Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Bullitt County, Kentucky

At a glance

Building permit

Required for new construction and structural remodeling⁵

Zoning

Yes, Planning and Zoning administers the unincorporated county²

Septic permits

Bullitt County Health Department; Kentucky regulations also apply³⁴

Owner-builder

A homeowner may install the septic system after site evaluation⁶

RV living on private land

Not confirmed; ask Planning and Zoning before relying on it⁷

Agricultural land-division exemption

Land divided for ag use of 5+ acres, no new street, isn't a subdivision⁸

Floodplain development

State and local permits are required in an identified floodplain⁹¹⁰

Private well permit

No owner application or fee; use a certified well driller¹¹

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 12, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Bullitt County, Kentucky?

Unincorporated Bullitt County requires building, electrical, and heating-cooling permits for new construction and remodeling with structural changes¹. Kentucky residential-code standards apply to covered dwellings and townhouses, with Kentucky amendments controlling conflicting provisions¹². Bullitt County reviews plans and makes field inspections¹³. Inside Shepherdsville and Hillview, city building-permit rules apply¹⁴¹⁵. Septic remains with the Bullitt County Health Department in both cities¹⁶¹⁷. Kentucky exempts single-family dwellings from certificates of occupancy unless a local ordinance requires one; ask Buildings & Safety what local final approval applies¹⁸¹³.

Who issues building permits in Bullitt County, and how do you reach them?

Bullitt County Buildings & Safety, at 149 N. Walnut Street, 3rd Floor in Shepherdsville, issues building, electrical, and heating-cooling permits for new construction and structural remodeling¹³. Reach the division at 502-921-2970, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.¹³. Buildings & Safety handles permits and inspection requests, while Planning and Zoning processes rezoning, subdivision review, variance, and conditional-use applications¹⁹. Planning and Zoning also reviews site plans and subdivision plats and signs off on zoning compliance²⁰. We could not confirm a complete Bullitt County building-permit workflow or fee schedule; ask Buildings & Safety for current forms, plan requirements, fees, and the inspection sequence before filing²¹.

Does Bullitt County have zoning?

Bullitt County Planning and Zoning administers zoning in unincorporated Bullitt County². Inside Mount Washington and Shepherdsville, the cities have their own zoning regulations; septic site evaluations and permits remain with the Bullitt County Health Department countywide²²²³³. County records identify Agricultural and R-1 Residential classifications for unincorporated parcels, but we could not confirm the complete current district schedule²⁴. Planning and Zoning handles zoning compliance, site plans, subdivision plats, rezoning, variances, and conditional uses²⁰. Kentucky generally requires planning-commission approval before recording a subdivision plat; a qualifying agricultural division involving no new street falls outside the subdivision definition²⁵⁸. Ask Planning and Zoning for the parcel's minimum home size, lot size, setbacks, lot coverage, and height limits; we could not confirm those measurements²⁰.

How do septic permits work in Bullitt County?

The Bullitt County Health Department performs septic site evaluations, issues permits, conducts inspections, and investigates complaints under Kentucky regulations³⁴. Reach Environmental Services at 502-955-7867 or envbchd@bullitthealth.org, at 181 Lees Valley Road in Shepherdsville²⁶. New installations and repairs require a septic permit after site evaluation²⁷. Published fees are $250 for a standard site evaluation, $350 for a farm evaluation, $275 for a septic permit, and $75 for an established-system inspection²⁸. A homeowner may apply to install the system personally after receiving the site requirements; otherwise, a Certified Installer must apply⁶. The installer must call for inspection after installation, and Kentucky requires inspection before backfilling²⁹³⁰. For an established-system inspection, the inspector checks the tank, lateral field, and leakage; a leaking system will not be approved²⁹. Only about 9.1% of Bullitt County soils are rated free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so evaluate the site before fixing the house location or septic budget³¹.

Can you live in an RV or tiny home on your land in Bullitt County?

We could not confirm a Bullitt County rule that allows long-term RV living, temporary camping, or tiny-home occupancy on private land; ask Planning and Zoning about the proposed occupancy²⁰. Ask Planning and Zoning whether the use is allowed in the parcel's district before relying on any of those arrangements; the office administers zoning classifications and compliance in unincorporated Bullitt County⁷²⁰. A site-built tiny home is new construction, so Bullitt County's building-permit rule applies, and Kentucky residential-code standards govern covered homes¹³². Where public sewer is unavailable, a building may connect to an approved private sewage system, but septic permits and inspections still apply³³³⁴. Seepage pits, cesspools, and dry wells are generally prohibited, subject to narrow repair and legacy-lot exceptions³⁵.

Building a home in Bullitt County: what are the steps, in order?

1. Ask Planning and Zoning for the parcel's zoning classification, zoning-compliance requirements, and floodplain determination²⁰.
2. If dividing the tract, submit the site plan or subdivision plat for county review; a qualifying agricultural division involving no new street may fall outside the statutory subdivision definition³⁶⁸.
3. Complete the Health Department's site evaluation and obtain the septic permit before installing a new system or repairing an existing one²⁷.
4. If the project is in an identified floodplain or involves development in, along, or across a stream, confirm both state and local approvals before work begins⁹¹⁰.
5. Submit plans to Buildings & Safety for code review, then confirm current fees and the inspection sequence¹³²¹.
6. For a new or additional farm or single-family driveway within a state-highway right-of-way, apply in writing to the Department of Highways District Engineer³⁷.

What should you check before you buy land in Bullitt County?

Ask the Health Department for a septic site evaluation before making an offer: only about 9.1% of Bullitt County soils are rated free of severe limits for a conventional drain field³¹. Check the parcel's zoning classification and mapped-floodplain status with Planning and Zoning because identified-floodplain development needs state and local permits¹⁰²⁰. Confirm legal road access and, for a state-highway connection, whether the required approach application has been approved³⁷. Kentucky requires no owner application or fee to construct or abandon a private well, but a Kentucky Certified Water Well Driller must perform the work¹¹. Bullitt County's median property tax bill is about $1,994 a year at an effective rate near 0.9%³⁸³⁹.

Watch-outs

• Kentucky's single-family exception does not answer Bullitt County's local process: Buildings & Safety states that it issues permits for all new construction and structural remodeling⁴⁰⁵.
• Since August 1, 2008, any construction-related land disturbance of more than 1 acre, or on a lot of any size that's part of a common development plan, needs its own stormwater permit from Buildings & Safety¹³.
• Kentucky's owner-occupant HVAC exemption is limited to contractor licensing and still requires a permit for an initial system; do not treat it as a general owner-builder permit exemption⁴¹.
• Development in, along, or across a stream needs Kentucky Division of Water approval, and identified-floodplain development also needs a local permit; Kentucky floodplain construction criteria include elevation and anchoring requirements for manufactured homes⁹¹⁰⁴².

Sources

1. Buildings & Safety / Planning and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
2. Buildings & Safety / Planning and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
3. Sewage, quoted and re-checked
4. Sewage, quoted and re-checked
5. Buildings & Safety / Planning and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
6. Sewage, quoted and re-checked
7. Buildings & Safety / Planning and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
8. KRS 100.111 — Definitions for chapter (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. Permits, Certifications, and Approvals — Division of Water, quoted and re-checked
10. Find Your Flood Zone (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Water Well Information, quoted and re-checked
12. 815 KAR 7:125 Kentucky Residential Code, quoted and re-checked
13. Bullitt County Buildings & Safety (bullittky.com)
14. Shepherdsville: § 151.21 Building Permits; Required; Application (Bullitt County), quoted and re-checked
15. Hillview: § 150.21 Permit Required (Bullitt County), quoted and re-checked
16. Shepherdsville: § 52.035 Public Sewer Not Available (Bullitt County), quoted and re-checked
17. Hillview: § 50.030 Public Sewer Not Available (Bullitt County), quoted and re-checked
18. 815 KAR 7:125 Kentucky Residential Code, quoted and re-checked
19. Buildings & Safety / Planning and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
20. Bullitt County Planning and Zoning (bullittky.com)
21. Buildings & Safety / Planning and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
22. Mount Washington: § 153.01 Zoning Regulations and Map Adopted by Reference (Bullitt County), quoted and re-checked
23. Shepherdsville: § 157.01 Zoning Regulations Adopted by Reference (Bullitt County), quoted and re-checked
24. Bullitt County Fiscal Court Regular Session Minutes, August 19, 2021, quoted and re-checked
25. KRS 100.277 — Commission approval required for subdivisions (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
26. Bullitt County Health Department – Environmental Services (bullitthealth.org)
27. Sewage procedures and fees, quoted and re-checked
28. Sewage, quoted and re-checked
29. Sewage, quoted and re-checked
30. 902 KAR 10:085. System Installation Inspection (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
31. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
32. KRS 198B.050 Uniform State Building Code (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
33. 815 KAR 20:130. House sewers and storm water piping; methods of installation (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
34. Sewage, quoted and re-checked
35. 902 KAR 10:085 Kentucky Onsite Sewage Disposal Systems (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
36. Bullitt County Administrative Code, quoted and re-checked
37. 603 KAR 1:020 Driveway approaches, entrances; construction and maintenance, quoted and re-checked
38. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
39. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
40. 815 KAR 7:125, Kentucky Residential Code (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
41. KRS 198B.674 — Exemptions (Kentucky statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
42. 401 KAR 4:060 Stream construction criteria, quoted and re-checked

Written October 12, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.