Sign permits across Tennessee
Where each city draws the line on sign work. Sort any column — useful if you build across several towns and need to know where the rules change.
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 sign may be built, installed, or altered until you get… | Sign permit fees follow the commercial valuation schedule i… |
| Memphis | 610,919 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Knoxville | 198,722 | Yes | No sign may be placed, erected, or attached until a writt… | A sign construction permit fee of $75.00 plus $5.00 per $1,… |
| Chattanooga | 191,496 | Yes | A business or property sign needs a sign permit before it… | On-premise sign fees are $70 non-electric, $330 electric, a… |
| Clarksville | 185,690 | Unconfirmed | — | Electrical sign inspection: $32.00. |
| Murfreesboro | 168,387 | Yes | A business or property sign needs a sign permit, unless i… | Sign permit fees apply; no amount is listed in the code. |
| Franklin | 89,142 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Johnson City | 73,635 | Yes | A business or property sign needs a zoning compliance per… | The Board of Commissioners may set a permit fee schedule (S… |
| Jackson | 69,303 | Yes | installing a business or property sign | Fees set by the sign control chapter; no amount given in th… |
| Hendersonville | 63,947 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Smyrna | 60,302 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Kingsport | 57,109 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Gallatin | 52,489 | Unconfirmed | — | Planning and zoning fee schedule lists Sign Permits and Tem… |
| Brentwood | 45,525 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Mount Juliet | 44,066 | Yes | business and other non-exempt signs; small residential an… | — |
| La Vergne | 41,430 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Germantown | 40,128 | Yes | all permanent signs need a permit; exempt: normal mainten… | Sign permit fee set by the board of mayor and aldermen; per… |
| Morristown | 32,994 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Bristol | 27,867 | Yes | sign permit and fee required before installation, unless … | Sign permit fee established and modified by the City Counci… |
| Farragut | 25,242 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Springfield | 19,842 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Goodlettsville | 17,433 | Yes | most business/property signs require a sign permit; certa… | — |
| Nolensville | 15,809 | Yes | required unless the sign qualifies as an Exempt Sign unde… | — |
“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.