Statutes and fee schedules checked on . Permit fees and review times are set by individual cities, townships and counties, never by the state, so always confirm with the building department for your own address before you build.
- Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-120-101, statewide building construction safety standards: the local opt-out at (b)(1)(B), local enforcement at (b)(2), and the exclusions at (c)
- Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23, One and Two Family Dwellings and Townhouses: the adopted residential code, what the state permit covers, and the state fee schedule
- Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office, Currently Adopted Codes
- Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office, When Plans Submittal Is Required
- Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office, Residential Jurisdictions and Inspectors: which jurisdictions enforce their own code, which are on the state programme, and which have opted out
- Tennessee Code Annotated § 43-1-113, the definition of agriculture that applies across the code
- Tennessee Code Annotated § 13-7-114, the agricultural exemption from county zoning
- Tennessee Attorney General Opinion 22-07, the two conditions a building must meet for the county zoning exemption
- Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-126-311, ready-removables: the section this page used to cite for the farm exemption, which is about something else entirely
- Rutherford County Building Code FAQ, a worked local example of the permit threshold and the agricultural affidavit
- Metro Nashville Department of Codes and Building Safety, Accessory Structure Permitting Instructions
Do you need a permit for a pole barn in Tennessee?
Usually yes, and in Tennessee the question worth settling first is not whether but who, because the answer belongs to one of three different authorities depending on your address. Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-120-101(a) directs the state fire marshal to promulgate minimum statewide building construction safety standards by rule, and § 68-120-101(b)(1)(A) applies them to private buildings as well as municipal, county and state ones. There is no Tennessee Building Codes Council; an earlier version of this page said the codes were adopted by one, and no such body exists. The codes are adopted by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, and its own Currently Adopted Codes page, read on 10 October 2026, lists the 2021 International Building Code and, for one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, the 2018 International Residential Code with Tennessee amendments. For a detached pole barn on a house lot the residential code is the one that matters, not the building code the old page named. Now the three authorities. A city or county may certify to the state fire marshal under § 68-120-101(b)(2) that it adopts and enforces its own codes, and most of Tennessee’s population lives in one that does. A county or city may instead opt out of the statewide standards for one- and two-family dwellings by a two-thirds vote of its legislative body under § 68-120-101(b)(1)(B). Where neither has happened the state is the enforcing authority and a state residential building permit is what you buy. The State Fire Marshal’s Office publishes the status of every jurisdiction in the state, and that list is where to start rather than any general rule. Two limits on the opt-out are easy to miss, because it switches off less than it sounds like. It reaches only one- and two-family dwellings, so it says nothing about any other building and nothing at all about local zoning. And it is temporary by design: § 68-120-101(b)(1)(B)(ii)(b) makes an opt-out resolution expire 180 days after the next election of that legislative body unless another resolution is adopted. The part that catches barn owners out is that the state permit never reaches a barn in the first place. Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23-.01 defines the construction it covers as a new one- or two-family dwelling or townhouse, a change of occupancy into one, or an addition to one of 30 square feet or more of interior space, and the State Fire Marshal’s list of occupancies needing state plans review does not include a private storage or utility building either. So for a barn that is not a dwelling the permit question is wholly local, and it really does differ from one address to the next. A barndominium is the other case: it is a dwelling, so it goes to your local government or to the state, whichever enforces where you are.
What a pole barn permit costs in Tennessee
There is no Tennessee permit fee. A city or county that enforces its own code sets its own, and most of the state’s population lives in one that does. One worked example, and in Tennessee it is unusually worth having, because a single named authority covers many jurisdictions at once: where a local government neither enforces its own residential code nor has opted out, the enforcing authority is the state, and Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23-.08, read on 10 October 2026, sets the permit fee for a one- or two-family dwelling in bands on the total construction cost. It is $100 where that cost is $5,000 or less and $350 from $5,001 to $100,000, rising in bands above that. Notice what the cost means, because it is not simply your builder’s price: the rule says the fee is worked out on actual expected construction costs, but that those costs shall not be less than the construction cost given by the latest Building Valuation Data published by the International Code Council using a 0.60 cost modifier, so there is a floor under the schedule that a cheap quote cannot get beneath. A separate $100 attaches to each of a plumbing and mechanical inspection, a slab inspection other than a monolithic pour, a prefabricated wall inspection, a re-inspection after more than one rejection, and a consultation inspection or temporary certificate of occupancy; the issuing agent keeps $15 out of the permit fee; and starting work before the permit is issued adds a further 100% of it. That makes nine authorities read across nine states and no two of them share a method: Houston works its fee out from floor area in tiers, Columbus charges one flat figure per permit class, unincorporated Miami-Dade stacks three surcharges on a flat minimum, Michigan’s state bureau bands off a notional cost from its own square-foot table, Raleigh and Pittsburgh each take a share of a declared or calculated value between a floor and a ceiling, Peoria County charges a flat rate by the square foot above a stepped minimum, Cobb County works a rate off a construction cost it computes from floor area, and Tennessee bands off your actual cost with an International Code Council floor under it. No single statewide range could describe any two of them. Ask your own city or county for its current schedule, and keep in mind that the state schedule above is for a dwelling: what a detached barn costs to permit is whatever your local government charges for one.
When permits are NOT required in Tennessee
A nonresidential farm building needs no state building permit. Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-120-101(c)(2) says it in two words, "Nonresidential farm buildings", and the brevity is the point: there is no size threshold, no requirement that the land carry an agricultural tax classification, and no test that the building be used exclusively for farming. An earlier version of this page asserted all three of those conditions and cited the wrong statute for them. The exclusion does not itself define nonresidential farm buildings. The nearest statutory definition is § 43-1-113’s definition of agriculture, which applies wherever the term appears in the code unless another is specifically made applicable: the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock, the activity carried on in connection with it, and recreational, educational and secondary entertainment activities on land used for it. If that definition governs, the test is commercial production, which is wider than farming in the narrow sense, but the exclusion does not say that it does, so confirm with your building department. The condition that does the work here is the word nonresidential: a building you intend to live in is not covered.
County zoning has its own, different agricultural exemption, and a pole barn on farm land usually has to satisfy both. Tennessee Code Annotated § 13-7-114(a) says county zoning shall not be construed as authorising the requirement of building permits, nor as regulating construction, on land devoted to agricultural uses, provided the building is incidental to the agricultural enterprise. Three things narrow it: it does not apply on agricultural land adjacent or in proximity to state federal-aid highways, public airports or public parks; it does not apply inside the one hundred-year floodplain, where § 13-7-114(c) requires a county in the national flood insurance program to regulate anyway, but only to the minimum extent necessary to comply with that program; and it is county zoning only, so a city’s zoning is untouched by it. One thing widens it, in the opposite direction from the building code exclusion above: § 13-7-114(b) says buildings used as residences by farmers and farm workers are incidental to the agricultural enterprise. The same farm dwelling can therefore sit outside county zoning and inside the building code.
Renovation of an existing one- or two-family dwelling falls outside the statewide standards under § 68-120-101(c)(1), and so does a temporary building used exclusively for construction purposes under § 68-120-101(c)(3).
A single-storey open-air pavilion or shed that is open from the floor to the roof or ceiling above for at least 80% of its perimeter needs no plans submission to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which is the closest thing Tennessee has to a threshold written with open pole structures in mind. The State Fire Marshal’s Office says so on its own When Plans Submittal Is Required page, read on 10 October 2026. Read it for what it is: a plans-review exemption, not a permit exemption, and your local government’s permit requirement is a separate question.
There is no statewide small-structure threshold, and the figure this page used to print has been deleted rather than relabelled. It read "Structures under 144 sq ft in some jurisdictions", with no source and no jurisdiction named. The two jurisdictions checked on 10 October 2026 neither use that number nor agree with each other: Rutherford County exempts a one-storey detached storage building without a concrete foundation provided the floor area does not exceed 120 square feet, while Metro Nashville requires a permit for a shed over 10x10. Both matter less than they look for a pole barn, because Rutherford’s exemption falls away the moment there is a concrete foundation and its own guidance says a building of any size on a permanent foundation needs a permit, which is how a pole barn stands up. Ask your own building department for its own figure.
How long does the Tennessee permit process take?
That figure is not a department’s estimate and not a promise about your queue. It is a condition Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-120-101(b)(2)(B) attaches to the certification that lets a local government enforce its own code instead of the state: to qualify, the local government must certify that it is adequately enforcing its code and performing any examinations of construction plans and specifications and inspections within 30 days of the request. The remedy is different from the one Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia give you, and worth understanding before you rely on it. Nothing is refunded. Instead the state fire marshal audits every such local government at least once every three years under § 68-120-101(b)(4), and § 68-120-101(b)(5)(B) lets the statewide standards reapply where the state fire marshal determines, after written notice of grounds and an opportunity for hearing, that the local government is not adequately performing its enforcement functions. Beyond that, no Tennessee building department found on 10 October 2026 publishes a general turnaround a reader could hold it to, and an earlier version of this page printed week ranges by region with nothing behind them. Ask the department you will be filing with what its queue is running, and ask the zoning office separately.
County variations within Tennessee
| County | Major City | Permit Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | Nashville | Required; Metro Nashville issues | A consolidated metropolitan government holding a State Fire Marshal exemption, so Metro Codes enforces. Its accessory-structure instructions name a pole barn as an allowed use and allow no bedroom, dwelling space or kitchen in one |
| Shelby | Memphis | Required; the local government issues | Shelby County and Memphis hold an exemption together, and Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland and Millington each hold their own |
| Knox | Knoxville | Required; the local government issues | Knox County, Knoxville and Farragut each hold an exemption and enforce separately |
| Hamilton | Chattanooga | Required; the local government issues | Hamilton County and every municipality listed inside it, Chattanooga among them, hold exemptions |
| Rutherford | Murfreesboro | Required; the county or city issues | Rutherford County holds an exemption and has adopted a later edition of the residential code than the state’s. It exempts a one-storey detached storage building with no concrete foundation of 120 square feet or less, and nothing of any size on a permanent foundation |
| Williamson | Franklin | Required; the local government issues | Williamson County and its cities, Franklin and Brentwood included, all hold exemptions and enforce separately |
| Montgomery | Clarksville | Required; the local government issues | Montgomery County and Clarksville each hold an exemption |
| Scott | Huntsville | No state residential permit; ask the county | Scott County and Huntsville, Oneida and Winfield have all opted out of the state residential programme, so no state permit or inspection applies to a dwelling there. Local zoning and any local permit still do, and an owner may ask the State Fire Marshal’s Office to inspect under § 68-120-101(b)(1)(D) |
Common reasons permits get denied in Tennessee
Setback violation from a property line, a road right-of-way or a stream buffer
Proposed use not permitted in the zoning district
Missing engineer-stamped structural drawings where the local department requires them
Construction in a special flood hazard area without the elevation documentation a participating county must require under § 13-7-114(c)
Stormwater or impervious-surface limits exceeded
No septic permit and no proof of public sewer, which Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23-.05 makes a condition of the state residential permit application
An agricultural exemption claimed without the evidence of commercial production the local department asks for
Builders who handle the permit process in Tennessee
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Get Your Free Quote →Pole Barn Directory may receive a referral fee at no cost to you.Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to build a pole barn in Tennessee?+
For most non-farm uses yes, but who issues it depends on your address, and for a barn that is not a dwelling the answer is always local. Tennessee has statewide building construction safety standards promulgated by the state fire marshal under Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-120-101, and they apply to private buildings. Enforcement splits three ways: a city or county may enforce its own codes after certifying to the state fire marshal under § 68-120-101(b)(2), a county or city may opt out of the statewide standards for one- and two-family dwellings by a two-thirds vote under § 68-120-101(b)(1)(B), and where neither has happened the state enforces. The state’s own permit, though, covers only dwellings: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23-.01 limits it to a new one- or two-family dwelling or townhouse, a change of occupancy into one, or an addition to one of 30 square feet or more of interior space. A detached storage or workshop barn is none of those. Start with the State Fire Marshal’s Office list of jurisdiction statuses, then ask the building department it points you to.
What is the agricultural building exemption in Tennessee?+
There are two, they are not the same, and this page previously described neither of them correctly. The building code one is Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-120-101(c)(2), which excludes "Nonresidential farm buildings" from the statewide standards, in those two words. The county zoning one is § 13-7-114(a), which bars county zoning from requiring building permits or regulating construction on land devoted to agricultural uses where the building is incidental to the agricultural enterprise, except on agricultural land adjacent or in proximity to state federal-aid highways, public airports or public parks, and with a carve-out inside the one hundred-year floodplain at § 13-7-114(c). Three corrections matter. The old page cited § 68-126-311 as the source of the exemption; that section is part of the Tennessee Modular Building Act, concerns ready-removables, and says in subsection (b) that no ready-removable shall be modified for use as residential, recreational or emergency housing, which is close to the opposite of an exemption for anyone converting a shell into living space. The old page said the building had to be used exclusively for farming; neither provision sets that test, and § 43-1-113 defines agriculture across the code as the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock together with the activity carried on in connection with it and recreational, educational and secondary entertainment activities on that land. And the old page said the exemption fails if the building is used residentially; that is true of the building code exclusion, where nonresidential is the whole condition, but § 13-7-114(b) says the opposite for county zoning, because buildings used as residences by farmers and farm workers are incidental to the agricultural enterprise. In practice you prove it rather than assert it: Rutherford County, for one, asks for an affidavit plus evidence of commercial production, such as an IRS Schedule F or a Tennessee agricultural sales and use tax exemption certificate.
How much does a pole barn permit cost in Tennessee?+
No Tennessee figure exists and this guide prints no range. Fees are set by each city or county. The one schedule that covers many jurisdictions at once is the state’s, which applies where a local government neither enforces its own residential code nor has opted out: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23-.08 sets a dwelling permit fee of $100 where total construction cost is $5,000 or less and $350 from $5,001 to $100,000, rising in bands above that, with a $100 plumbing and mechanical inspection, a $100 slab inspection other than a monolithic pour, $15 kept by the issuing agent, and a further 100% of the fee if you start work before the permit is issued. The catch is the basis: the rule works the fee out on actual expected construction costs but will not accept a figure below the International Code Council Building Valuation Data with a 0.60 cost modifier. That schedule is for a dwelling. An earlier version of this page printed four fee ranges by region with no source behind any of them, and those are deleted. Ask your own department for its current schedule.
How long does a Tennessee pole barn permit take?+
No Tennessee building department found when this guide was checked on 10 October 2026 publishes a general turnaround you could hold it to, and the week ranges by region that used to appear here had nothing behind them. One real figure exists and it is worth knowing precisely what it binds. Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-120-101(b)(2)(B) requires a local government that wants to enforce its own codes instead of the state’s to certify that it is adequately enforcing them and performing examinations of construction plans and specifications and inspections within 30 days of the request. That is a condition of its authorisation, not a deadline with a refund attached: the state fire marshal audits each such local government at least once every three years and may let the statewide standards reapply where it finds, after notice and a hearing, that enforcement is inadequate. Ask the department you will file with what its queue is actually running, and ask the zoning office separately, because on unincorporated land those are two applications on two clocks.
Does Tennessee have a statewide building code, and can my county opt out?+
Yes to both, with a narrower opt-out than the name suggests. The state fire marshal promulgates minimum statewide building construction safety standards by rule under Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-120-101(a), and the State Fire Marshal’s Office currently adopts the 2021 International Building Code and, for one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, the 2018 International Residential Code with Tennessee amendments. An earlier version of this page credited the adoption to a Tennessee Building Codes Council, which does not exist, and named only the building code, which is not the code that governs a detached barn on a house lot. The opt-out at § 68-120-101(b)(1)(B) lets a county or city exempt itself by a two-thirds vote of its legislative body, but only from the standards for one- and two-family dwellings, and a county may only act for the land outside the municipalities within it. It does not touch any other building, it does not touch local zoning, and it lapses: an opt-out resolution expires 180 days after the next election of that legislative body unless another is adopted. Even inside an opt-out jurisdiction, § 68-120-101(b)(1)(D) lets an owner ask the State Fire Marshal’s Office to inspect a building and certify that it meets the statewide codes, which some lenders want to see.
Can I build a barndominium in Tennessee?+
Yes where zoning allows residential use on the parcel, and a barndominium is the case where the state does get involved, because it is a dwelling rather than an accessory building. It has to meet the residential code as a dwelling, which is a materially different build from a storage barn, and the permit comes from your local government or, where the local government neither enforces nor has opted out, from the state. Three Tennessee-specific things to settle before you design anything. The building code agricultural exclusion cannot help you, because § 68-120-101(c)(2) covers nonresidential farm buildings only, while the county zoning exemption may still reach a farm residence under § 13-7-114(b). Local rules may forbid living space in an accessory structure outright: Metro Nashville’s accessory-structure instructions allow no bedrooms, no dwelling spaces and no kitchens in one, so in Davidson County the building has to be permitted as a dwelling from the start. And if you are thinking of finishing out a shell that arrived on a truck, read § 68-126-311(b) first, because it says no ready-removable shall be modified for use as residential, recreational or emergency housing in this state.
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