Local rules and regulations for Sumner County, Tennessee. Population: 196,281.
Verified from official government sources
Select a topic to see Sumner County's rules on that subject.
Tennessee sets no statewide short-term rental parking rule, so requirements come from local zoning. Gallatin requires a site plan showing guest parking with its STR permit; the…
Sumner County has no countywide occupancy cap; limits come from city rules where rentals are permitted. Gallatin caps a short-term rental at two guests per bedroom, not to exceed…
A short-term stay in Sumner County owes Tennessee's 7% state sales tax, the 2.25% local option sales tax, and the county's 5% hotel/motel occupancy tax. Airbnb and Vrbo collect and…
Neither Tennessee nor Sumner County mandates a specific liability-insurance amount for short-term rentals. Coverage is left to the host, but standard homeowner policies often exclude…
Short-term rental rules in Sumner County are set by each city. Gallatin issues STR permits through its Planning Department; Hendersonville allows them only in commercial zones. State…
Sumner County has no rental-specific noise rule, so short-term rental guests follow the same limits as residents: each city's noise ordinance plus the state disorderly conduct law…
Sumner County restricts parking large commercial vehicles, semi-trailers, and heavy equipment in residential zones. Overnight storage of big trucks is prohibited, though a contractor's…
Sumner County zoning limits where RVs, boats, and trailers may be stored on residential lots, and with Old Hickory Lake driving heavy boat ownership, storage pressure is real. HOAs…
Sumner County expects residential vehicles on improved surfaces, not front lawns, with inoperable vehicles kept out of view. New driveways and widenings need permits meeting zoning…
Sumner County has no countywide overnight street-parking ban, and its warm winters mean no snow-removal restrictions. Individual city rules and HOAs, not the county, drive most…
Home EV charger installs in Sumner County need an electrical permit for the 240-volt circuit. Public charging is growing around Hendersonville and Gallatin, and newer commercial…
Sumner County treats unregistered, inoperable, or long-idle vehicles on streets or in open view as abandoned nuisances. After a notice period they can be tagged and towed. Cities and…
Tennessee sets no statewide time limit for street parking, so Sumner County and its cities set their own. Vehicles must stay clear of fire hydrants, crosswalks, and intersections, and…
Gallatin requires a Fence Plan and permit from the Planning Department for any fence four feet or taller, and a building permit on top of that at seven feet. Shorter fences are exempt…
Gallatin caps residential fences at four feet in the front yard and six feet in side and rear yards, with front fences no more than fifty percent opaque. Hendersonville and the other…
No Tennessee statute limits residential fence materials, so wood, vinyl, chain-link, and wrought iron are all lawful across Sumner County. Barbed wire and electric fence read as…
In Sumner County a retaining wall over four feet, measured bottom of footing to top, needs a building permit and usually engineered plans. Shorter walls are generally exempt, but…
Every residential pool, spa, and hot tub in Sumner County must be enclosed by a barrier at least four feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates. It is a building-code…
Tennessee's partition-fence law makes adjoining owners share the cost of a boundary fence, and a neighbor who ties into your fence owes a proportional share. It fits Sumner's northern…
Tennessee sorts wildlife into classes, and Class I animals, including big cats, bears, primates, and venomous snakes, are barred from private ownership except under narrow permits…
Sumner County has no general ban on feeding wildlife, but food left out draws coyotes and nuisance animals into the suburbs. Tennessee restricts deer feeding in disease-management…
Hendersonville allows up to four hens per single-family home with a permit, the coop fifteen feet from every property line and no roosters. Unincorporated northern Sumner County keeps…
Tennessee does not preempt breed-specific laws, so cities and counties may ban breeds, and several Tennessee towns do. Sumner County, Gallatin, and Hendersonville regulate dogs by…
Tennessee's at-large statute requires owners to keep dogs off the loose and under reasonable control. Gallatin and Hendersonville require dogs leashed off the owner's property, with…
Beekeeping is legal across Sumner County, but Tennessee requires every beekeeper to register apiaries with the Department of Agriculture, renewed every three years. City zoning adds…
Rainwater harvesting is legal in Sumner County. Tennessee places no restriction on residential collection, so rain barrels and cisterns for garden and lawn use are fine. Only large…
Sumner County does not require a permit to trim or remove trees on your own residential lot. You may cut a neighbor's overhanging branches back to the property line. Landscaping and…
Tennessee has no statewide watering mandate, and Sumner County draws on Old Hickory Lake and the Cumberland River. Any lawn-watering limits come from your water provider, such as…
In unincorporated Sumner County, removing trees from your own residential lot needs no permit. The county's landscaping and buffer standards apply to subdivisions and commercial…
Sumner County welcomes native and drought-tolerant landscaping. But Tennessee has no law stopping HOAs from requiring turf lawns, so private covenants in lake subdivisions may limit…
Artificial turf is allowed in Sumner County and residential installs rarely need a permit. Tennessee has no law barring HOAs from restricting synthetic turf, so your covenants, not the…
Unincorporated Sumner County sets no fixed grass-height limit. Under Tenn. Code Ann. §5-1-115 the county abates overgrowth only when it endangers health or safety. Cities like Gallatin…
Sumner County abates overgrown, weedy, or debris-filled lots in unincorporated areas under Tenn. Code Ann. §5-1-115, but only when conditions threaten health or safety. Enforcement…
In Tennessee, counties do zone unincorporated land. The Sumner County Zoning Resolution allows home occupations as an accessory use, while Gallatin, Hendersonville, Portland, and White…
Caring for five or more unrelated children in your home requires a Tennessee DHS license, and Sumner County or city zoning also applies. A family child care home covers five to seven…
Home occupations in Sumner County carry no outward sign of business. The county Zoning Resolution and the city ordinances in Gallatin, Hendersonville, Portland, and White House bar…
A Sumner County home occupation must not draw traffic beyond what a normal household generates. County and city zoning cap client visits, limit nonresident employees, and bar walk-in…
The Tennessee Food Freedom Act lets Sumner County residents sell most homemade foods direct to consumers with no license, no inspection, and no revenue cap. State law controls, and the…
A food truck in Sumner County needs a food service permit from the Tennessee Department of Health, which runs the county health department, plus a business license and mobile-vendor…
Where a food truck may set up is a city decision inside Gallatin, Hendersonville, Portland, and White House, and a county zoning matter on unincorporated land. Rules cover approved…
Tennessee fixes no countywide decibel limit, so quiet hours come from each Sumner County city. Gallatin holds residential noise to 45 decibels between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. In…
Sumner County has no leaf-blower-specific rule, and Tennessee sets no statewide equipment ban. Gas and electric blowers are legal in Gallatin, Hendersonville, and across the county…
No Tennessee statute sets construction hours, so they come from each Sumner County city. Gallatin bars construction and demolition between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Off-hours construction…
Persistent barking in Sumner County is handled locally through city and county animal-control and nuisance rules, usually starting with a warning. In the unincorporated county the…
Amplified music in Sumner County is governed by each city's noise ordinance and the state disorderly conduct law. Gallatin holds amplified sound to 45 decibels near homes between 7…
Sumner County requires owners to keep lots free of overgrown brush and dead vegetation. Wildfire risk is modest in this rolling suburban-and-farm county, so enforcement centers on…
Sumner County has no mapped wildfire hazard zones and no mandatory defensible-space rules. Its rolling farmland, lakeside suburbs, and small towns carry low wildfire risk, so fire…
Sumner County allows recreational backyard fires and fire pits across its suburban and rural neighborhoods. A contained fire under a spark screen needs no state burn permit, but…
Consumer fireworks are legal in unincorporated Sumner County, but each city sets tight discharge windows. Gallatin allows them only July 1 to 4 and New Year's; Hendersonville and…
Outdoor burning in Sumner County requires a Tennessee Division of Forestry permit from October 15 to May 15 for leaf and debris piles. Burning household garbage, tires, and treated…
Sumner County issues no homeowner tree-removal permit. Tree protection is tied to development: subdivision and commercial projects must meet landscaping and buffer standards. Cities…
Sumner County keeps no heritage or landmark tree registry, and neither do its cities. Tree protection is canopy- and development-based. Hendersonville's tree board champions public…
Sumner County has no homeowner tree-replacement mandate. Replacement planting comes from development landscaping standards and from city ordinances. Hendersonville, a Tree City USA…
Door-to-door sales are licensed by each Sumner County city, not the county. Gallatin, Hendersonville, Portland, and White House require commercial solicitors to register, pass a…
Sumner County residents stop solicitors mainly by posting a no-soliciting sign; several cities also keep a no-knock list. A registered solicitor who ignores a posted notice or listed…
Because Sumner County runs no countywide collection, bin placement follows your city or private hauler's instructions. Set carts out on collection day and bring them back promptly…
Sumner County has no countywide curbside bulk pickup. Large items like furniture and appliances go through your private hauler or are self-hauled to the Resource Authority in Sumner…
Recycling is voluntary in Sumner County. Tennessee sets no residential recycling mandate. Residents drop off recyclables at the Resource Authority's recycle convenience center at no…
Sumner County government runs no countywide curbside trash service. Collection is handled city-by-city, so incorporated residents follow their municipality's schedule while…
Snow is rare in the Nashville metro, and Sumner County imposes no routine sidewalk snow-clearing duty on residents. Owners are still expected to keep walkways clear of debris and…
Merchandise, tables, and signs from a Sumner County yard sale must be cleared promptly. Goods left in the yard or at the curb after the sale can become debris the county may order…
The unincorporated county has no countywide cart-screening ordinance, but letting waste pile up unsightly is a nuisance the county can abate. Cities and lake-area HOAs commonly require…
Sumner County can order removal of debris, overgrowth, and dilapidated conditions that endanger health or safety, and its zoning resolution bars inoperable or unregistered vehicles…
Owners of vacant lots in unincorporated Sumner County must keep them free of overgrowth, accumulated debris, and dumped trash. Under Tennessee law the county can order cleanup after…
Tennessee is landlocked, so no coastal law applies. Building near Old Hickory Lake, the Cumberland River, or its creeks triggers floodplain rules and federal Army Corps of Engineers…
Land disturbance of one acre or more in Tennessee needs a TDEC construction stormwater permit before work starts. Sumner County and its MS4 cities add local stormwater review to…
Tennessee ties erosion control to its construction stormwater permit. A site disturbing one acre or more must keep sediment on-site under a stormwater pollution prevention plan…
Sumner County enforces FEMA floodplain standards through its flood damage prevention provisions. A development permit is required before building or filling in a mapped special flood…
Tennessee has no statewide grading permit. Earthwork disturbing one acre or more triggers a TDEC construction stormwater permit, and Sumner County reviews grading and drainage under…
Rooftop solar in Sumner County needs building and electrical permits plus a utility interconnection agreement. Power flows through TVA's local distributors, with limited buyback and no…
Tennessee has no strong solar-rights law voiding HOA bans. In Sumner County's lake subdivisions, an HOA may restrict or prohibit rooftop solar; the state only lets owners record solar…
Sumner County runs no rental registration or landlord-licensing program, and Tennessee has no statewide registry. A landlord owes the county no permit, filing, or per-unit fee to rent…
Neither Sumner County nor Gallatin, Hendersonville, or Portland can cap rent. Tenn. Code Ann. §66-35-102 bars every Tennessee local government from enacting rent control. Landlords set…
Tennessee has no just-cause eviction law. In Sumner County a landlord may end a month-to-month tenancy without giving a reason, using the 30-day written notice under Tenn. Code Ann…
Sumner County does not regulate holiday decorations on residential property. No county permit is needed for lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Keep them clear of sight lines and…
Sumner County protects yard political signs. Its zoning resolution defers election signage to the Tennessee Freedom of Speech Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §2-7-143, which bars local limits on…
Garage-sale signs count as temporary signs in Sumner County. The zoning resolution lets you post them on any residential lot, capped at 16 square feet, but bars them from the public…
An in-ground pool in unincorporated Sumner County takes three steps: a $50 zoning compliance form, a $300 land disturbance permit, then a pool permit from Building & Codes in Room 208…
Every pool in unincorporated Sumner County must be enclosed by a barrier before it passes final inspection. Under the county's adopted 2021 building code, the barrier must stand at…
Beyond the barrier, a Sumner County pool must meet Tennessee's Katie Beth's Law, which requires a pool alarm on any pool installed after January 1, 2011. The county's final inspection…
An above-ground pool deep enough to hold more than 24 inches of water needs a county pool permit in unincorporated Sumner County. The 2021 building code's barrier rules apply, though a…
A hot tub or spa in unincorporated Sumner County needs an electrical permit for its 240-volt, GFCI-protected circuit. A spa large enough to be treated as a pool falls under the same…
Growing marijuana at home is illegal everywhere in Sumner County. Tennessee has no medical or recreational cannabis program, and cultivating any plant is an unlawful manufacture of a…
There are no cannabis dispensaries to zone in Sumner County. Tennessee licenses no marijuana retailers, so selling cannabis is a criminal offense statewide; only hemp products under…
Sumner County allows accessory dwelling units in any residential zone in connection with a single-family home, under Zoning Resolution Section 1101(R). By-right ADUs must be…
In unincorporated Sumner County, a storage building over 200 square feet — including portable buildings on skids — needs a zoning permit. The fee is a flat $100 for 200 to 600 square…
Converting a garage into living space in unincorporated Sumner County means a building permit under the adopted 2021 residential code. If the conversion creates a second dwelling, it…
A detached carport in unincorporated Sumner County is an accessory structure that needs a permit from Building & Codes. The application requires a site plan showing distances to…
A tiny home's status in Sumner County depends on its foundation. On a permanent foundation it is a dwelling under the 2021 residential code; as a second unit it must meet the ADU rules…
The unincorporated county requires no permit for a household yard sale; the zoning resolution lists it as a permitted accessory use on your own residential lot, subject to duration and…
Sumner County's zoning resolution caps residential yard sales at no more than four per year, with each sale lasting no more than three days in any ninety-day period. Exceeding that…
Sumner County's zoning resolution sets no fixed opening and closing hours for yard sales, so daytime hours are customary. The real time limit is duration: no more than three days per…
In unincorporated Sumner County, the county Zoning Resolution fixes minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks district by district under Tenn. Code Ann. §13-7-101. Gallatin…
Sumner County's Zoning Resolution caps building height at 35 feet in its Agricultural Reserve, Rural Residential, and Suburban Residential districts, with mobile home community…
Sumner County's Zoning Resolution caps lot coverage by district: 20% for homes in the Agricultural Reserve and Rural Residential zones, 25% in Suburban Residential, and up to 50% for…
Recreational drone flights follow federal FAA rules under 49 U.S.C. §44809: register drones over 250 grams, pass the free TRUST test, stay below 400 feet, keep visual line of sight…
Commercial drone operators follow FAA 14 CFR Part 107: hold a Remote Pilot Certificate, register the aircraft, stay below 400 feet, keep visual line of sight. Tennessee's §39-13-903…
Tennessee sets a countywide child curfew by statute (Tenn. Code Ann. §39-17-1702): minors 17 to 18 must be off public places 11 PM to 6 AM on weeknights and midnight to 6 AM on…
Sumner County parks, city parks, and the Corps of Engineers day-use areas around Old Hickory Lake close at posted hours, generally dawn to dusk or a fixed evening time. Being in a…
Tennessee has no dark-sky statute, but Sumner County's Zoning Resolution (Section 1107) limits glare to 0.5 foot-candles at a residential district boundary or street right-of-way and…
Sumner County's Zoning Resolution requires all site lighting to be shielded so directly emitted light stays within the property line, and caps glare at 0.5 foot-candles at a…
These cities are located within Sumner County and may have their own ordinances.
These communities are in unincorporated Sumner County. County ordinances apply directly to these areas.
Ordinance data for Sumner County is sourced from the following official government references. Click any topic above for detailed citations.