Digital permit application gateway
Start with the issuing authority’s own submission lane. A complete application package, accurate valuation, and accessible inspection path are the fastest route through statutory plan review.
Recommended first click
Use the official digital gateway to submit plans, monitor review comments, pay required charges, and request inspections when the permit is issued. If the link is unavailable, use the agency website or phone number on the administrative profile to confirm the current lane.
Typical review lane
N/A. No current Knott County or DHBC plan-review turnaround time was published on the verified pages.
Treat this as a planning signal, not a guaranteed approval date. Completeness, corrections, resubmittals, and agency workload control the actual clock.
Verify the parcel is inside this agency’s service area and note whether a city, state, fire marshal, septic authority, or utility district also has approval authority.
Prepare legible plans, site information, project valuation, ownership authorization, contractor information, and any energy, floodplain, zoning, or utility documentation the issuing office requires.
Keep the permit number, approved plan set, correction comments, fee receipts, and inspection results together. Those records establish the compliance trail for the next trade.
Application documents
Before submission, call 606-359-4062 (State Building Inspector Levi Wells); Knott County Fiscal Court 606-785-5592; DHBC plan review 502-573-0373. if the project involves a change of occupancy, structural alteration, accessory structure, demolition, or work near a regulated environmental feature.
Source trail
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
This record is marked State Fallback. Confirm whether a city, state agency, or other local authority controls the parcel before filing.
Begin with the online permit gateway listed in the application guide. If the portal does not recognize the address or project type, contact 606-359-4062 (State Building Inspector Levi Wells); Knott County Fiscal Court 606-785-5592; DHBC plan review 502-573-0373..
N/A. No current Knott County or DHBC plan-review turnaround time was published on the verified pages.
For commercial/state building permit plan review and inspections contact Levi Wells at 606-359-4062 or matthewl.wells@ky.gov and submit through DHBC SmartGov. Local electrical questions go to the county judge executive or city office; state electrical inspector James Burt is 502-330-3513. Manufactured-housing inspector Randy Jones is 606-872-9306; elevator inspector Rodney Napier is 606-671-1358; HVAC inspector Billy Blair is 502-395-4879; plumbing inspector Ricky Adams is 606-359-3850 or 606-785-3144, with Thursday 8:00-9:30 a.m. EST office hours at Knott County Health Department, 880 West Main Street, Hindman; and boiler inspector Scott Shepherd is 502-382-0545. County Fiscal Court general contact is 606-785-5592.
The current DHBC assignment states that Knott County has no local building inspector and directs commercial construction to DHBC for building permits. DHBC enforces 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 Knott County-specific building exemption list was published. Under Kentucky’s statewide framework, single-family dwellings in counties without a local single-family inspection program must still meet the KRC, but building inspections may not be performed except required mechanical/electrical inspections; ordinary maintenance and narrowly defined code exceptions may be exempt. Confirm any farmstead, manufactured-home, above-grade-pool, structural, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, septic, or floodplain exception with Levi Wells or the County Judge Executive before work.
What makes an application complete
Before you click submit, make sure the drawings agree with the site plan, project description, valuation, ownership authorization, and contractor information. If the work changes structure, occupancy, drainage, fire protection, energy performance, or utility demand, describe that scope plainly. Ambiguous narratives create correction cycles and delay the field schedule.
Save the confirmation number, payment receipt, uploaded plan set, and every correction comment. Those records are the backbone of a defensible compliance file when multiple trades or agencies share responsibility.
Submission quality check
Site: address, parcel, access, setbacks, and existing conditions are consistent.
Scope: structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, fire, and energy work is identified.
Closeout: inspection contacts and the final approval path are understood before work begins.