accessory building in a Versailles subdivision, the single-family packet asks for scaled building plans, a site plan showing easements and setbacks, a copy of the deed or plat, the city’s water and sewer certification letter, an entrance permit if a new driveway meets the street, a workers’ compensation certificate and a signed building permit affidavit. The affidavit makes the builder responsible for repairing any sidewalk, grading or storm drainage in the subdivision that the work damages, and no certificate of occupancy issues until that is done. Fences, small sheds, above-ground pools and small detached decks use the shorter zoning permit form, which needs two 11 by 17 inch plan sets and a plot plan.

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

Commercial permits

Shops, offices, restaurants and apartment buildings use the commercial, industrial and multi-family application. The site plan has to show driveways, parking and loading, refuse areas, the size and connection point of water and sewer lines, buffering, sign locations, health department approval, stormwater design and the floodplain status of the site. A new commercial site normally needs a site development plan ($595) cleared by the Technical Review Committee and approved by the Planning Commission before a building permit. Signs are permitted separately; a wall sign is $50 and a freestanding sign $75.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning district. A $20 zoning certification letter confirms the district; a zone change costs $325 to $595 depending on the district and goes to the City Council after the Planning Commission hearing.
• Variance or conditional use. $300 each before the Board of Adjustments, filed at least 21 days before the hearing; for a conditional use, adjoining owners and addresses within 200 feet are mailed notice at least 14 days before the hearing.
• Historic overlay. Projects on property in a Historic Overlay district go to the Board of Architectural Review for a certificate of appropriateness; its September 2026 docket included a garage addition with new siding and roofing and the removal of a fuel canopy on Lexington Street. The board uses the Secretary of the Interior’s rehabilitation standards and meets at 6:30 p.m. in the courthouse’s second-floor courtroom.
• Utilities. The city’s water and sewer letter for a lot on public sewer.
• Driveways. An entrance permit from the city for a city street, or from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (District 7) for a state route.
• Floodplain. A floodplain development permit and elevation certificate where the lot lies in a mapped flood zone.

Versailles permit fees

Versailles projects pay the joint Planning Commission’s schedule, effective February 13, 2025. The commission sets these fees itself under the zoning ordinance; the City of Versailles bills its own utility charges separately.

Worked examples. Remodeling a 3,000 square foot storefront: 3,000 × $0.25 = $750, above the $250 minimum, plus $25 plan review, for $775. Remodeling a 600 square foot shop: 600 × $0.25 = $150, so the $250 minimum applies, plus $25, for $275. A 300 square foot attached deck on a house: 300 × $0.20 = $60 plus $25, for $85.

Basement area counts toward new construction fees, and finishing a basement after the original permit is closed needs a new permit. Double fees may be charged when work starts before the permit is issued. The Planning Commission’s November 12, 2026 agenda carries a draft fee schedule for January 1, 2027, which had not been adopted as of that agenda.

Trade permits and who may pull them

• Electrical. Buy the $10 electric permit at Suite 204. The application records the electrician’s master electrician and electrical contractor numbers, and the local electrical inspector approves the work; the permit holder normally books that inspection. Homeowners may wire their own house under the office’s FAQ.
• Plumbing. A state permit, issued by the state plumbing inspector who holds office hours at the Woodford County Health Department, 229 North Main Street. The state division issues permits to licensed master plumbers and to homeowners for their own residence; a house permit is $50 plus $14 per opening.
• HVAC. A state permit purchased through SmartGov by a licensed or authorized installer, inspected by a state mechanical inspector, for every new system or replacement.
• Fire protection. Commercial sprinkler and alarm systems need the $200 local permit; range hoods in commercial kitchens $100.

The checklist asks for a business license registered with the city and/or the county where one applies. Trade licenses are state licenses.

How to apply for a building permit in Versailles

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The office aims to review a complete house application in 2 to 5 days. In town the usual holdups are a missing water and sewer letter, a site plan that does not show easements, sign or historic overlay approvals that were not obtained first, and commercial sites that still need a development plan. Hearing items run on a fixed calendar: Board of Adjustments and Planning Commission applications are due 21 days before the meeting, and staff have five working days to say whether a file is complete.

Grading that significantly changes drainage on a Versailles lot needs a $75 grading permit backed by a site plan and topographic survey, although footing and basement excavation for a permitted house does not. Zoning violations can bring fines of $10 to $500 per conviction under KRS 100.991, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.

Inspections and certificates of occupancy

Book building inspections through the Planning Commission at 859-873-8611. A typical house or addition goes through footing, slab or poured wall, framing, fire wall where required, insulation, the trade rough-ins, and final building, plumbing, HVAC and electrical inspections. Remodels and additions must update smoke and carbon monoxide alarms across the house.

A new or altered building may not be occupied until the Building Inspector issues a certificate of occupancy, and an addition, deck or remodeled room needs a final approval or certificate of completion. The permit FAQ asks for at least one inspection every 180 days to keep a permit alive; the homeowner acknowledgement says work must begin within 90 days and finish within a year, with one six-month extension on written request.

Kentucky building code in Versailles

The City of Versailles participates in the National Flood Insurance Program under its own FEMA community number, on a flood map effective December 21, 2017. The joint flood rules require new and substantially improved homes to be elevated at least 1 foot above the base flood elevation, and the local floodplain administrator, reached through the Planning Commission, signs the state Division of Water floodplain permit application; the building permit waits until that floodplain permit is approved.

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

To get copies of a Versailles permit or plan file, use the Planning Commission’s open records request form; board agendas and hearing notices are posted on its website and hearings are advertised in the Woodford Sun.

• Applications and fees
• Fee schedule effective February 13, 2025
• Single-family building permit packet
• Commercial, industrial and multi-family permit packet
• Zoning permit application
• Electric permit application
• Sign permit application
• Certificate of appropriateness application
• Historic overlay design guidelines
• Board of Architectural Review agenda, September 1, 2026
• Building, zoning and floodplain permit FAQ
• Joint zoning ordinance
• Zoning ordinance Article IV: permits
• Boards and meeting schedules
• Open records request form
• Woodford County page for the Planning Commission
• State inspector contact sheet, Woodford County
• State building code jurisdiction
• State plumbing permits
• State HVAC permits
• Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 7
• FEMA Community Status Book, Kentucky

Versailles permit FAQs

Does Versailles City Hall issue building permits?

Permits for the city are issued by the joint Planning Commission in the county courthouse, 103 South Main Street, Suite 204 (859-873-8611); the city handles water, sewer and streets.

How much is a commercial building permit in Versailles?

$0.25 per square foot with a $250 minimum, plus a $25 plan review fee.

Do I need a permit for a fence in Versailles?

A $30 zoning permit is required for a fence over 48 inches, and the office’s FAQ lists fence installation or replacement among permitted work.

Do I need a permit to put up a business sign?

Yes. Sign permits cost $50 for a wall sign and $75 for a freestanding sign.

What if my building is in a historic overlay district?

Get a certificate of appropriateness first: $25 if staff can approve it, $75 if it goes to the Board of Architectural Review.

Who do I call about water and sewer for a new building?

The City of Versailles, 859-873-5436, extension 128.

Can I do my own plumbing?

The state plumbing division issues permits to homeowners for plumbing in their own home; ask the state plumbing inspector at the health department.

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