McCracken County, KY Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

The McCracken County Fiscal Court's zoning code (Title XV, Ch. 150) treats short-term guest lodging as a 'bed and breakfast inn,' which its definitions section folds into the broader TOURIST HOME category: a building in which more than one but not more than five guest rooms provide overnight accommodations for transient guests for compensation. Under § 150.051(A)(5), bed and breakfast inns are a permitted use by right in the Agricultural (AG) District, and § 150.052(A)(3) lists them as a permitted use in the Rural Residential (RR) District, subject to the district's minimum yard requirements.

In the Urbanizing Residential (UR) District, however, § 150.053(B)(1) downgrades a bed and breakfast inn to a conditional use, meaning the operator must apply to the Board of Zoning Adjustment under § 150.034 before opening. Regardless of district, § 150.070 bars erecting, moving, adding to, or structurally altering any building without a building permit, and no permit may issue except in conformity with the zoning regulations. A site plan meeting § 150.071 must be approved by the Planning and Zoning Administrator, County Engineer and Floodplain Manager before the Building Inspector issues that permit, and § 150.072 requires a certificate of occupancy before the use begins, which will not be issued unless the property complies with all the zoning provisions. This regime governs only unincorporated county land; Paducah, the county seat, enforces its own separate city code for short-term lodging.