Kingsport, TN

Section 14-33 of the Kingsport Code makes it unlawful in the City of Kingsport, Tennessee to permit a dog to run at large anywhere except the owner's own premises or a city designated…

The entire City of Kingsport, Tennessee is designated a bird sanctuary under section 14-3 of the Kingsport Code, and section 14-4 makes it unlawful to trap, shoot, hunt or molest any…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, an owner cannot suffer or permit a cat to run at large under section 14-5 of the Kingsport Code, and section 14-59 makes it unlawful to own a cat…

Section 14-34 of the Kingsport Code makes it unlawful in the City of Kingsport, Tennessee to keep a vicious dog unless it is kept securely confined upon its own premises. The…

Section 14-35 of the Kingsport Code makes it unlawful in the City of Kingsport, Tennessee to keep over five canines over 12 months of age on any premises. The head of the household is…

Sec. 66-110 of the Kingsport Code makes it unlawful to feed, or allow to be fed, any waterfowl or shorebirds in or upon any park or recreation area in the City of Kingsport, Tennessee…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, backyard chickens, rabbits, sheep and goats are an accessory use in the UAE (Urban Agricultural Estate) district, capped at 25 animals in any one…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, animal hospitals are a principal use in the B-3 Highway Oriented Business District under Sec. 114-195. The B-2 Central Business District prohibits…

Tennessee's Apiary Act of 1995 requires every beekeeper who owns one or more colonies to register each apiary location with the state apiarist, then re-register every three years. New…

Tennessee classifies wild animals into five classes under TWRA rules and prohibits private possession of Class I species like big cats and great apes statewide, regardless of city…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, parking is barred on sidewalks, crosswalks and in intersections, and within five feet of a driveway, 15 feet of a fire hydrant and 20 feet of a…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, no one can park a truck or motor vehicle over 18,000 pounds gross weight, or any trailer or semitrailer, on any street from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, parking overnight in any timed-parking area is unlawful, and so is parking on Broad Street or Main Street between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. without…

In the City of Kingsport, a passenger loading zone allows a stop of no more than three minutes, and a loading zone for property allows no more than 30 minutes with the vehicle left…

In the City of Kingsport, the city manager or designee has lines or markings painted on the curb or street to mark parking spaces, and parking across them is unlawful. Public works…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Sec. 38-34 makes it unlawful to park, keep or store an inoperable, unlicensed or worthless vehicle, or one in major disassembly, on private…

In Sullivan County's unincorporated manufacturing districts, a driveway can cover no more than 50 percent of any required front, side or rear yard under Zoning Resolution Section…

Sullivan County's Zoning Resolution bars using a camper, RV, or other vehicle as a permanent residence or storage building anywhere in the unincorporated county. Under Section 8-105…

Tennessee rewrote its towing law twice in two years. The Modernization of Towing, Immobilization, and Oversight Normalization Act of 2025, at T.C.A. §§ 55-31-101 to 55-31-307, deleted…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, fences not over 8 feet high are listed as work exempt from a building permit. Section 22-96 of the Kingsport Code amends both the International…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, a wall or fence in a residence, business or professional district can stand no more than six feet high in a front yard and no more than eight feet…

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee bars barbed wire fences inside residential zoning districts. Sec. 114-139 carves out one exception: protective devices using barbed wire can go on…

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…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, it is unlawful to maintain grass, weeds or uncultivated vegetation at a height of 12 inches or more on improved land, and the condition is declared…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the owner or occupant of property that borders city right-of-way must prune trees so they do not block streetlights, traffic signs, signals or…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, no one can remove, cut above ground or otherwise damage a public tree without a written permit from the landscape specialist. The removal…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, a home occupation must be conducted within the principal building by a resident of the dwelling. Not more than one non-resident can be employed…

Sullivan County's use table draws the line for home daycare at four children. Table 3-102A classifies 'In-Home Day Care' with fewer than four unrelated children as a Minor Home…

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…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, a residential accessory building cannot go in a front or side yard, cannot exceed 30 percent of the principal structure's floor area or 1,100…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, garage apartments appear in the Code of Ordinances as a permitted use in the Planned Village District under § 114-487, subject to approval of the…

In the City of Kingsport, a motor vehicle must have a muffling device at least as effective as the original equipment, motorcycles are capped at 85 dBA and other vehicles at 80 dBA…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Section 62-126(3) declares creating or causing unnecessary or unauthorized noises, including animal noises, a nuisance, and Section 62-128 makes it…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, a vehicle's sound system cannot be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet or more on any public street, alley, parking lot or driveway. Sound…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, it is unlawful to manufacture, use, discharge, or sell fireworks, including 1.4G consumer fireworks and 1.3G display fireworks. The one exception…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the owner of every dwelling must install early fire detection devices, and the occupants must maintain the smoke detectors. Hotels, motels…

Tennessee Division of Forestry requires burn permits during wildfire season for any outdoor burning of leaves, brush, or debris, with criminal liability for escaped fires.

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.

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, every swimming pool must be enclosed by a permanent fence of durable material at least four feet high, with no opening larger than four square…

Tennessee imposes statewide sales tax on short-term rental stays and authorizes local hotel-motel occupancy taxes, with marketplace facilitators required to collect on behalf of hosts.

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee levies a seven percent privilege tax on the consideration a hotel operator charges a transient for occupancy. Operators add it to each bill, remit it…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, vending on a street or sidewalk needs a permit and is confined to fire district No. 1. Outside that district it is unlawful unless a Section 70-28…

No one can vend under Kingsport's street vendor article without a permit from the city manager or designee and proof of insurance. The application needs state health permits and a…

Kingsport's street vendor article lists what a sidewalk vendor cannot do: leave a stand unattended, park it overnight, block a sidewalk, entrance, driveway, crosswalk or bus stop, or…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, approved participants in a farmer's market, a cultural arts and crafts show such as Fun Fest or the Santa Train Christmas parade, or a…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, nobody can engage in, participate in, aid, form or start a parade without a permit from the city manager. Applications are due at least 14 days…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, operating a sidewalk cafe dining facility takes a permit from the department of public works, and permits are available only for locations in the…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the city collects solid waste once each week from the curbside or alley, or another place the public works director designates. Waste goes in…

Kingsport collects household, yard and other waste only at or near a public street or alley improved with asphalt, concrete or sufficient gravel, as the public works director decides…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, carts go to the curb or alley no sooner than 24 hours before pickup and come back within 24 hours after collection day. On residential property…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, businesses arrange dumpster and roll-off service privately with a permitted collector, and no solid waste container can sit in or on a public…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the producer sets recycling containers at the alley or curbside facing the street, in the location the director designates, no sooner than 24 hours…

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee encourages every resident to separate newspapers, glass bottles, aluminum and steel cans, used oil and approved plastic bottles from other solid waste…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, residential yard waste must be separated from other solid waste and is removed from each residence once every other week by the city. It can go in…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the city collects furniture and appliances from residences on an on-call basis: the producer calls the public works department. Refrigerators and…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, no one can throw or deposit litter on a street, sidewalk or other public place except in public receptacles, authorized private receptacles or…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, it is unlawful to drink beer, wine or any alcoholic beverage on a public street, sidewalk, parking area, park, playground, school ground or other…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, anyone riding a skateboard in a park or recreation area must at all times yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and wheelchair users and use…

In the City of Kingsport, a pedestrian crossing anywhere other than a marked crosswalk, or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles…

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee regulates loitering through its alcohol chapter: Sec. 6-150 bars anyone under 21 or visibly intoxicated from loitering in the immediate vicinity of a…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Sec. 62-213 prohibits smoking on the grounds of any city-owned playground, defined as an indoor or outdoor facility intended for recreation of…

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee adopts the 2018 International Building Code and 2018 International Residential Code by reference in section 22-96 of the Kingsport Code, and each…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, elevators are covered by one amendment to the 2018 International Building Code in Section 22-96. New Section 3001.1.1 says any elevator regulated…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, energy efficiency rules come from the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code adopted in Section 22-96(d). The state minimum standard controls…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, no person can do work within the scope of the adopted 2017 National Electrical Code without a permit issued by the city recorder. The building…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, every electrical job and every plumbing job gets at least two inspections, one at rough-in and one at completion. Work cannot be covered until…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, a plumbing permit from the city recorder is required to connect to a sewer or septic system, install fixtures or appliances, or repair or add to…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, property owners can plant trees on city right-of-way if the choice and location do not interfere with public safety or with use of the…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, it is unlawful to keep an inoperable, unlicensed or worthless vehicle, or a vehicle in major disassembly, disrepair or being stripped, dismantled…

In the City of Kingsport, towing firms do city impound work under a competitively bid contract awarded by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to the lowest and best bidder. The contractor…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, adult oriented establishments appear in the principal-use list of the B-3, Highway Oriented Business District under Code § 114-195(a)(6). The…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, operating a massage parlor or working as a massager requires a City permit under Article III of Chapter 26. The chief of police takes and…

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.

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the maximum building height in the R-1A Residential District is 35 feet or three stories. Kingsport Code § 114-182(e)(2) sets that cap, and the…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the R-1A Residential District caps lot coverage at 30 percent including accessory buildings, with building height at 35 feet or three stories. The…

Every lot in the City of Kingsport, Tennessee needs a front yard, a rear yard and a side yard on each side at least as deep as the zone requires. Sec. 114-138 adds a 50 percent wider…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen can require the owner of any lot fronting a public street to build and keep in repair a good and substantial…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, placing tables and chairs on the public right-of-way requires a sidewalk cafe dining permit from the department of public works, available only in…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, it is an offense to obstruct a street, sidewalk or any other place used for the passage of persons or vehicles, or to disobey an officer's order to…

In the City of Kingsport, a red-light camera violation carries a $50.00 fine plus court costs where state law permits, and the registered owner is strictly liable. Only certified or…

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…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Section 62-50 makes it unlawful to set up or leave any encroachment, structure or object, including items used for shelter, on the public…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Section 22-526(b) bars artificial pool lighting that is a nuisance or annoyance to neighboring properties, forbids it to shine directly upon any…

Sullivan County's Zoning Resolution requires all site lighting in commercial and manufacturing districts, and at community facilities anywhere in the county, to be shielded so…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the building official, acting as public officer, can order an unfit structure repaired, vacated or demolished after notice and a hearing. Repair is…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Sec. 106-51 makes it unlawful to let grass, weeds or uncultivated vegetation reach 12 inches or more on unimproved land when the growth is within…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Sec. 62-126 of the Code declares eight kinds of conditions on public or private property to be a nuisance, from rubbish and inoperable vehicles to…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, a private citizen who witnessed a litter offense or discovered incriminating evidence can start a prosecution under Sec. 38-21 by making the…

Under Code § 62-189, a child under 16 in the City of Kingsport, Tennessee cannot loiter, idle, wander or play on public streets, parks, schools, vacant lots or other unsupervised…

Under Code § 66-99, every municipal park in the City of Kingsport, Tennessee is closed between dark and dawn each day of the week, including Sunday. Being present in or occupying a…

A yard or garage sale can be held in a residential zone in the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, but not more than two per year, and each sale cannot run longer than three consecutive…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, a solicitor taking orders for future delivery of periodicals or goods must post a $100.00 bond with the city recorder and obtain a certificate…

Tennessee enforces solicitation refusal at private residences through trespass law, allowing posted no-soliciting signs to create criminal liability for non-compliant door-to-door…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, the building official decides when a dwelling is unfit for human occupation under Sec. 22-584. Defects that raise fire or accident hazards…

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…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, land used solely for agricultural, farming, dairying, stock raising or similar purposes has no height, yard, location or court regulations imposed…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Article III of Chapter 38 regulates stormwater under the City's T.C.A. § 68-221-1105 powers. Developed-site discharge cannot exceed pre-development…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, no owner can start land disturbing activity of one acre or more without a land disturbing permit from the building official, issued only after the…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Division 5 of Chapter 114 controls building and filling in FEMA-mapped special flood hazard areas. Section 114-257 adopts the flood insurance study…

New construction and substantial improvements in a Kingsport special flood hazard area must put the lowest floor, including a basement, no lower than one foot above the base flood…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, off-premises advertising signs along interstate highways are allowed only in the B-3, M-1, M-1R and M-2 districts under § 114-532. A sign must…

Kingsport allows electronic message boards only in the M-1, M-1R, M-2, B-3, BC, B-4P and TA/C districts under § 114-535, and never as off-premises advertising. Brightness caps at 4,000…

Kingsport's decorative lighting rule, § 114-537, allows decorative lighting in the B-2, B-3 and B-4P districts and states that from November 15 through January 5 there is no…

Sullivan County exempts interior window signs from the Zoning Resolution's sign permit process, but only if the sign consists entirely of letters, numerals, and symbols. Section…

Tennessee cities cannot ban political signs on private residential property; content-neutral size, setback, and duration rules are allowed under First Amendment limits (Reed v. Town of…

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee designates culturally significant structures as historic landmarks under § 114-665. A structure must sit in an historic district, be at least 50 years…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…