Chattanooga, TN Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Chattanooga City Code Sec. 27-1 adopts the 2018 edition of the International Plumbing Code, as locally amended, as the city's official Plumbing Code, with a copy on file in the Office of the City Council Clerk. Sec. 27-3 rewrites several sections of that model code for local practice. Amended Section 106.1 requires that any properly licensed contractor who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a structure, or to install, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace a regulated plumbing system, first apply to the code official and obtain the required permit before the work is performed. Amended Section 106.5.3 voids a permit if authorized work has not started within 180 days of issuance, or if work is suspended or abandoned for 180 days after starting; a new permit is required before work can resume. Section 106.5.4 lets a permittee apply for one extension of up to 180 days for good and satisfactory reasons; no permit may be extended more than once.

The amended fee schedule in Section 106.6.2 charges $40.00 to issue each permit, plus itemized charges: $6.00 per plumbing fixture, floor drain or trap; $5.00 per roof drain; $20.00 per building sewer, and $20.00 for a replaced or repaired building sewer; $6.00 per water heater and/or vent; $10.00 for water piping or treating equipment work; $10.00 for drainage or vent piping repair; $6.00 per pressure-reducing device or check valve assembly (one to five); $10.00 per vacuum breaker or backflow device; $35.00 per underground and $10.00 per above-ground grease, sand or oil interceptor; $70.00 per sanitary sewer connection; $800.00 per lateral sewer connection; $100.00 per manhole; and $50.00 per re-inspection. Fees are non-refundable unless the Director of Public Works determines review was incomplete due to inaccurate lateral-sewer location information, in which case a proportional refund is at the Director's sole discretion. Appeals from the Building Official's decisions and requests for variances go to the Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals under amended Section 109.1, established at City Code Part II, Sec. 2-625.