Clarksville building department

The City of Clarksville Building & Codes Department issues building, trade, sign, pool, demolition, and temporary-structure permits for property inside Clarksville city limits. It also reviews commercial plans, inspects construction, issues Certificates of Occupancy, and enforces property maintenance rules. The office at 100 South Spring Street is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The city and Montgomery County run separate building departments. Unincorporated Montgomery County is served by Montgomery County Building and Codes at 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 309, phone (931) 648-5718. Confirm the parcel is inside city limits before you apply. See city or county: who issues your building permit.

When a permit is required

The city’s FAQ says a building permit is needed whenever you construct, alter, repair, enlarge, move, renovate, demolish, or permanently place a building or structure. Permit categories in the portal include residential and commercial building; electrical, mechanical/gas, and plumbing (each split residential and commercial, plus “non-standard” electrical); pools/decks; signs; temporary job trailers; tents, temporary structures, and donation bins; demolition; backyard hens; and yard sales. One project may need several permits.

Site documents depend on the project:

Project	What the city asks for
Permanent structures	Current stamped property survey showing boundaries, structures, easements, rights-of-way, setbacks, and the proposed structure
Detached accessory buildings on a permanent foundation, in-ground pools, covered decks, porches, carports	Property survey
Above-ground pools; accessory structures with no permanent foundation or utilities	Aerial photos or scaled drawings are accepted
Temporary structures (on-ground pools, portable sheds)	Uncertified survey accepted
New single-family and two-family homes	Foundation survey showing the slab or foundation within setbacks

Every application also needs a site plan and a project valuation that covers all labor and materials. The Building Official may adjust the valuation. Applications missing any required document are treated as incomplete and are not accepted for review.

Fences

Side and rear fences may go up to the property line. In the front setback (30 or 40 feet, depending on the subdivision), nothing that blocks vision may stand taller than 3.5 feet. On corner lots, the same 3.5-foot limit applies inside a sight triangle running 100 feet along each street from the center of the intersection in residential districts (80 feet in most other districts). Barbed wire is banned on residential property. City pages disagree on the height that triggers a fence permit: the Codes Enforcement FAQ says over 6 feet, and the department FAQ says over 7 feet.

Pools

A permit is required for in-ground and above-ground pools, permanent spas and hot tubs, and pool decks. Pools must sit at least 10 feet from property lines and 5 feet from the house, and not in an easement or right-of-way. Separate electrical, plumbing, or mechanical permits may be needed for bonding, water connections, or gas heaters. The city’s pool handout, based on the 2018 ISPSC, calls for a barrier at least 48 inches high and self-closing, self-latching gates that open away from the pool.

Who can pull a permit

Contractors must show a Tennessee contractor’s license, a certificate of general liability insurance, and proof of workers’ compensation coverage or a state-issued exemption. Under T.C.A. § 62-6-103, any project valued at $25,000 or more must be done by a state-licensed contractor.

A homeowner may pull a building permit for their own primary single-family residence. The homeowner must file a notarized Homeowner Affidavit taking full responsibility for the permit and the work. The city’s FAQ also lists proof of general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage. A homeowner may not apply to build more than one residence, or build more than one, in a two-year period. Homeowners cannot pull plumbing or mechanical/gas permits; those must come from a licensed contractor. See owner-builder permits.

Applying in the Self-Service Portal

Applications, payments, and inspection requests run through the city’s Tyler EnerGov Self-Service Portal. Register an account and verify your email, since all permit messages go there. Start a permit with the “Apply” button. Invoices appear in the portal; add them to the cart and check out. Fees must be paid before the permit is issued.

Contractors register in the portal by uploading their state licenses and insurance certificates as PDFs. Staff review each registration. If a “Local Card” is required, it is invoiced through the portal. Do not file a new registration when a license or certificate expires. Email the updated documents and your CONO ID number to [email protected] instead.

Fees

Fees are set in City Code Section 4-203. The department’s FY2025 memo sets these building permit fees:

Work	Fee
New single-family, two-family, or townhouse unit	$0.37 per sq ft effective July 1, 2024, plus a $0.01 per year inflation factor
Residential renovation or addition, $1,000 or less	$15 minimum
Residential renovation or addition, $1,000 to $50,000	$15 plus $5 per additional $1,000
Non-residential, 0 to 5,000 sq ft	$50 plus $1.00 per sq ft
Non-residential, 5,001 to 20,000 sq ft	$50 plus $1.25 per sq ft
Non-residential, 20,001 to 50,000 sq ft	$50 plus $1.50 per sq ft
Non-residential, 50,001 to 100,000 sq ft	$50 plus $2.00 per sq ft
Second or later reinspection	$40

The city may ask for a cost breakdown if the stated valuation is less than 75% of the current ICC Building Valuation table. Commercial and multifamily plan review costs one-half of the building permit fee and is due when the application is submitted. The department also posts an online permit fee calculator. A Life Safety Certificate of Occupancy costs $10 per location. Zoning letters cost $10 per parcel for use verification and $25 per parcel for full compliance.

Commercial plan review

Assembly, educational, and institutional buildings need plans from a Tennessee-registered design professional. Business, factory, hazardous, mercantile, residential, and storage buildings under three stories and under 5,000 square feet are exempt, as are one- and two-family homes and farm buildings. Plans are uploaded with the application in the portal. Review can take up to 10 business days.

Adopted codes

The city enforces the 2018 IBC (appendices C, D, F), IRC (Appendix G), IECC, IFC, IFGC (Appendix C), IMC (Appendix A), IPC (Appendix F), and International Existing Building Code. It also enforces the 2017 NEC, ICC A117.1-2009, the 1985 Unsafe Building Abatement Code, and the City of Clarksville Property Maintenance Code. The commercial plan review guidelines cite ICC A117.1-2017 for accessibility.

Inspections

Request inspections in the portal under My Work, on the permit’s Inspections tab. When a trade permit is linked to a building permit, the inspections usually sit under the building permit. You can also email residential requests to [email protected] and commercial requests to [email protected].

• Trade rough-ins and finals requested by 8:00 a.m. are done the same day. Later requests go to the next business day.
• Underground, footing, slab, and water/sewer requests made after 1:30 p.m. go to the next day.
• Footing, foundation, electrical underground, and water/sewer inspections usually run on a two-hour same-day timeline.
• Inspections run 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Kitchen hood duct inspections are by appointment only.
• Every failed inspection needs a reinspection.

Typical new-construction building inspections are footing, foundation, slab, framing, a firewall check on commercial jobs, and final. Plumbing, mechanical/gas, and electrical each have their own rough-in and final inspections. Commercial jobs also need fire marshal inspections ((931) 645-7462) and a Street Department final grade check ((931) 645-7464). The Certificate of Occupancy is issued once all inspections pass. Building permits stay valid if work starts within six months and is not abandoned for six straight months. The department posts a time extension application online.

Third-party providers may handle plan review and inspections once registered with the department; City Code Title 4, Chapter 11 governs them. They must upload each inspection report within 10 business days.