Administrative overview · FIPS 20013
Brown County permit authority
The first compliance decision is jurisdictional: identify the office with statutory authority over your parcel, then use its filing and inspection sequence to keep the project moving.
Jurisdictional status
Municipal Fallback
This profile identifies a handoff outside the county’s ordinary structural permitting lane.
Required jurisdiction check
Confirm the controlling local or state authority before filing.
The record is marked Municipal Fallback. That means the county profile should be treated as a routing brief: incorporated municipalities, a state building department, or a state fire marshal may control plan review, permits, and inspections. Contact the named agency below and verify the parcel’s jurisdiction before paying a fee or scheduling field work.
Responsible agency
Brown County Clerk / Brown County Emergency Management, with the applicable municipal building department
For a project in or near Brown County, this office is the identified point of contact for permit intake, statutory code enforcement, plan review coordination, and inspection release conditions. Confirm the parcel’s boundary and project type before relying on the county lane.
Direct contact
785-742-2581 (County Clerk); 402-245-7159 (Emergency Management Director, as listed on the county floodplain-permit page)
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Brown County Courthouse, 601 Oregon Street, Suite 202, Hiawatha, KS 66434
Operating hours
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Review expectation
N/A. No general building or floodplain permit review timeline was published.
Compliance workbench
Choose the next project decision.
Apply online
Open the verified digital gateway, application form, and review timeline.
Open guide →Fees & penalties
Understand fee schedules, enforcement exposure, and stop-work liabilities.
Open guide →Codes & exemptions
Read the code framework, minor-work exemptions, and inspection lane.
Open guide →Agency website
Visit the primary public source for current notices and contact changes.
Open guide →Source trail
Official sources for this profile
Use these direct agency or licensing links to confirm current instructions before you file, pay, or schedule work. External pages control if their information differs from this directory.
Project questions
Frequently asked questions for Brown County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
This record is marked Municipal Fallback. Confirm whether a city, state agency, or other local authority controls the parcel before filing.
How should I begin an application?
Begin with the online permit gateway listed in the application guide. If the portal does not recognize the address or project type, contact 785-742-2581 (County Clerk); 402-245-7159 (Emergency Management Director, as listed on the county floodplain-permit page).
How long might review take?
N/A. No general building or floodplain permit review timeline was published.
How are inspections scheduled?
Construction or deconstruction in a Brown County floodplain requires the county and/or Kansas Department of Agriculture permit. Submit the Floodplain Development Permit/Application with project, map-panel, elevation, and other-agency permit information; the permit grants the community official access to inspect ongoing work. Contact Emergency Management at 402-245-7159 for floodplain questions. For ordinary building work, contact the applicable city building department; the county's permits page does not publish a countywide inspection scheduler.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
Brown County Resolution 2026-11 adopts the State of Kansas List of Applicable Codes for Construction Projects on State Property (Kansas Department of Administration, October 2021) as the standard for construction projects performed by contractors or professionals within the county. The county's materials do not identify a separate 2026 residential building-code edition; municipal building codes and state/federal floodplain requirements may apply. The county's floodplain permit instructions state that minor projects may not require an elevation certificate, with examples including new culverts; excavation, culverts, and parking lots are also listed as projects that may not require an elevation certificate. This does not waive the county's rule that construction or deconstruction work in a floodplain requires a permit. No general minor/cosmetic building-work exemption list was published.