Knoxville, TN Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 6-1 requires every survey plot plan submitted under Chapter 6 to show existing and proposed drainage, utility easements, utility connections, building setbacks, and parking areas including ingress and egress, while structural plans must show all details the building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and gas codes require. Section 6-2 then sets the sign-off gate: no building permit may issue until approval signatures are obtained from the wastewater control system, the traffic engineer's office, the city engineer's office, the fire prevention bureau, Knoxville-Knox County Planning, and the inspections bureau.

That section was rewritten by Ordinance O-125-2024 on October 29, 2024. Former Section 6-3, which listed exceptions to the permit requirement, was repealed outright by Ordinance O-107-2022 in 2022, so no locally codified exemption from the permit process currently exists in that slot. Section 6-4 directs every fee collected under the chapter to the plans review and building inspections department, with any surplus after operating costs eligible for transfer to the general fund. The substantive permit standards flow from Section 6-31, which adopts the International Building Code, 2024 edition, with Appendix D, as amended locally, as the city's building code.

Section 6-5 additionally layers a Fire District overlay onto DK downtown Knoxville, SW south waterfront, and CU Cumberland Avenue zoning districts, though it exempts residential structures covered by the city's separate residential building code article.