Administrative overview · FIPS 21191
Pendleton 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 Code Enforcement; Pendleton County Department of Planning & Zoning / Joint Planning Commission for county zoning
For a project in or near Pendleton 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
Pendleton County Planning & Zoning: 859-654-1108; State Building Inspector Keith Ransdell: 502-591-9896, keith.ransdell@ky.gov; Pendleton County Judge/Executive David Fields: 859-654-4321; Code Enforcement: 859-654-1376; electrical inspectors Robert Scott: 606-402-0172, Steve Helmer: 859-746-9111, Larry Rice: 859-338-6109; plumbing inspector Bobby Saylor: 606-316-9167; HVAC inspector Steve Shively: 502-871-1452
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Pendleton County Department of Planning & Zoning / Fiscal Court, 233 Main Street, Falmouth, KY 41040; Pendleton County Health Department, 329 Kentucky Highway 330 West, Falmouth, KY 41040; DHBC, 500 Mero Street, Frankfort, KY 40601
Operating hours
Pendleton County Planning & Zoning publishes its office at 233 Main Street, Falmouth; separate counter hours were not published. Pendleton County Fiscal Court office contact is 859-654-4321. Plumbing inspector Bobby Saylor's DHBC roster hours are Wednesday, 8:00-9:00 a.m. EST at the county health department.
Review expectation
N/A. No current Pendleton County or DHBC plan-review turnaround guarantee was published; contact Planning & Zoning or Keith Ransdell for the project queue and required review sequence.
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 Pendleton 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 Pendleton County Planning & Zoning: 859-654-1108; State Building Inspector Keith Ransdell: 502-591-9896, keith.ransdell@ky.gov; Pendleton County Judge/Executive David Fields: 859-654-4321; Code Enforcement: 859-654-1376; electrical inspectors Robert Scott: 606-402-0172, Steve Helmer: 859-746-9111, Larry Rice: 859-338-6109; plumbing inspector Bobby Saylor: 606-316-9167; HVAC inspector Steve Shively: 502-871-1452.
How long might review take?
N/A. No current Pendleton County or DHBC plan-review turnaround guarantee was published; contact Planning & Zoning or Keith Ransdell for the project queue and required review sequence.
How are inspections scheduled?
Submit the residential or commercial zoning permit application to Pendleton County Planning & Zoning at 233 Main Street, Falmouth, and contact State Building Inspector Keith Ransdell at 502-591-9896 for commercial building-code plan review and inspections. The county's inspection page lists contracted electrical inspectors Robert Scott, Steve Helmer, and Larry Rice. The current DHBC roster lists plumbing inspector Bobby Saylor at 606-316-9167 on Wednesdays, 8:00-9:00 a.m. at the Pendleton County Health Department, HVAC inspector Steve Shively at 502-871-1452, manufactured housing Bruce Hall at 502-682-8544, elevator Chris Hetterman at 502-226-0819, and boiler Gary Shoemaker at 859-339-4458. Sanitary-sewage inspections are handled by Don Jacobs / Three Rivers District Health Department at 859-654-6985.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
The latest DHBC county roster, updated April 7, 2026, identifies no local building inspector and routes commercial building permits to the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. Applicable state codes are the 2018 Kentucky Building Code and 2018 Kentucky Residential Code, based on the 2015 International Building Code and 2015 International Residential Code with Kentucky amendments, plus applicable trade codes. Pendleton County separately administers its June 2025 zoning ordinance and related land-use requirements for the unincorporated county and City of Falmouth. The county applications page states that zoning permits are required for all new construction, new uses, additions, demolition, sheds, detached garages, carports, pools, decks, fences, off-street parking, and signage. No current minor or cosmetic exemption list was published; confirm any proposed repair or agricultural work with Planning & Zoning and DHBC before beginning.