Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-09
52 of Kentucky's 120 counties — 43% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 6th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Wayne County (75/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 1042 counties nationwide → Kentucky: no building codes → Kentucky: no codes, no zoning → Kentucky: owner-builder → Kentucky: rv living → Kentucky: tiny homes → Kentucky: no minimum home size → Full Kentucky profile →
From the Kentucky guide
Kentucky has 52 counties without countywide zoning and 46 with zoning; we could not confirm zoning in the remaining 22 counties.31011 The highest-scoring no-zoning counties are Wayne County, Butler County, Green County, Lee County, Russell County, Livingston County, Metcalfe County, Monroe County.3
The Kentucky no-zoning list helps narrow the search, and the no-building-permit and no-zoning list identifies the 19 counties with both answers.312 Kentucky allows cities and counties to adopt zoning texts and maps through local planning units, so ask the planning commission which jurisdiction and district govern the parcel.4 Within a planning-unit jurisdiction, subdivision approval is a separate requirement before dividing land and recording the plat.18 Agricultural land is not a blanket housing exemption: Kentucky allows regulation of dwellings and floodplain structures even under its agricultural zoning protections.19
From the Kentucky guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
52 of 120 Kentucky counties · sorted by Index score
A zoning ordinance administered by Wayne County; the county page presents this under its residential planning-and-zoning information. Restrictions can be individual to deed; pro…
Wayne County — General Information ↗Countywide planning and zoning regulations in Lee County, including unincorporated areas. The cited statement also addresses regulations regarding placement, construction, and m…
psc.ky.gov ↗Zoning exists only within incorporated cities such as Russell Springs; no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated Russell County was located on official sources.
City of Russell Springs Planning & Zoning Commission ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed among Green County's departments and agencies.
Green County, KY - Departments & Agencies ↗No county planning or zoning ordinance or planning commission is referenced on Butler County's official site; the county appears among rural Kentucky counties that have not adop…
Butler County, KY Official Website ↗Monroe County's official departments/agencies list shows no planning and zoning office; Kentucky does not mandate county-wide zoning and this rural county appears to have none f…
Monroe County, KY – Departments and Agencies ↗Countywide zoning regulation by Metcalfe County, including unincorporated areas. The cited order states that Metcalfe County has not enacted zoning ordinances or setback require…
Kentucky State Board on Electric Generation and Transmission Siting, Case No. 2025-00064 Order ↗General county planning and zoning in unincorporated Livingston County. The Kentucky Public Service Commission order states that the Fiscal Court later enacted zoning ordinances…
Kentucky Public Service Commission Order, Case No. 2024-00050 ↗No county planning and zoning commission or county-wide zoning ordinance is published for Morgan County; only the incorporated City of West Liberty maintains a municipal zoning …
Morgan County, Kentucky - Fiscal Court ↗Zoning in Ohio County is administered only within the cities of Hartford and Beaver Dam by their Joint Planning Commission; unincorporated county land has no county-wide zoning.
Ohio County Cities Zoning (Hartford/Beaver Dam Joint Planning Commission) ↗Webster County lists no planning or zoning commission; zoning verification is directed to the municipality where a property lies, and unincorporated county land has no county-wi…
Webster County Fiscal Court ↗No county planning/zoning department exists; zoning regulation applies within the City of Lebanon rather than the unincorporated county.
Marion County, Kentucky (county government) ↗Countywide zoning regulation in Estill County, including unincorporated areas; municipal zoning is addressed separately. The Kentucky state planning map identifies Estill County…
Kentucky's Planning Units 2005 ↗Zoning is administered municipally (the City of Marion has a Planning Commission); no countywide zoning ordinance covers unincorporated Crittenden County.
City of Marion, KY - Planning Commission ↗Zoning is municipal only (City of Owingsville maintains its own zoning code); the DHBC building inspector is designated 'City of Owingsville Only,' with no evidence of countywid…
Kentucky DHBC – Bath County inspector sheet (building regulation limited to City of Owingsville) ↗Magoffin County's official government directory lists no planning-and-zoning office or building department, consistent with a rural Kentucky county without countywide zoning.
Magoffin County, KY official government directory ↗The official county government site lists no county planning or zoning department; consistent with the roughly two-thirds of Kentucky counties without countywide zoning, only th…
Powell County Local Government (official site, departments) ↗County zoning restrictions in Caldwell County. The county statement does not resolve municipal zoning or other state and health requirements.
FAQs - Caldwell County ↗Countywide planning and zoning in Breckinridge County. The county page states that incorporated cities have their own planning and zoning; municipal rules may apply within Clove…
Ordinances – Breckinridge County Government ↗The Cumberland County government departments directory lists no planning, zoning, codes, or building office, consistent with a rural county lacking countywide zoning.
Cumberland County, Kentucky - Departments & Agencies ↗The official Menifee County offices roster lists no planning, zoning, or code-enforcement office, consistent with a rural fiscal court that has not adopted countywide zoning und…
Menifee County official government site ↗The county's official Ordinances and Codes page lists only reapportionment, occupational-license, and business-license ordinances, with no countywide zoning ordinance (zoning ad…
Adair County - Ordinances and Codes ↗The county Planning Commission has adopted only Subdivision Regulations (2016); no countywide zoning ordinance is listed, with zoning administered by the incorporated cities.
Bracken County, KY - Planning Commission ↗The county's official Local Resources index lists no planning or zoning office, consistent with an unzoned rural Kentucky county.
Todd County Local Resources ↗The county provides a 'No zoning letter' and lists no planning or zoning office, indicating Rockcastle County has no countywide zoning.
Rockcastle County Fiscal Court - Elected Officials ↗No planning or zoning department/commission appears among the departments listed on the official county government site.
Martin County KY Departments & Agencies ↗Leslie County's official government office listing shows no planning/zoning office and no county zoning ordinance was found; rural Kentucky counties under KRS Chapter 100 genera…
Leslie County Government - Elected Officials ↗Countywide zoning authority and planning-and-zoning laws in Nicholas County, as described in the official Kentucky legislative record. The cited official record states the count…
Kentucky Interim Joint Committee report ↗The Pennyrile Area Development District toolbox lists zoning maps only for incorporated cities (Central City, Greenville, Powderly, Drakesboro); no county-wide zoning ordinance …
Pennyrile Area Development District - Muhlenberg Online Toolbox ↗Wolfe County Fiscal Court zoning authority in the unincorporated county, as described by the cited fiscal-court letter dated December 13, 2013. The source is a 2013 fiscal-court…
New Cingular Wireless Application, PSC Case 2014-00044 ↗Owsley County is not listed among Kentucky's planning-and-zoning jurisdictions and has no county planning commission or zoning ordinance in the statewide directory.
Kentucky Planning & Zoning Directory (KADIS) ↗County zoning and planning regulations in Breathitt County, Kentucky, including the unincorporated county area. The cited state Public Service Commission filing also states that…
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY — Clayhole Response to Steven Jones ↗Countywide zoning laws administered by Pulaski County. The county page states no county zoning laws; incorporated municipalities may have separate local rules. Septic, floodplai…
County Government – Pulaski County Government ↗There is no county-wide zoning in Trigg County; zoning exists only within the City of Cadiz, with some subdivision deed restrictions.
Cadiz-Trigg County Fact Sheet for Development ↗Countywide zoning regulations in Letcher County, including the county area addressed by the official environmental assessment. The official statement also covers the City of Jen…
Grand View Letcher County Environmental Assessment ↗Robertson County's official departments/agencies page lists no planning-and-zoning office or building department, consistent with Kentucky's least-populous county having no coun…
Robertson County, KY official departments & agencies page ↗Only the cities of Munfordville and Horse Cave have zoning regulations; unincorporated Hart County is governed only by subdivision regulations, with no countywide zoning ordinance.
Hart County - Building Information ↗No planning and zoning office or commission appears among the county's listed offices, and Kentucky does not require counties to adopt zoning; no evidence of an adopted Carlisle…
Carlisle County, KY - County Contacts (official county site) ↗County zoning in unincorporated Washington County, Kentucky. This finding concerns a county zoning ordinance only. The county comprehensive plan states that Washington County ha…
Washington County Comprehensive Plan ↗No planning or zoning commission/department is listed among county departments on the official county government site.
Ballard County KY Government Departments ↗Countywide zoning regulations in Knott County.
dlg.ky.gov ↗County zoning regulation in the unincorporated area of Graves County. The source addresses the unincorporated area only; incorporated municipalities may administer their own zon…
Motion for Deviation from Setback Requirements, Case No. 2025-00395 ↗The county's official development page lists property as 'Zoning- Not Zoned,' indicating McCreary County has no zoning ordinance.
McCreary County - Development ↗Countywide zoning in Rowan County. The official county page states that Rowan County has no zoning. The source distinguishes the city limits from the county; municipal zoning ma…
Kentucky's Medical Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Explained ↗Countywide planning and zoning in Montgomery County, excluding the specifically described Mount Sterling subdivision-regulation area. The county source states that subdivisions …
Montgomery County Fiscal Court FAQ ↗County zoning regulations in unincorporated Marshall County. The cities of Benton and Calvert City have zoning requirements. A zoning permit or letter of compliance must be obta…
Zoning Compliance ↗The unincorporated Pike County project location addressed by the official Kentucky Public Service Commission filing. The cited statement concerns the project location in unincor…
Pike County Solar Project Site Assessment Report, Tab 12 ↗County zoning in the unincorporated areas of Christian County, Kentucky. The Kentucky Public Service Commission brief reports that Christian County asserted there were no planni…
Dogwood Corners Post-Hearing Brief ↗County planning and zoning ordinance in unincorporated Owen County. This addresses the county ordinance only; municipal, state, and other applicable rules may still apply.
Contact Us - Owen County Clerk's Office ↗County zoning in unincorporated Perry County, Kentucky. The source states that the project area is unincorporated Perry County. The City of Hazard has an official zoning code, w…
Bright Mountain Solar Project — Socioeconomic Report ↗The county's official ordinance index lists building code, manufactured home, and other regulations but no zoning ordinance or planning/zoning commission.
Garrard County Ordinances ↗Zoning administration in Carroll County exists only at the City of Carrollton level (Carrollton Planning & Zoning Commission); no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated …
Carrollton, KY - Planning & Zoning Commission ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Kentucky state page for all 120 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Kentucky counties? The kit we'd start with:
These are affiliate links — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Bolthole Index earns from qualifying purchases.
General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
