Building Safety in Tennessee (2026)

When Chattanooga's public health director or housing inspector finds a lead hazard on rental premises, the owner or…

Chattanooga requires elevators, escalators and dumbwaiters to be maintained to ASME A17.1, with a current inspection…

Memphis Code Section 14-16-47 makes the owner or lessee of every elevator, escalator, dumbwaiter and amusement device…

Metro's property standards code requires elevators, escalators and dumbwaiters to stay safe and operational, with a…

Hendersonville's building code covers the design, construction, and alteration of elevators, but state-regulated…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, elevators are covered by one amendment to the 2018 International Building Code in…

Collierville requires sprinklers in every new or renovated townhouse and in one and two family homes of 5,500 square…

In the City of Spring Hill, Tennessee, an automatic fire sprinkler system is required throughout every new or remodeled…

Franklin requires an automatic fire sprinkler system in any new or renovated building of 5,000 square feet or more, and…

Hendersonville requires automatic fire sprinklers in new multi-family buildings of three or more attached units, using…

Jackson Municipal Code § 12-204, adopted by Ordinance #2025-15 in January 2025, amends the 2018 International Building…

Memphis's Fire Code amendments require monitored sprinkler systems to report through an approved central station under…

Murfreesboro deletes Section R309, the automatic fire sprinkler section of the 2024 International Residential Code, in…

Chattanooga deleted the IRC's mandatory sprinkler sections for townhouses and one- and two-family homes, and also…

Knoxville's building code bars the city from mandating automatic fire sprinklers in 3- and 4-family dwellings under…

Metro Nashville amended the residential code so townhouses are exempt from automatic fire sprinkler systems, unlike the…

In the Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, the Town Council adopted the 2024 International Residential Code but deleted Section…

Every Memphis day care center caring for five or more children for pay must register with the office of planning and…

Hendersonville requires day care centers to meet all federal, state, and local licensing, health, safety, and building…

Knoxville requires day care centers and day care homes to hold Tennessee Department of Human Services licensing, post…

Metro Nashville requires an operational fire permit to run any daycare facility, issued under the Metropolitan Fire…

A child care center in unincorporated Rutherford County must provide an on-site loading and unloading area so parents'…

Sumner County zoning requires every child care center to provide an on-site, off-street area for loading and unloading…

Williamson County requires a Family or Group Child Care Home to hold a state license, most often from the Tennessee…

Chattanooga requires every rental unit's entry doors to have a deadbolt with a one-inch throw, operable without a key…

Metro's fire code amendment bars any modification to listed panic hardware, fire door hardware, or door closers on…

Metro Nashville can adopt a Two-Story Residential Overlay in single-family neighborhoods that caps new principal…

Franklin's local answer to a green building code is its adopted 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, which sets…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, energy efficiency rules come from the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code…

Unincorporated Shelby County's version of a green building code is the 2021 ICC International Energy Conservation Code…

The Town of Smyrna, Tennessee adopts the International Energy Conservation Code, 2024 edition, by reference in Title…

The Town of Collierville, Tennessee has no standalone green building code in the sections read. Green building shows up…

Knoxville has adopted the International Green Construction Code, 2012 edition, but only on a voluntary basis: builders…

Hendersonville's Green Building Incentive Program, created at Municipal Code § 12-1401, is entirely voluntary: §…

Metro Nashville issues an optional "green permit" on top of the standard certificate of occupancy for buildings that…

Clarksville's Property Maintenance Code ties its carbon monoxide rule directly to state law: under Sec. 4-603(b)(10)…

Knoxville requires every short-term rental to have a working carbon monoxide detector within 15 feet of all bedrooms…

Every short-term rental in Memphis must have carbon monoxide detectors on each habitable floor and UL 217 smoke alarms…

Every Shelby County short-term rental permit holder must install approved carbon monoxide detectors on every habitable…

Chattanooga lets existing buildings be altered or repaired without a full code upgrade, but if repairs exceed 30% of…

Clarksville has adopted the 2018 International Building Code by reference, effective January 1, 2021, to govern when…

In the Town of Collierville, Tennessee, it is unlawful to start site excavation, grading, other land disturbing…

Franklin requires a permit before starting any work on a building, structure, or its electrical, gas, mechanical, or…

Unincorporated Hamilton County will not issue a building permit for a lot that lacks legally accepted access. Zoning…

Anyone contracting to build, alter, repair, or demolish a structure in Hendersonville, or perform any work requiring a…

The City of Jackson, Tennessee regulates construction, alteration, repair and demolition of every building or structure…

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee adopts the 2018 International Building Code and 2018 International Residential Code by…

Knoxville withholds a building permit until five separate offices sign off: wastewater control, traffic engineering…

Memphis builds every construction and permit requirement on the 2015 ICC International Building Code, adopted by…

Decks, fireplaces, and roof overhangs built onto a Murfreesboro home can't sit within 5 feet of a side lot line under…

Metro Nashville requires a building permit for altering, repairing, or enlarging an existing structure, but exempts…

Unincorporated Rutherford County requires both a zoning compliance form from the Planning Director and a building…

Unincorporated Shelby County requires building permits under the 2021 ICC International Building Code, which the county…

The Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, adopted the 2024 International Building Code and International Residential Code on March…

In the City of Spring Hill, Tennessee, Residential Code § 12-402 exempts HVAC unit replacement, decks not exceeding 9…

No building or structure in unincorporated Sumner County can be erected, moved, added to or structurally altered…

Williamson County requires a Building Permit before anyone locates, erects, or begins construction, reconstruction…

Chattanooga has adopted the 2023 National Electrical Code and requires a permit from the chief electrical inspector…

Clarksville has adopted the 2017 National Electric Code (NFPA 70) by reference for all electrical work in the city…

In the Town of Collierville, Tennessee, anyone who installs, alters, repairs, removes, converts or replaces an…

Franklin adopts the National Electrical Code, 2023 edition, by reference for every electrical installation in the city…

Hendersonville requires a permit before any regulated electrical installation, alteration, or equipment change, under a…

The City of Jackson, Tennessee adopts the 2017 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) by reference under Jackson Municipal…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, no person can do work within the scope of the adopted 2017 National Electrical…

Knoxville requires a permit before any electrical construction, alteration, or repair work, issued by the Department of…

Memphis regulates electrical work under the 2018 Memphis and Shelby County Electrical Code, which adopts the 2014…

Altering a home's electrical service, panel, or circuits in Murfreesboro is prohibited without a permit issued to a…

Metro Nashville requires an electrical permit from the Department of Codes Administration before installing…

Unincorporated Shelby County requires electrical work to follow the 2020 National Electric Code, adopted by reference…

The Town of Smyrna, Tennessee adopts the National Electric Code, 2017 edition, in Title 12, Chapter 11, with local…

Chattanooga adopts the 2018 International Plumbing Code with local amendments under City Code Sec. 27-1 and Sec. 27-3…

Clarksville adopted the 2018 International Plumbing Code by reference, effective January 1, 2021, with local amendments…

The Town of Collierville, Tennessee adopts the 2018 International Plumbing Code with local amendments. Any owner…

Franklin, Tennessee runs plumbing work under the 2024 International Plumbing Code, adopted by Franklin Municipal Code §…

Hendersonville adopts the 2021 International Plumbing Code by reference as its plumbing code under Municipal Code §…

In the City of Jackson, Tennessee, every plumbing installation, repair or alteration in a building or structure must…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, a plumbing permit from the city recorder is required to connect to a sewer or…

Knox County adopted the 2018 International Plumbing Code by reference under § 10-136, with local amendments that reset…

Knoxville requires plumbing work to be permitted under the adopted 2024 International Plumbing Code, with permit…

Memphis Code Section 14-14-1 adopts the 2015 ICC International Plumbing Code by reference, together with local…

Murfreesboro requires plumbing work in the City, or work connected to the City water or sewerage systems, to meet the…

Any plumbing installation, repair, or connection to a sewer or septic system in Metro Nashville and Davidson County…

Unincorporated Shelby County plumbing work runs under the 2021 ICC International Plumbing Code, adopted by reference…

The Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code with local amendments: 100% in the permit…

The City of Spring Hill, Tennessee adopts the International Plumbing Code, 2018 edition, for plumbing connected to the…

Chattanooga's chief building inspector must be notified after a cited defect is fixed. The first re-inspection is free…

In the Town of Collierville, the Code Compliance Officer can enter property to check compliance with the Town Code and…

Franklin, Tennessee requires a certificate of use and occupancy before anyone occupies a building, structure, or parcel…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, every electrical job and every plumbing job gets at least two inspections, one at…

Knoxville requires electrical work to pass staged inspections -- underground, rough-in, and final -- before any wiring…

Memphis requires every boiler and unfired pressure vessel in the city to be inspected on a fixed schedule under Code…

Metro Nashville building permits require staged inspections, foundation, frame, mechanical rough-in and final, before…

Unincorporated Shelby County enforces its building regulations through county-created offices of building official…

In the Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, the codes enforcement and inspection division enforces the building, plumbing, gas…

In the City of Spring Hill, Tennessee, building and plumbing permit fees pay for the first inspection of each major…