Lexington Division of Building Inspection
- Phone
- (859) 258-3770
- Hours
- Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
Kentucky
Lexington, KY permit fees and requirements
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government prices construction through the Division of Building Inspection fee schedule
effective July 1, 2019. Residential permits charge $0.10 per square foot (min $150) plus $180.00 for a single-family home or $100.00 per dwelling unit on duplexes, townhouses and apartments — about $580 on a 2,500-square-foot house. Commercial permits price by use, from $0.28/sq ft (warehouse) to $0.90/sq ft (educational, restaurant), each with a $250 minimum and a printed second adder, plus $0.06/sq ft plan review ($25 residential). Electrical permits are a flat $10.00 each. Plumbing is the state's: Kentucky's Division of Plumbing permits it at $50.00 plus $14.00 per opening under 815 KAR 20:050, five inspections included.
Permit costs we have worked out
Each page shows the fee components, the formula the jurisdiction uses, and a worked example you can follow by hand.
Estimate your potential Lexington permit fee with our Building Permit Fee Calculator.
| Permit | Category | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Lexington Building Permit Cost | structural | 2026-09-26 |
| Lexington Electrical Permit Cost | electrical | 2026-09-26 |
| Lexington Plumbing Permit Cost | plumbing | 2026-09-26 |
Local context
What is specific to Lexington
Building Inspection, at 101 E. Vine St. inside the merged Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, enforces the Kentucky Building Code across Fayette County and operates the One-Stop Shop for development permitting. The FY20 budget restructured the fees — primarily residential — and the schedule has carried the $0.10/sq ft residential rate since July 1, 2019. Contractors must register with the division before pulling permits, and large commercial projects can go before the Tuesday Morning Plan Review Board before approval.
Two trades are split away from the local schedule: electrical permits cost a flat $10 (with inspections performed by the Commonwealth Inspection Bureau, priced separately), and plumbing is permitted entirely by Kentucky's state Division of Plumbing — LFUCG's fee schedule has no plumbing section, and the city's commercial-construction page routes plumbing permits to the State Inspector.
Valuation
How valuation is determined here
Building permit fees are computed from square footage of the work at the occupancy's per-square-foot rate, with each row's printed minimum applying to the area portion before the adder. Lexington's schedule prices by area, not by project valuation; wrecking and moving permits (0.002 × assessed valuation, min $100) sit outside the building calculator.
Who to contact
The office that issues the permit, with the details we have verified. Confirm current hours before travelling.
What these fees do not include
The list is not a disclaimer: on a new house the fees left out can outweigh the permit fee several times over. Every entry here is stated on the permit page as well.
Not included in our estimates
These figures cover LFUCG Building Inspection permit fees and the state plumbing permit that applies inside Lexington. They exclude:
- Mechanical (HVAC) permit fees — priced by construction cost on the same schedule ($125 to $3,965+, $105 first residential system) but outside this calculator.
- Fire detection and sprinkler system fees ($275/$150-$375 on the schedule's fire sections).
- Commonwealth Inspection Bureau electrical inspection fees, separate from the $10 LFUCG permit.
- Zoning, planning and impact fees handled through the One-Stop Shop.
- Reinspection fees ($50/$100/$200) and standalone Certificates of Occupancy ($25).
Official sources for this jurisdiction
The documents these figures are transcribed from. Where a source contradicts itself we keep both readings and say so on the permit page.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
City of Lexington — Commercial construction page
Documents the trade split inside Lexington: 'Plumbing — Application, review and permit by State Inspector (859) 899-3244' and 'Electrical — Permit by LFUCG; inspections by Commonwealth Inspections Bureau (859) 263-7800'. Also names the Division of Building Inspection, 101 E. Vine St.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
City of Lexington — Electrical permits, licensing and inspections page
States plainly: 'Electrical permits cost $10 each.' Permits are issued by LFUCG Building Inspection to master electricians (state-licensed through Kentucky DHBC) with an LFUCG business license; inspections are performed by the Commonwealth Inspection Bureau ((859) 263-7800) separately from the permit.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Fees effective July 1, 2019 (FY20 budget restructure); the document was revised 10/27/21. Commercial section prices by occupancy phrase per square foot ($.28 warehouse to $.90 educational/restaurant) with printed second adders; residential section prices $.10 per square foot with a $150 minimum plus a $180/$100-per-unit adder; plan review is $.06 per square foot commercial (min $50) and $25 residential. Plumbing is absent from the schedule; HVAC and fire sections documented but not calculator pages.