Basement permits across Tennessee

Where each city draws the line on basement work. Sort any column — useful if you build across several towns and need to know where the rules change.

Cities compared 23

Always need one 23

Depends on size 0

The statewide starting point is International Residential Code, принятый Теннесси, 2018. Cities that changed the rule are the interesting rows below.

			Where the line falls	Fee
Nashville	704,963	Yes	No size threshold in the code	$5.00 per $1,000 total valuation (residential construction)
Memphis	610,919	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Knoxville	198,722	Yes	No size threshold in the code	Per Fee Schedule adopted by City Council resolution
Chattanooga	191,496	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Clarksville	185,690	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Murfreesboro	168,387	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Franklin	89,142	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Johnson City	73,635	Yes	No size threshold in the code	The Board of Commissioners may set a permit fee schedule (S…
Jackson	69,303	Yes	No size threshold in the code	Fee schedule as approved by city council resolution (§ 12-2…
Hendersonville	63,947	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Smyrna	60,302	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Kingsport	57,109	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Gallatin	52,489	Yes	No size threshold in the code	Current permit fee schedules are available in the Building …
Brentwood	45,525	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Mount Juliet	44,066	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
La Vergne	41,430	Yes	No size threshold in the code	As set forth in the fee schedule adopted with the annual bu…
Germantown	40,128	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Morristown	32,994	Yes	No size threshold in the code	Based on current fee schedule approved by Morristown City C…
Bristol	27,867	Yes	No size threshold in the code	Permit fees shall be set by resolution of city council and …
Farragut	25,242	Yes	No size threshold in the code	Permit fees set by the general fee schedule resolution adop…
Springfield	19,842	Yes	No size threshold in the code	Fees established by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen by sepa…
Goodlettsville	17,433	Yes	No size threshold in the code	—
Nolensville	15,809	Yes	No size threshold in the code	As provided by ordinance of the Board of Commissioners, on …

“Unconfirmed” means the city's code doesn't state the rule plainly enough to publish. Those city pages link straight to the ordinance section instead.

Why neighboring cities disagree

Every city starts from a model code and then edits it. One town raises the shed cutoff, the next lowers the fence height, a third exempts the structure where its neighbor only exempts repairs to it. None of that is visible from a national article — you have to read each ordinance, which is what these pages do.