Permits By Terry McCarthy, publisher of Nashville Home Pros Magazine · October 27, 2026 · 6 min read
Whether a home project needs a permit depends on the project and on which office your house answers to, and the offices around Nashville don’t all draw the line in the same place. A new roof needs a permit in Nashville and doesn’t in Williamson County; a 7-foot fence needs none in Rutherford County, only a free affidavit. This guide puts together what each office’s own page says, linked so you can read it yourself.
Nashville: Metro’s own list
Metro Nashville Codes keeps a project-by-project table for one- and two-family homes on its renovation page. Interior renovation goes through Metro’s Department of Codes and Building Safety, and the permit is what sets off the inspections. Here is the table in plain words.
A building permit
- A new layer of roofing, or replacing more than a third of the roof
- Replacing any structural piece (a joist, rafter or stud), or more than 64 sq ft of roof decking
- Taking out a wall, even one that isn’t load-bearing
- Drywall repair or replacement over 100 sq ft, and paneling over 100 sq ft
- Changing a window’s style or size, or the window area
- A new door, or moving one
- A new shower or bath enclosure
- New stairs, or changing a tread or riser
- A new or lowered ceiling
- A new or enlarged chimney, a new flue or liner, or repairing over 25% of one
- A swimming pool, above or below ground
Only a trade permit
- An attic fan: electrical permit only
- Smoke detectors: electrical permit only
- Moving or adding a plumbing fixture: plumbing permit only
- An exhaust fan: gas / mechanical permit only
- A ducted cooktop: gas / mechanical permit only
- A fireplace insert or a wood stove: gas / mechanical permit only
No permit
- Kitchen cabinets, new or replacement
- Replacing windows or a door in the same opening
- Gutters and downspouts
- New insulation
- Flooring, refinishing and carpet
- Painting, wallpaper and ceramic tile on walls
- A vanity with no electrical or plumbing
- Replacing a dishwasher, disposal or refrigerator with an ice maker
- New window or door screens
Two rows on that list are easy to mix up. Swapping a window for one the same size needs nothing, while changing its size or style needs a building permit, and the same goes for a door: same opening, no permit; a new or moved opening, a permit.
Decks
Metro’s deck page is specific. Tearing a deck down without replacing it needs no permit. Building a new one or replacing an old one does, and so does replacing more than 100 square feet of deck boards or any of the footings or framing. Zoning examiners check the plans against the setbacks for your lot: an uncovered deck can come within 10 feet of the rear property line but has to meet the full side setback, while a covered deck has to meet both in full. No deck may sit over a platted setback or a utility easement.
A homeowner who lives in the house, or plans to, can apply for the deck permit themselves. The application needs a site plan showing the deck’s distance to the property lines, the other structures and any easements, and Metro adds a checklist of the other divisions that have to sign off before the permit is issued.
Around Nashville, the City of Mt. Juliet lists a deck among the things that need a permit, and the City of Murfreesboro requires one for decks too. Wilson County Building Codes needs no building permit for a deck or other accessory structure under 200 square feet, but it does need a zoning permit.
Fences
Metro’s fence page is mostly about where a fence can go and how tall it can be:
- a solid fence over 30 inches tall has to stand at least 10 feet back from the right-of-way, which can take in the sidewalk and the grass strip, so don’t measure from the curb;
- an open fence (chain link, wrought iron, or boards spaced at least a board’s width apart) can be 6 feet tall inside that 10 feet;
- past it, 6 feet is the limit in the front yard and 8 feet in the side and rear yards;
- nothing within 6 feet of a fire hydrant, and on a corner lot nothing in the 35-foot visibility zone (lots in the Urban Zoning Overlay excepted);
- a fence can sit on the property line but not over it, with its cross beams and bracing facing your side.
Metro doesn’t mark property lines or keep surveys, so your own property survey is the place to start. A house in a historic overlay needs a Preservation Permit for a fence, and one near a drainage ditch, a flood overlay or a stream buffer needs Metro Stormwater’s approval first.
Outside Nashville the rule is often simpler. Rutherford County Building Codes needs no building permit for a fence up to 7 feet, but asks for a Fence Affidavit, signed and filed with the county Planning Department, at no charge. The City of Mt. Juliet doesn’t require a permit for a fence 7 feet or under. The City of Murfreesboro does require one, though replacing sections of an existing fence counts as maintenance.
Roofs
In Nashville, a new layer of shingles or replacing more than a third of the roof needs a building permit, and so does replacing more than 64 square feet of roof decking, according to Metro’s table above.
Williamson County needs no permit for repairing or replacing a house’s roof; the county said so in a letter dated August 1, 2025. Rutherford County Building Codes needs none for re-roofing either, unless the sheathing, rafters or support beams are being replaced or repaired, and then it does. Inside a city in either county, ask that city’s office.
The county offices around it
Rutherford County Building Codes sets out what needs no building permit at all: a one-story shed of 120 square feet or less with no concrete foundation, a fence up to 7 feet (with the affidavit), a sidewalk, patio or driveway that won’t later carry a building, and a prefabricated pool under 24 inches deep. Anything else, call 615-898-7734 before you start; work done without a permit is charged a double permit fee. The office is at One Public Square, Room 101, in Murfreesboro, open weekdays until 4:15 p.m.
Wilson County Building Codes takes no applications after 3:30 p.m. and accepts a check, cashier’s check or money order. The City of Mt. Juliet lists the same 7-foot fence exemption, plus sidewalks and driveways no more than 30 inches above grade and prefabricated pools under 24 inches deep.
The other offices in our towns don’t say on their pages which of these jobs needs a permit, so call before the work starts: Williamson County, City of Franklin, City of Brentwood, Sumner County, City of Hendersonville, City of Lebanon. Usually a house inside a city answers to the city’s office, and a house outside one to the county’s.
Before anyone digs
Metro’s deck page gives one step worth taking before any digging: call Tennessee 811 at least three working days before digging starts. It notifies the utilities, which mark their lines in the yard.
If you aren’t sure where your property lines or easements are, the deed and the recorded plat (from the Register of Deeds) are where Metro points you, and a surveyor can mark the lines when those aren’t enough. A homeowners’ association can add its own rules on top of all of this, so check those too.
Sources
- Metro Nashville Codes: I want to renovate a single-family residence
- Metro Nashville Codes: I want to add a deck or patio to a residence
- Metro Nashville Codes: I want to build a fence
- Williamson County: Letter on residential roof permits, August 1, 2025
- Rutherford County Building Codes: Building FAQ
- City of Murfreesboro: Building permits
- Wilson County Building Codes: Get a permit
- City of Mt. Juliet: Building Codes Department
Schedules and rules change. Every fact in this permits guide is linked to the page it comes from, read on October 27, 2026; check that page before you rely on it, and tell us if it has moved: send us a note.