Chattanooga, TN

Chattanooga requires every public and private swimming pool to be enclosed by a wall or fence at least 4 feet high, with openings no larger than 2 inches, before the pool can pass its…

Chattanooga requires a building permit from the city building official before any public or private swimming pool installation, alteration, or repair work begins. City Code § 33-1 ties…

Chattanooga's noise ordinance makes a barking dog a punishable nuisance once it hits a measurable threshold: ten or more barks a minute for five straight minutes, audible from 100 feet…

Chattanooga requires a working muffler on every street-driven vehicle and caps vehicle noise at 90 decibels, with engine brakes needing an approved muffler.

Chattanooga caps sound amplification equipment at 55 dB(A) from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 50 dB(A) overnight, measured at the nearest residential property line, hospital, school, or nursing…

In Chattanooga residential zones, lawnmowers and leaf blowers are barred 8:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. unless adjoining neighbors consent.

Chattanooga City Code § 25-68(a)(8) confines construction noise, building erection, demolition, alteration or repair, and street excavation, in residential areas to 7:00 a.m. to 8:00…

Chattanooga City Code § 25-79(a)(2) bars playing amplified music loud enough to disturb neighbors in residential zones between 8:30 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. The rule exempts city-permitted…

Chattanooga caps amplified advertising sound at 60 dB(A) measured at the nearest public right-of-way or park boundary, targeting loudspeakers and PA systems businesses use to draw in…

Chattanooga splits short-term vacation rentals into two occupancy classes under Sec. 38-85: a homestay, defined as the applicant's primary residence for at least 183 days a year, and…

Chattanooga requires short-term vacation rental occupants to follow all City noise restrictions, expressly incorporating City Code Section 25-69 into the STR certificate conditions.

Chattanooga caps how many bedrooms and how many people a short-term vacation rental can hold. Sec. 38-88(e) limits a unit to five bedrooms for rent, dropping to five sleeping rooms…

Non-owner-occupied 'absentee' short-term rentals are confined to Chattanooga's mixed-use and commercial zones that allow hotels, or to large parcels of 20+ acres under common…

Chattanooga's short-term vacation rental code requires adequate on-site parking sized to guest count and bars parking on any vegetated part of the lot.

Homestay short-term rental applicants must actually live on the property and prove it annually, with a driver's license, business records, or similar proof, to keep their Chattanooga…

Chattanooga charges a nonrefundable short-term vacation rental application fee under Sec. 38-89(b): $500 to initially apply or renew an absentee rental, $250 for a homestay. Sec…

Chattanooga revokes a short-term vacation rental certificate after three documented Code or state-law violations tied to the rental's operation, barring reapplication for one year.

No one may operate a short-term vacation rental in Chattanooga without first obtaining a certificate from the Development Review and Permitting Division, posted visibly inside the unit.

Chattanooga exempts small cooking, ceremonial, and recreational fires, including backyard fire pits, from its open-burning permit requirement, but caps them at 3 feet in diameter and 2…

Chattanooga's property maintenance code mandates smoke alarms outside sleeping areas, in every bedroom and on every story of a dwelling, hardwired with battery backup and…

Chattanooga City Code § 25-79(a)(10) makes it unlawful to set off fireworks after 11:30 p.m. in residential zones outside the Downtown Amplified Music District. The curfew relaxes on…

Chattanooga bans open burning citywide except under a paid Rule 6.3 permit, a narrow Rule 6.4 exemption, or Rule 6.5 written approval: enforced jointly by the Chattanooga-Hamilton…

Tennessee makes the 2008 NFPA 58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code its statewide minimum standard for propane storage and handling, enforced by the State Fire Marshal's Division of Fire…

Tennessee Division of Forestry has statewide authority over wildfire prevention, declares hazard seasons, and may issue burn bans during drought conditions affecting all residents.

Chattanooga caps fences, hedges, and other obstructions at 3 feet for 25 feet back from the curb at every street intersection, and lets the Transportation Department extend that…

Chattanooga's zoning code permits fences and walls right up to the lot line and defers height, materials, and construction limits to the City's adopted Building Code instead of a…

In Chattanooga's Downtown Form-Based Code zones, fences must be wrought iron, composite, or aluminum, wood only away from primary 'A' streets, and chain-link, barbed wire and junk…

Chattanooga sets no blanket retaining-wall height cap in its zoning code, but walls tied to fill and slope work near residential zones must sit at least one foot off the property line…

Tennessee's partition fence statute requires adjoining landowners using land for crops or livestock to share fence costs equally. The law applies statewide and cannot be overridden by…

Chattanooga bans letting any dog, cat, or other animal run loose and unrestrained; animals caught at large more than once a year can't be reclaimed until microchipped and spayed or…

Chattanooga requires every dog or cat adopted from the Animal Center or a shelter to be spayed or neutered first, and repeat at-large animals must be fixed before they can be reclaimed.

Chattanooga requires a free Animal Rescuer Permit for any nonprofit that takes in more than ten animals a year, including wildlife, to place in permanent homes, with one permit needed…

Chattanooga exempts Community Cats and Feral Cats from its at-large law, while owned cats must stay under control or face impoundment and mandatory spay/neuter.

Chattanooga's zoning code confines backyard beehives to rear yards, set back 25 feet from every lot line, and requires a flyway barrier plus state apiary registration.

Chattanooga zones veterinary clinics and pet boarding as Animal Care Facilities, requiring overnight boarding indoors and any outdoor exercise yards fenced, covered, and placed to the…

Chattanooga designates the entire city a wild bird sanctuary, making it unlawful to trap, hunt, shoot at, or otherwise molest any wild bird or rob a bird's nest, with an exception for…

Chattanooga bans keeping exotic animals inside city limits outright. City Code § 7-115 makes it unlawful to have, keep or permit any exotic animal on your premises, and § 7-2 defines…

Chattanooga's animal code defines an 'animal hoarder' as anyone keeping a large number of animals in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, and treats that conduct as unlawful neglect…

Chattanooga requires every dog and cat sold for profit in the city to be microchipped before the sale, with the seller registering the chip with the national registry within 48 hours.

Chattanooga lets residential lots keep up to eight female laying hens in a fenced rear-yard enclosure, bans roosters outside agricultural zones, and requires a predator-proof henhouse…

Chattanooga's dangerous-dog law is breed-neutral by design: the City Code bars any Potentially Dangerous, Dangerous, or similar dog designation from being recognized if it rests solely…

Chattanooga requires property owners to prune trees overhanging streets and sidewalks to a minimum clearance -- eight feet over sidewalks, twelve feet over most streets, fourteen feet…

A separate, older Chattanooga nuisance provision also caps weeds at 10 inches: growth over that height, or that breeds mosquitoes or smells foul, is a declared nuisance.

Chattanooga can order a private property owner to remove dead or diseased trees that endanger life, property, or nearby trees, giving the owner fourteen days to comply before the City…

Chattanooga generally requires grass and weeds kept under 10 inches, but Sec. 21-136(d) exempts City approved RainSmart Yards and projects approved through the RainSmart Rewards…

Chattanooga treats an abandoned or discarded vehicle left on any lot in the city, occupied or vacant, public or private, as a public nuisance, with narrow exceptions for enclosed…

Chattanooga's zoning code defines three EV charging infrastructure tiers and rewards installing them with extra credit toward a site's minimum required parking spaces.

Chattanooga limits large commercial vehicles, semis, box trucks, buses, tow trucks, and heavy equipment, to rear-yard-only overnight parking on residential lots; standard vans, SUVs…

Chattanooga fixes the price of a non-consent tow in its own ordinance instead of leaving it to the wrecker company. Sec. 35-171(e) caps the tow of a two-axle vehicle under 7,000 pounds…

Chattanooga's Transportation Department can designate residential streets as restricted on-street parking areas, limiting daytime parking to vehicles with a $25 annual permit. A…

Chattanooga's city traffic engineer designates passenger and freight curb loading zones and posts the hours they apply. Drivers may stop only to actually load or unload, capped at 3…

Chattanooga bans stopping or parking on sidewalks, in front of driveways, within an intersection, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, or within 20 feet of a crosswalk.

Chattanooga requires parking lots and driveways to be paved with all-weather material, but allows gravel if a 20-foot paved apron and permanent space markers are installed.

Chattanooga allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-unit detached lot, capped at 800 square feet, with detached ADUs limited to the rear or interior side yard and a maximum…

Detached carports in Chattanooga must sit at least five feet off every lot line, stay out of the required front or corner side setback, and cap out at 24 feet wide, 22 feet long, and…

Hamilton County requires the property owner to live on site before adding an accessory dwelling unit. Section 304 of Resolution No. 924-23 ties ADU ownership to the principal home and…

Hamilton County flatly prohibits renting an accessory dwelling unit as a short-term vacation rental. Section 305 of Resolution No. 924-23 bars both detached and attached ADUs from STVR…

Hamilton County lets homeowners legally convert an existing garage into an accessory dwelling unit under Resolution No. 924-23. Section 308 defines both attached and detached ADUs to…

A Chattanooga home occupation gets exactly one sign. Sec. 38-43(e)(10) limits it to one non-illuminated, affixed wall sign no more than 1.5 square feet in area, far smaller than the…

Chattanooga's Home Occupation standards cap the customer and delivery traffic a home business can generate. Sec. 38-43(e)(9) bars a home occupation from creating greater vehicular or…

Chattanooga permits home occupations by right in any dwelling as long as the business stays incidental to residential use, employs no more than two non-resident workers on-site, and…

Chattanooga's zoning code lets a Day Care Home for up to eight children or adults operate by right in every residential zone from RN-1-7.5 through TRN-3, while a home serving nine or…

Tennessee runs one of the loosest cottage food regimes in the country. The Tennessee Food Freedom Act, T.C.A. § 53-1-118, exempts homemade food items from state licensing, permitting…

Tennessee does not issue a microenterprise home kitchen permit because it does not require one. Under the Tennessee Food Freedom Act, T.C.A. § 53-1-118, producing and selling homemade…

Chattanooga City Code § 26-13 requires a permit from the Administrator of Public Works for any organized park gathering of more than fifteen people, from weddings to rallies to races…

Any march, parade, athletic event, block party, festival or motorcade that restricts traffic flow on a Chattanooga street needs a special events permit from the Transportation…

Chattanooga requires an organizer to get a Transportation Department special events permit before any block party that restricts street traffic, applying at least 30 days ahead and…

Chattanooga requires a temporary use permit for festivals, carnivals, flea markets, and similar sales events on private property, with duration and yearly renewal set case-by-case…

A "parklet café" is a restaurant or bar's expansion onto the public street right-of-way beside its premises, built for outdoor dining or drinking, and it requires a temporary use…

Chattanooga bars anyone from remaining in a city park after 10:30 p.m. under City Code Sec. 26-19. The only exception is a scheduled, supervised, lighted athletic or social event…

Chattanooga enforces a nightly curfew for minors: those 16 and under must be off the streets by 10 p.m. on weeknights and 11 p.m. on weekends, with 17- and 18-year-olds getting an…

Chattanooga's on-premise Sign Code exempts holiday decorations from its Article XIX character-area sign rules: displays with lighting that are clearly incidental to, and customarily…

Chattanooga's off-premise sign code caps digital billboards to static images with automatic dimming: daytime brightness at 90% max and nighttime cut to 30%, with every LED permit…

Chattanooga regulates off-premise signs facing interstates and other controlled-access highways within a 660-foot-wide sign control district, capping their setback, height, size, and…

Chattanooga limits garage sale yard signs to 32 square feet, displayed no more than 15 days before and 30 days after the sale.

Window and door signs in Chattanooga can cover no more than 25% of the glass or door area they're mounted on, per Chattanooga City Code §§ 3-185, 3-185.1. The sign can't rise above the…

Chattanooga exempts political yard signs from its temporary sign permit, but requires them removed within 15 days after the election they refer to.

Chattanooga City Code § 25-39 bans aggressive panhandling everywhere in the city: confronting, touching, blocking or using abusive language to solicit money. Passive panhandling stays…

Chattanooga pedestrians crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk must yield to all vehicles, and cannot cross mid-block anywhere in a business district.

Smoking and vaping are banned outright in Miller Park, Chattanooga's downtown civic park, alongside skateboarding, alcohol, and open fires: there's no carved-out smoking area.

Chattanooga City Code § 25-28 bans skateboards and aggressive skates on public streets and sidewalks inside a mapped downtown zone that runs from the Tennessee River along the Southern…

Chattanooga makes it a $50 nuisance violation for 30 or more people to gather outside on commercial property within 200 feet of a residence between midnight and 5 a.m. without an owner…

Chattanooga bans drinking alcohol or beer, or holding an open container of either, on public streets, sidewalks, parks, school grounds, public parking lots and in teen social clubs…

Chattanooga City Code § 25-68(a)(10) declares loud, excessive noise from loading or unloading a vehicle, or from opening bales, boxes, crates and containers, an unlawful noise…

Chattanooga bars and nightclubs holding a Downtown Amplified Music District Permit follow a decibel table allowing up to 80 dB(A) through late evening, tightening to 55-65 dB(A)…

Chattanooga bans car stereos audible 50 feet or more from the vehicle, and the code explicitly says that standard includes bass reverberation even when the words aren't distinguishable.

Downtown Chattanooga development follows a separate Form-Based Code, not the standard zoning chapter. Sec. 38-692 states its purpose is to guide development within eight named Downtown…

Chattanooga's chief building inspector must be notified after a cited defect is fixed. The first re-inspection is free, but every additional one after continued noncompliance costs $50.

Chattanooga requires every rental unit's entry doors to have a deadbolt with a one-inch throw, operable without a key from inside: sliding bolts don't qualify.

Chattanooga adopts the 2018 International Plumbing Code with local amendments under City Code Sec. 27-1 and Sec. 27-3. A licensed contractor must obtain a permit before plumbing work…

When Chattanooga's public health director or housing inspector finds a lead hazard on rental premises, the owner or occupant gets a 10-day notice to remove or cover the lead paint…

Chattanooga lets existing buildings be altered or repaired without a full code upgrade, but if repairs exceed 30% of the building's replacement value in any 12 months, the whole…

Chattanooga deleted the IRC's mandatory sprinkler sections for townhouses and one- and two-family homes, and also exempts smaller three- and four-family buildings that meet a…

Chattanooga has adopted the 2023 National Electrical Code and requires a permit from the chief electrical inspector before any wiring work begins.

Chattanooga requires elevators, escalators and dumbwaiters to be maintained to ASME A17.1, with a current inspection certificate posted, and at least one passenger elevator kept…

Dumping rubbish, trash, or waste on Chattanooga vacant lots, streets, alleys, or in any stream or body of water is a misdemeanor citywide, punishable by a $10-$50 fine per Sec. 18-6…

Chattanooga collects recyclables biweekly in City-issued lidded bins, limited to clean aluminum, cardboard, paper, plastics numbered 1-7, tin cans, and food packaging: no glass or yard…

Chattanooga sets exact placement rules for curbside cans, within 5 feet of a driveway or street for manual pickup, within 2 feet of the curb for mechanical carts, and bars putting…

Chattanooga picks up residential garbage weekly and recycling every other week, with both required at the curb by 7 a.m. on collection day under Sec. 18-48.

Chattanooga City Code § 18-46 limits residential curbside pickup to non-hazardous, on-site garbage in approved containers. Waste not generated on the premises, hazardous materials, and…

Chattanooga residents must call the city to schedule bulky-item pickup, furniture and appliances over 50 pounds or 30 gallons, and can't set items at the curb more than 24 hours before…

Chattanooga picks up residential yard trash only by scheduled request, capped at twelve pickups a year per property, with pieces limited to 8 feet long and 18 inches thick.

New or expanding commercial, office, and multi-family developments in unincorporated Hamilton County must screen every dumpster on all four sides with a fence, wall, or plantings at…

Chattanooga requires every mobile food unit operator to get a Mobile Food Unit Permit from the city treasurer, valid one year, before selling food from a truck or trailer in the city.

Chattanooga allows individual food trucks on private property only as a temporary use under a city permit, while standalone food truck parks are a separate, more limited principal…

Chattanooga bans mobile food units from city streets, sidewalks, and public property unless they operate inside a designated Mobile Food Unit Zone approved by the city transportation…

Chattanooga requires off-premise billboard lighting to use shielded, directional luminaries capped at two watts per square foot so glare doesn't spill onto neighboring properties.

Chattanooga's Exterior Lighting Controls cap outdoor light spilling onto neighboring lots. Sec. 38-47(b) sets a maximum of one footcandle at any lot line, requires every luminaire to…

Security lighting in Chattanooga must meet the one-footcandle, full-cutoff standard unless it runs on a motion vacancy sensor that shuts off within 15 minutes.

Chattanooga makes it unlawful to rent or offer for rent any structure the Code Official has declared unsafe or condemned. City Code § 21-83 requires a certificate of occupancy before…

In URLTA counties, Tenn. Code 66-28-505 gives a tenant 14 days to cure nonpayment of rent or another remediable breach before the lease terminates. Dangerous or violent conduct allows…

In URLTA counties, a Tennessee landlord must give at least 24 hours' notice before entering to show the unit to prospective tenants in the last 30 days of tenancy, may enter without…

In URLTA counties, Tenn. Code 66-28-201(d) caps any late fee at 10% of the rent past due and requires a five-day grace period before a fee may be charged. If the grace period ends on a…

In URLTA counties, Tenn. Code 66-28-512 lets either party end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days' written notice before the periodic rental date, and a week-to-week tenancy…

Tennessee has no statewide rent control and no cap on rent increases. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-35-102, no local government may enact, maintain, or enforce an ordinance controlling…

Tennessee's Short-Term Rental Unit Act limits how local governments can regulate vacation rentals and grandfathers properties operating before local bans took effect.

Tennessee sets no statutory cap on security deposits. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301, landlords in counties over 75,000 must hold deposits in a separate account, let the tenant…

Tennessee adverse possession requires 7 years of possession when the claimant holds recorded color of title (Tenn. Code 28-2-101 to -102), or 20 years of open, continuous, hostile…

Chattanooga requires junkyards and junk shops to get a certificate of occupancy approved by city council vote, and makes secondhand and junk dealers keep a purchase register and report…

Chattanooga requires a city license, with background checks, fingerprints, and a criminal-history bar, to operate an adult-oriented establishment, and zoning keeps them at least 500…

Chattanooga bars anyone from establishing, maintaining or operating a massage parlor without a permit from the city treasurer, and requires every massage technician to hold both a…

Chattanooga pawnbrokers must hold a valid Tennessee pawnbroker license displayed for police inspection, log every pawn transaction with the pledgor's ID, and keep set hours: no pawn…

Chattanooga caps non-consent tows from private property at $125 for vehicles under 7,000 pounds, requires signed property-owner authorization before towing, and makes wrecker operators…

Tennessee regulates vapor product retailers under T.C.A. 39-17-1504 and related statutes, requiring age verification, restricting youth access, and prohibiting sales to those under 21.

Chattanooga regulates two overlapping flood districts under Zoning Code Sec. 38-38 and Sec. 38-39: the F/W Floodway Zone, where no fill, structure, development, encroachment or…

New development and redevelopment in Chattanooga must manage the first inch of every rainstorm on-site with no discharge to surface waters, under the City's stormwater ordinance.

Any grading, excavating, or filling in Chattanooga needs a City land disturbing permit before work starts, kept on-site for inspection, with fees starting at $250 per acre.

Chattanooga requires new homes and manufactured homes in mapped flood zones to elevate the lowest floor at least two feet above base flood elevation if built of wood, or one foot if…

A boat dock, marina or similar organized waterfront recreation facility in unincorporated Hamilton County needs a special permit under Article VI, Section 422 of the Zoning…

Chattanooga's landscape article bans invasive exotic plants from every required landscape plan. Sec. 38-63(a)(2) prohibits any species on the Tennessee Invasive Plant Council's current…

Chattanooga's Sec. 24-273 authorizes traffic-control photographic systems for red-light and speed violations, issuing a $50 civil penalty by mail that isn't recorded as a moving…

Chattanooga has banned dockless electric scooters and bicycles citywide under an indefinite moratorium: providing, parking, or riding one anywhere in city limits is unlawful.

Tennessee rebuilt this area in 2025. Public Chapter 255 repealed Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-191, the old low speed and medium speed vehicle section, effective April 24, 2025, and folded…

Property owners along a Chattanooga sidewalk must keep it clean and unobstructed, and must build or repair it once the City issues a notice requiring it.

Signs, posts, or awnings over a Chattanooga sidewalk need a Transportation Department permit first, and placement on the curb or sidewalk pavement is barred outright.

Chattanooga City Code § 32-32 bars anyone from blocking a street or sidewalk with boxes, barrels, machinery or farm implements. The only carve-out is for goods actively being received…

Chattanooga caps grass, weeds, and underbrush at 10 inches on all premises and exterior property, vacant and unimproved lots included, and can send a crew to cut overgrowth and bill…

Chattanooga's Code Official condemns any building matching the 23-part "unsafe structure" definition in City Code Chapter 21, from collapse risk to a missing kitchen sink. Condemnation…

In Chattanooga's RN-1-7.5 Residential Neighborhood Zone, Table 38-16.5 sets a 25-foot front and rear setback, a 25-foot corner side setback, and just 5 feet on an interior side yard…

Chattanooga's Table 38-16.3 caps residential building height at 35 feet across its RN-1 through RN-3 zones, with a step-down rule near single-family districts limiting even taller…

Chattanooga's Table 38-16.1 dimensional standards cap how much of a residential lot a building can cover: 60 percent for residential development in every RN and TRN zone, dropping to…

Chattanooga makes it unlawful to block a sidewalk, street, or other public passageway so that passage becomes unreasonably inconvenient or dangerous: the city's functional stand-in for…

Chattanooga's zoning code lets solar panels mount on any roof or wall, or stand freestanding in the rear yard only, under set height, setback, and anti-glare limits.

Tennessee has no solar-access law overriding HOA covenants, so a homeowners association may restrict or prohibit rooftop solar panels. The Solar Access Law of 1979 (T.C.A. § 66-9-201…

Chattanooga's property maintenance code requires every structure to be kept free of insects and rodents, with the owner on the hook for extermination before renting a unit and…

Every food service employee in Chattanooga must hold a health certificate from the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department showing freedom from tuberculosis and other…

To get a sewer-bill credit for water lost to a leak, Chattanooga requires the leak to be reported to the water company and fixed by the owner or occupant.

Chattanooga levies an annual privilege tax on businesses that sell alcohol for on-premises consumption, tiered by business type from $300 private clubs to $2,000+ limited-service…

Chattanooga requires anyone peddling goods door-to-door or temporarily in the city, a 'transient merchant', to buy a $20-per-day license from the city treasurer before making a single…

A posted 'NO PEDDLERS OR AGENTS,' 'NO TRESPASSING,' or 'NO ADVERTISEMENT' sign, or a resident's verbal request, bars handbill distribution and solicitation at that Chattanooga address.

Chattanooga bars planting new street trees within ten feet of fire hydrants and other fire equipment, or within ten feet of overhead electrical and telephone wires, unless the City…

Chattanooga's A-1 Urban Agricultural Zone (Sec. 38-28) sets aside land for farming inside city limits, requiring 5-acre lots and exempting active agricultural structures from the…

Hamilton County government does not enforce homeowners association covenants or deed restrictions. County zoning resolutions expressly state HOA rules and deed restrictions stand…

Tennessee has no general homeowners' association assessment statute, so a subdivision HOA's dues, budget, and late fees come from its recorded declaration rather than from state law…

A Tennessee condominium association must hold at least one meeting of the members every year, and notice of any meeting must go out not less than 10 and not more than 60 days in…

Since July 1, 2026 a Tennessee homeowners' association may not prohibit a property owner from installing an electric vehicle charging station for personal use on the owner's own…

Tennessee law voids any homeowners' association covenant or rule that prohibits, or has the effect of prohibiting, a property owner from flying the flag of the United States or an…

Tennessee sets no dollar cap on association fines. The only fining statute in the state is T.C.A. § 66-27-402(a)(11) in the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008, which lets a unit owners'…

A Tennessee condominium association has an automatic lien on a unit from the moment an assessment or a fine falls due, and T.C.A. § 66-27-415(a)(1) lets it foreclose that lien by…

Tennessee does not cap rentals, set a minimum lease term or fix a vote threshold for adopting a leasing amendment. What it does instead is grandfather you: under T.C.A. § 66-27-703 an…

Because Tennessee prohibits marijuana sale and distribution, no recreational or full medical dispensaries may legally operate, and municipalities cannot authorize dispensary land uses…

Tennessee prohibits all marijuana cultivation, possession, and personal use under Tenn. Code Title 39 Chapter 17, leaving no authority for municipalities to legalize home growing.

Tennessee prohibits local governments from setting minimum wages above the federal floor under T.C.A. 50-2-112, reserving wage authority exclusively to the state.

Tennessee bars local governments from mandating paid sick or family leave on private employers under T.C.A. 50-2-112, leaving leave decisions to employer discretion.

Tennessee preempts local predictive scheduling and fair workweek ordinances under T.C.A. 50-2-112, preventing cities from regulating private employer scheduling practices.

Tennessee allows permitless concealed and open carry for adults 21 and older (or qualified 18-20 year olds) under T.C.A. 39-17-1307 and 1351, with optional enhanced and concealed…

Tennessee law preempts virtually all local regulation of firearms, ammunition, and components, reserving authority exclusively to the state legislature under T.C.A. 39-17-1314.

Open carry of handguns is lawful in Tennessee under permitless carry, but rifles and shotguns are subject to general unlawful-carry rules in T.C.A. 39-17-1307.

Tennessee allows eligible adults to carry handguns openly or concealed in private motor vehicles without a permit under T.C.A. 39-17-1351 and 39-17-1307, preempting stricter local…

Tennessee bans gambling outright, but Title 3, Chapter 17 lets a qualifying 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) nonprofit run one raffle, reverse raffle, cakewalk, cake wheel, or bingo event per…

Tennessee's gambling statute contains no exemption for private, social, or friends-only wagering. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-501(1) defines gambling as risking anything of value on a…

The Tennessee General Assembly has never passed a checkpoint statute. The phrases sobriety checkpoint and checkpoint return zero results in a full-text search of the Tennessee Code…

Tennessee has never enacted a statute granting a right to record police, and a full-text search of the Tennessee Code turns up no such provision. What it has instead, since July 1…

Tennessee got its first identification statute on July 1, 2025, and it deliberately stops short of a duty to identify. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-611 lets an officer ask for your name…

Tennessee has not legislated on consent to search a vehicle. There is no statutory logging duty, no odor rule, and no clause saying lawful possession of anything cannot justify a…

Tennessee preempts local plastic bag bans and fees under T.C.A. § 7-51-2002 (enacted 2019), which makes the state the exclusive regulator of auxiliary containers such as bags.

Tennessee does not impose a statewide flavor ban on tobacco or vape products, and local flavor bans are generally preempted by uniform state licensing under Title 39, Chapter 17, Part…

Tennessee allows auxiliary road lighting lamps, but T.C.A. § 55-9-402(a)(2) lets only two of them burn at any one time on top of the two required headlights. Anything that shows to the…

Tennessee is one of the few states whose statute names the windshield as a lawful place to put a device. Section 55-8-199(b)(2)(A) permits a device "mounted on the vehicle's…

Tennessee prohibits lane splitting outright. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-182(c) says no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of…

Tennessee draws a hard line on plate covers. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-110(b) says no tinted materials may be placed over a license plate "even if the information upon the license plate…

A radar detector is legal to own, carry and use in a private passenger vehicle in Tennessee. A full text search of the Tennessee Code returns no provision using the phrase "radar…

Tennessee allows studded tires, but only during a fixed statewide season that runs from October 1 through April 15 each year. Outside that window Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-106(a) bans any…

Tennessee sets a single figure for every window on a car: aftermarket film may not drop visible light transmittance below 35 percent, and nothing except the manufacturer's standard…