Administrative overview · FIPS 21133
Letcher 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 / Letcher County Fiscal Court
For a project in or near Letcher 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
State Building Inspector Levi Wells: 606-359-4062; DHBC plan-review jurisdiction questions: 502-573-0373; Letcher County Fiscal Court: 606-633-2129; Letcher County Health Department: 606-633-2945.
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Letcher County Fiscal Court, 156 Main Street, Suite 107, Whitesburg, KY 41858; Letcher County Health Department, 115 East Main Street, Whitesburg, KY 41858; DHBC, 500 Mero Street, Frankfort, KY 40601.
Operating hours
Letcher County Judge/Executive office: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fiscal Court administrative listing: Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Plumbing inspection office hours: Thursday 8:00-9:30 a.m. EST. The DHBC county sheet was updated March 5, 2025.
Review expectation
N/A. No current Letcher 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 Letcher 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 State Building Inspector Levi Wells: 606-359-4062; DHBC plan-review jurisdiction questions: 502-573-0373; Letcher County Fiscal Court: 606-633-2129; Letcher County Health Department: 606-633-2945..
How long might review take?
N/A. No current Letcher County or DHBC plan-review turnaround time was published on the verified pages.
How are inspections scheduled?
For commercial construction, contact state building inspector 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's office or city office where work occurs; state electrical inspector James Burt is 502-330-3513. Manufactured housing Randy Jones: 606-872-9306; elevator Rodney Napier: 606-671-1358; HVAC Billy Blair: 502-395-4879; plumbing Jeff Nolan: 606-359-3853, with office hours Thursday 8:00-9:30 a.m. at Letcher County Health Department, 115 East Main Street, Whitesburg; and boiler inspections: Frankfort office 502-573-1708. DHBC plan-review jurisdiction questions: 502-573-0373.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
The current DHBC assignment states that Letcher 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. For counties without a single-family inspection program, site-built single-family homes must still meet the KRC, while building inspections are generally limited to required mechanical and electrical inspections. No newer 2026 KBC or KRC adoption was verified. No Letcher County-specific minor or cosmetic building exemption list was published on the verified official pages. Kentucky's statewide framework still requires KRC compliance for applicable site-built single-family homes even without a local inspection program; ordinary maintenance and narrow code exceptions may be exempt, but commercial, structural, manufactured-housing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, septic, and floodplain work should be confirmed with DHBC or the relevant county/city office.