For a Louisville Metro building permit, start with the Accela Building search when you know the address, parcel or record number. The Construction Review Dashboard is another way to locate activity, but a missing map marker is not a complete search result. Open the underlying permit before drawing conclusions about a property.
Use the dashboard to locate a record, not certify a history
Metro’s dashboard instructions say to choose a date range, use the map’s magnifying glass for an address or record, and follow a blue link into Accela. The views separate issued permits, applications still in review, and scheduled or completed inspections. Data updates nightly; the map may display a sample of 10,000 records or inspections when filters change or the count exceeds that limit.
A date selection for issued permits will miss applications still under review. Follow each permit’s inspection history before judging completion.
Choose Building and enter one useful identifier
The published Accela search interface separates building records from licensing and planning.
- In the Building module, look for the record-number field if you have a permit number. Otherwise, use the address fields or parcel number.
- Street number, street name, direction, street type and unit have separate controls; avoid pasting a full address into a street-name field. Check the start and end dates before treating an older project as absent.
- Once you have an entry, match the work description and location, not merely the owner’s name. Preserve the exact identifier so staff can retrieve the same record. Metro’s Accela guidance says public searches do not require an account and identifies attachments under record details as a place to find permit documents.
An attachment is evidence of that document, not automatic proof of final approval. Use our final-inspection guide when the question is whether work reached its required completion stage.
If a seller gives you a permit number but the address has no visible map marker, keep the number as your lead. A map gap and an unmatched identifier are different problems. Try the exact number in Building before broadening the map search. If the record opens, compare its scope with the work you are investigating, then identify the document still needed. If the number belongs to a different location, ask staff to resolve that mismatch before relying on it.
Sample request wording for this situation is: “The dashboard did not display the location under [dates], but I have permit [number] and need [document].” This is a conditional example, not a completed lookup. It distinguishes the missing map entry from the underlying file and avoids treating either a map marker or an issued permit as proof of completion.
Confirm the custodian before requesting an older file
Metro’s building-permit guidance describes coordination with suburban cities and notes that some issue their own sign permits. Ask Construction Review at 502-574-3321 to confirm the responsible office when the property or permit type makes authority uncertain. Do not assume every municipal approval is a Metro building permit.
Metro’s Accela page sets the key boundary: Accela went live on June 19, 2019, and anything submitted in the earlier system before that date does not show in Accela. The permit-search page adds that its public data covers only the past few years and points older questions to Construction Review. So for a permit from before mid-2019, an empty Accela search is expected and calls for a file request, not an unpermitted-work finding. Our older-permit lookup guide explains how an approximate project date can help narrow that request.
One more lead for older work: the Louisville Metro open-data hub publishes an All Permits (Historical) dataset described as all permits issued by Construction Review. Its catalog entry was last modified in June 2022 and states no start year. Use it to find a permit number and date for an address, then ask for the file; do not read it as current status.
Use Metro’s open-records route for existing documents. Name the address, parcel, permit numbers and approximate dates, then specify the missing permit, plans, inspection history or occupancy document. Metro says to expect a response within five business days. Requests go through its NextRequest portal or by mail to Open Records, 745 W. Main St., Louisville, KY 40202; the office lists 502-574-8773. A response to a request and production of every requested document are separate events.
Lexington-Fayette uses its own Accela portal and an AgencyCounter map; see Lexington permit records from AgencyCounter to the document.
Louisville Metro Accela, Construction Review and Open Records pages checked October 20, 2026.