Shelby County, TN Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing offices
- Building official, electrical & plumbing inspectors
- Geographic reach
- Unincorporated Shelby County only
- Maximum fine
- $50.00 per offense
- Fee ordinance
- Joint fee schedule, Ord. No. 243, § 6-219/6-220
- City inspector option
- Cities can serve as ex officio county inspectors
Summary
Unincorporated Shelby County enforces its building regulations through county-created offices of building official, electrical inspector and plumbing inspector, and the county can contract with Memphis, Bartlett, Collierville or other city inspectors to serve as ex officio county inspectors. Permit and inspection fees run through the Joint Memphis and Shelby County Construction Codes Permit and Inspection Fee Ordinance.
For the purpose of enforcement of regulations under this article, the county is hereby empowered to create the offices of building officials, electrical inspector and plumbing inspector; to provide for the employment of such inspectors, and to fix their duties and compensation, and to contract with incorporated cities and towns for the services of such city inspectors having special skill in the inspection of buildings, electrical, plumbing and waterworks under such conditions as may be agreed upon between the public officials of the county and such cities, to the end that city inspectors may be made ex officio or otherwise county inspectors.
Full Breakdown
Shelby County Code § 6-2 authorizes the county to create the offices of building official, electrical inspector and plumbing inspector to enforce the county's building regulations, and lets the county employ those inspectors and fix their pay. The same section lets the county contract with incorporated cities and towns, such as Memphis, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Millington, Arlington or Lakeland, for the services of city inspectors who hold special skill in building, electrical, plumbing or waterworks inspection, so a city inspector can become an ex officio county inspector under terms the county and the city agree on.
Sec. 6-3 caps that reach: every regulation adopted under this article affects only the unincorporated areas of the county and cannot override any city's own lawfully enacted building rules inside its corporate limits. On the fee side, Article VII (Secs. 6-219, 6-220) establishes the Joint Memphis and Shelby County Construction Codes Permit and Inspection Fee Ordinance and incorporates by reference the fee schedule attached to Joint Ordinance No. 243, covering the permit and inspection charges builders pay for construction-code work. The county board of commissioners is separately empowered under Sec.
6-4 to appropriate money to fund the inspectors and other officers who enforce this chapter. Sec. 6-6 lets the county attorney, the county inspector, or any county officer or board go to court for an injunction, mandamus, or abatement order against unlawful construction, in addition to the fines the chapter allows.
Violations & Fines
Violating any provision of Chapter 6 or a regulation adopted under it carries a fine of not more than $50.00 for each offense under Sec. 6-5. Beyond the fine, Sec. 6-6 authorizes the county attorney, the county building inspector, or any other county officer or board to seek an injunction, mandamus, abatement, or other court action to stop, correct, or remove unlawful construction, alteration, or use of a building or structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who inspects new construction in unincorporated Shelby County?
Do these county inspectors cover Memphis or Bartlett?
What is the penalty for violating a county building regulation?
Where are permit and inspection fees set?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Shelby County
Compare Shelby County to another location·View the Tennessee building safety overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.