Administrative overview · FIPS 21115
Johnson 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
State 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 State 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
Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Division of Building Codes Enforcement; Paintsville Building Inspection for city-limits work
For a project in or near Johnson 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
502-395-3375 (State Building Inspector James Allen); Paintsville Building Inspection 606-789-2600; Johnson County Fiscal Court 606-789-2550.
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Johnson County Fiscal Court, 230 Court Street, Suite 201, Paintsville, KY 41240; DHBC Division of Building Codes Enforcement, 500 Mero Street, Floor 1, Frankfort, KY 40601.
Operating hours
Johnson County Judge Executive’s Office Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; plumbing inspection office Friday, 8:00-9:30 a.m. EST.
Review expectation
N/A. No current Johnson County or DHBC plan-review turnaround time was published on the verified pages.
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 Johnson County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
This record is marked State 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 502-395-3375 (State Building Inspector James Allen); Paintsville Building Inspection 606-789-2600; Johnson County Fiscal Court 606-789-2550..
How long might review take?
N/A. No current Johnson County or DHBC plan-review turnaround time was published on the verified pages.
How are inspections scheduled?
For county/state building-permit plan review and inspections contact James Allen at 502-395-3375 or jallen@ky.gov and use the DHBC SmartGov portal for state-jurisdiction submissions. Paintsville city-limits building work is listed under Bob Stewart at 606-789-2600. Local electrical matters are directed to the county judge executive or city office where performed; state electrical inspector James Burt is 502-330-3513. Manufactured housing: Randy Jones 606-872-9306; elevator: Dan Stifle 606-748-9337; HVAC: Billy Blair 502-395-4879; boiler: Scott Shepherd 502-382-0545; plumbing: Roy Gordon Vanhoose 606-687-8600, with Friday 8:00-9:30 a.m. EST office hours at Johnson County Health Department, 630 James S. Trimble Boulevard, Paintsville, 606-789-2590.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
The current DHBC assignment lists Bob Stewart as the local building inspector for the City of Paintsville and James Allen as State Building Inspector for Johnson County. Commercial and other state-jurisdiction work outside Paintsville should be coordinated with DHBC; Paintsville city-limits work should be coordinated with the city inspector. The applicable statewide framework is the 2018 Kentucky Building Code and 2018 Kentucky Residential Code, based on the 2015 IBC/IRC with Kentucky amendments. No newer 2026 KBC or KRC adoption was verified; DHBC announced July 2026 NEC updates for electrical work. No current Johnson County-specific exemption list was published on the verified official pages. State rules may exempt or limit permitting for single-family work where no local program applies and for ordinary maintenance or other narrowly defined code exceptions, but commercial, structural, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, manufactured-housing, septic, and floodplain work may require separate permits or inspections. Confirm the exact project with James Allen, Paintsville Building Inspection, or the county judge executive before starting.