Permit Requirements

Fence permits across Tennessee

Where each city draws the line on fence 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 0
Depends on size 23

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 Depends Over 7 ft tall When a residential building permit is needed, the fee is $5…
Memphis 610,919 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Knoxville 198,722 Depends Over 7 ft tall Building permit fees are set in the city Fee Schedule adopt…
Chattanooga 191,496 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Clarksville 185,690 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Murfreesboro 168,387 Depends Over 7 ft tall Permit fees are set by the City Council; no amount is liste…
Franklin 89,142 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Johnson City 73,635 Depends Over 7 ft tall The Board of Commissioners may set a permit fee schedule (S…
Jackson 69,303 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Hendersonville 63,947 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Smyrna 60,302 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Kingsport 57,109 Depends Over 8 ft tall
Gallatin 52,489 Depends Over 7 ft tall Current permit fee schedules are available in the Building …
Brentwood 45,525 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Mount Juliet 44,066 Depends Over 7 ft tall
La Vergne 41,430 Depends Over 7 ft tall Set by the fee schedule adopted with the annual budget.
Germantown 40,128 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Morristown 32,994 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Bristol 27,867 Depends Over 7 ft tall Permit fees set by resolution of city council (§ 14-33(b));…
Farragut 25,242 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Springfield 19,842 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Goodlettsville 17,433 Depends Over 7 ft tall
Nolensville 15,809 Depends Over 7 ft tall

“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.

This is a reference, not legal advice. Confirm with the building department in the city you're building in. How we build these pages.