Knoxville building department

The City of Knoxville Plans Review and Inspections Department reviews plans, issues permits, and performs inspections for buildings inside Knoxville city limits. Its office is at 400 Main Street, Suite 475. Permits are filed online in a single “project” record that links the city’s Accela Citizen Access account with ProjectDox electronic plan review. Property outside city limits in Knox County is handled by a different permitting authority. Check that a parcel is inside the city before you start a project in the city portal.

Office hours and contacts

The department’s general hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phones are staffed 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the front desk is open 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You can reach the department at (865) 215-4311 or [email protected]. The staff directory is organized by review discipline:

• Zoning review
• Building review and inspection
• Mechanical, electrical and plumbing
• Stormwater engineering
• Fire plans examiners
• Utilities plans examiners

For help with the Accela portal itself, the city directs users to call 311.

Registering to pull permits

Before you can apply, your Citizen Access account must be tied to a permit registration that matches your qualifications. The city offers three registration types:

• State contractor registration, for Tennessee-licensed contractors.
• Homeowner registration, for owners pulling their own permits.
• Unlicensed or state limited-license registration (LLE or LLP).

Some work types require a particular registration and the matching Tennessee license. Since 2022 the city has not required bonds for subcontractor licenses. The city recommends that companies create one shared account and give staff the login, so permit records are not split across several accounts.

Permit types

To apply, sign in to Citizen Access and choose “Create an Application” under Permits. The city recommends Chrome or Edge. Residential permits cover single-family homes and townhouses:

• New building
• Addition
• Alteration or repair
• Like-for-like repair
• Total demolition

Each has its own city guideline sheet, and new construction also needs a site plan.

Commercial permits cover multifamily and non-residential buildings:

• New building
• Addition
• Alteration or repair
• Total demolition
• Signs
• CO reissuance after a change of owner or tenant

Other application types:

• Trade permits: mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, plus low-voltage for commercial work.
• Site work: rough grading permits cover disturbance under 10,000 sq ft with no infrastructure. Larger disturbance, or any project with infrastructure, needs a site development permit.
• Fire systems: alarm and suppression system permits. As of November 1, 2025, Plans Review and Inspections reviews and inspects all new-construction alarm systems.
• Plan changes: revisions to approved plans go through a “Change to Approved Plans” (CHAP) review. Only one CHAP can be active at a time, but inspections can continue during the review.
• Expedited review: request it with the city’s expedited review application.
• Smaller permits: temporary use, home occupation, and mobile food unit inspections. Mobile food unit inspections cost $50 and are held the first and third Tuesday of each month at Ridley Helton Park.

Adopted codes

Knoxville’s construction-codes page lists:

Code	Edition
International Building, Residential, Existing Building, Fire, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, and Swimming Pool and Spa Codes	2024
National Electrical Code (NFPA 70)	2023
International Energy Conservation Code	2018
ICC A117.1 accessibility	2017
International Green Construction Code	2024 (voluntary only)

Recent zoning amendments are already in effect even though they are not yet in the city’s online code. They cover cottage courts, landscaping, middle housing, non-conforming lots, and vesting rights. They are posted on the department’s Codes & Requests page. That page also takes building-code modification requests, Board of Zoning Appeals applications, plans-review meeting requests, and address certifications.

Fees (2024 Development Services Fee Schedule)

Selected figures from the city’s 2024 schedule:

Item	Fee
Building permit, valuation up to $500,000	0.55% of valuation, $50 minimum
Building permit, $500,000.01–$2,000,000	$2,750 + 0.45% of valuation over $500,000
Trade permit with a building project	Greater of 0.15% of total project valuation or 0.5% of trade valuation, $55 minimum
Stand-alone trade permit	0.5% of trade valuation, $55 minimum
Full demolition (review and permit)	0.5% of valuation, $100 minimum
Re-inspection	First is free; then $50 per discipline
Special request or after-hours inspection	$50 per discipline
Permit renewal	25% of original permit fee, $50 minimum, $1,000 maximum
CO reissuance, no work	$100
Work started before permit, 1- and 2-family	Equal to the permit fee, $1,000 maximum

For larger projects, separate commercial (IBC) plan-review fees apply. Signs cost $75 per sign for review, and sign permits are 0.5% of valuation with a $200 minimum. The department’s online fee calculator gives estimates only and leaves out engineering fees, which follow the city’s separate 2025 Engineering Fee Schedule.

Inspections

Request inspections through the “Request an Inspection” link on the department’s Inspections page. The same page posts a daily “Check Today’s Inspections” list. Building, MEP, stormwater, and fire inspectors all work out of the department, so a project’s inspections can include several disciplines. For a typical sequence, see building inspection stages.

The department’s portal site has announced that its processes are moving onto the main City of Knoxville website. If a permits.knoxvilletn.gov link stops working, start from the department page on knoxvilletn.gov.