Shelby County 2018 IRC with Tennessee amendments

Barndominium Builders in Memphis, TN

Memphis and Shelby County share one construction code office, and it works from the 2021 International Residential Code - a newer edition than the 2018 IRC Tennessee adopted statewide. Seismic is the live engineering question here: the office's residential permit checklist requires seismic requirements on the plans for all new construction over 400 square feet, and the local amendments add their own anchorage, holddown and strap detailing on top of the code. Septic runs on a separate track again, because the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department holds sole responsibility for it rather than the state.

Memphis at a glance

County: Shelby County
Population: 633,104
ZIP codes: 38103, 38104, 38105, 38106, 38107, 38108, 38109, 38111, 38112, 38114, 38115, 38116, 38117, 38118, 38119, 38120, 38122, 38125, 38126, 38127, 38128, 38133, 38134, 38135, 38141
Site visits: About 200 miles from our Franklin office

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Building conditions in Memphis

What actually changes from one Tennessee jurisdiction to the next: who issues the permit, whether the residential code is enforced there at all, what the structure has to be engineered to, and what the ground is like. These are the numbers your drawings have to satisfy.

Build conditions for Memphis, drawn from the sourced facts on this page. Every figure above is cited in the quick-facts panel below, with its source and vintage.

Who issues the permit

Memphis and Shelby County run a single construction code office rather than a city department and a county department. It reviews plans, issues construction permits and inspects new buildings for the City of Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County, and also for Arlington, Germantown, Lakeland and Millington. The office is at 6465 Mullins Station Road, Memphis, on 901-222-8300.

Construction Enforcement, Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, develop901.com/construction-enforcement, and the office's Residential Building Permit Procedures, shelbycountytn.gov DocumentCenter 35061, fetched 31 Aug 2026

Codes in force - newer than the state's

Shelby County Code section 6-44 adopts the 2021 International Residential Code, effective in the City of Memphis and the unincorporated county on 31 December 2021. Tennessee's statewide residential code is the 2018 IRC. So a Memphis house is built to a newer edition than the state minimum, and no IRC appendices are adopted locally at all. The 2021 IBC, IECC, IPC, IMC and IFGC and the 2020 National Electrical Code were adopted alongside it.

Code of Ordinances, Shelby County, Tennessee, Chapter 6 sections 6-41 to 6-48, codified through Ordinance No. 580 enacted 2 June 2025 (Supp. No. 13), via the Municode API, fetched 31 Aug 2026; Construction Code Enforcement Policy for Roof Installations rev. 8 June 2022, shelbycountytn.gov DocumentCenter 41611

Seismic is on the permit checklist at 400 square feet

The first line of the office's residential permit checklist reads: all new construction and additions over 400 sq. ft. must show seismic requirements. Before the permit issues, a plans examiner will verify that the seismic requirements are shown on the plans and are correct, naming strapping and panels specifically. Any barndominium, and most detached shops, sit well over that threshold.

Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement, Residential Building Permit Procedures, shelbycountytn.gov DocumentCenter 35061, and General Information about submittals, DocumentCenter 33929, fetched 31 Aug 2026

The local seismic detailing amendment

Joint Ordinance 442 of 16 December 2013 amended R301.2.2 and added R301.2.2.3.8 with twelve subsections, a Memphis-written alternative compliance method for wood-framed dwellings in seismic design categories D0, D1 and D2. It calls for half-inch anchor bolts with 3-inch by 3-inch washers at 4 feet on centre embedded 7 inches, 18-gauge galvanised clips fastening roof framing to the top plate at 48 inches on centre, and a holddown at each end of every wall over 8 feet sized at 210 pounds per foot of wall height. The method is only open where total wall opening area stays under 30 percent on each of the four main exterior walls - which is exactly where a glazed barndominium elevation lands, and past that line the building is engineered under R301.1.3.

Memphis and Shelby County Local Amendments to the Residential Code, Shelby County Ordinance 425 and Memphis Ordinance 5480, amended by Ordinances 442 and 5539, shelbycountytn.gov DocumentCenter 18894, fetched 31 Aug 2026; carried forward by the editor's note to Shelby County Code section 6-44

Septic is the Health Department, not the state

Shelby County's own regulations put it plainly: sole responsibility for enforcement of the subsurface sewage law lies with the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department. The Water Quality Branch and Septic Tank Program at 1826 Sycamore View Road issues the permit on 901-222-9572, the fee is $175, and a plot plan and soil analysis go in with the application. A conventional system needs a percolation rate of no more than 105 minutes per inch, 24 inches of undisturbed soil, and 370 square feet of trench bottom per bedroom, with slopes over 30 percent excluded from percolation testing.

Regulations Governing Construction, Installation, and Operation of Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems, Shelby County Health Department, shelbytnhealth.com DocumentCenter 174, and shelbytnhealth.com/182/Septic-Tank-Permitting-Process, fetched 31 Aug 2026

Zoning for an acreage build

The Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code sizes a rural lot by how it is serviced. In the CA Conservation Agriculture district a conventional dwelling needs 4 acres with no public water or sewer, 2 acres with public water and an individual treatment facility, and 1 acre once public sewer is available, all at 120 feet of lot width, with a 60-foot front setback, 20-foot interior side, 40-foot rear and a 40-foot height cap. R-E Residential Estate runs the same four steps down to 22,000 square feet. There is no minimum heated floor area anywhere in the code.

The Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code, current through ZTA 24-2, Article 3 Building Envelope Standards and section 10.5.2, shelbycountytn.gov DocumentCenter 40803, fetched 31 Aug 2026

Also worth knowing before you build in Memphis

The published design criteria table: Tennessee leaves Table R301.2 blank for each jurisdiction to fill in, and most never do. Memphis and Shelby County publish theirs: ground snow load 10 lb/ft2, wind design speed 90 mph, no topographic effects, seismic design category D0 or D1, weathering moderate, frost line depth 5 inches, termite moderate to heavy, decay moderate to severe, winter design temperature 18F, no ice shield underlayment, air freezing index 158, mean annual temperature 61.8F. A 5-inch frost line is shallow by Tennessee standards and it changes what the footing has to do.
Metal cladding is not restricted on a site-built house: The Unified Development Code does carry a 3-in-12 minimum roof pitch, a six-inch eave and a requirement that siding be predominantly vinyl, aluminium, wood or hardboard - but that block sits inside the definition of the manufactured and modular home housing type, and its own wording borrows the dimensional standards of the conventional housing type rather than the reverse. A site-built dwelling is a different housing type and is not caught by it. Subdivision plats and planned developments carry their own private restrictions, and the office pulls the plat at permit stage to check setbacks and landscaping, so that is where cladding is actually constrained.
Plan review times and what has to be sealed: The office's published answer on turnaround is that it depends on the work load but averages 7 to 20 working days. Four sets of plans are required, an engineer's letter or structural calculations are required for new buildings and additions or any structural reconfiguration, and the design professional must be licensed in the State of Tennessee. A permit lapses if work is not commenced within 180 days, and an expired permit means a fresh application and a fresh plan review fee.
Accessory buildings and the four-acre barn rule: An accessory structure must be compatible with the architectural character of the principal structure and sit at least five feet from any side or rear line and from any other building. Accessory structures are otherwise barred from the front yard in residential districts, with one exception written for rural sites: barns and related accessory structures may stand in front of the house where they are at least 100 feet from the right-of-way and the site is at least four acres. Shipping containers are not permitted as accessory structures outside industrial districts.
Building it yourself: Construction Code Enforcement publishes the owner-builder position directly: under T.C.A. section 62-6-103 a property owner may construct, alter, repair or add to a single-family dwelling intended for their own use and not for resale, rent or lease. A licensed or registered contractor is still required for all mechanical, plumbing and electrical work unless the technical codes say otherwise, and a statement of ownership letter is needed before the permit issues. Tennessee's contractor licence threshold of $25,000 sits behind that, counted on the complete project cost including labour and materials.
Fees, and the surrounding towns: The published residential schedule sets a $50 application fee, $0.07 per square foot for new construction with a $125 minimum for a new single-family dwelling, plan review at $125 up to 2,500 square feet or $150 above it, and a $125 certificate of occupancy, plus a $4.00 administrative charge and a $1.00 residential surcharge. Detached accessory buildings over 400 square feet run at $0.07 per square foot with a $50 minimum. Fees for work in Germantown, Millington, Arlington and Lakeland are multiplied by 1.33333, and Germantown also requires a separate footing and foundation permit and an approved foundation survey first.

Below the slab

The expensive surprises are in the ground, not the building

What moves a Tennessee budget is usually below grade: limestone sitting shallow, karst voids and sinkholes, and slope. Those are the same conditions that decide whether a septic field passes its soil and site evaluation, so the grading plan, the footing depth and the drainfield get resolved together rather than one at a time. We price the dirt before we price the building.

What we build in Memphis

All nine services are available across Shelby County. What a build costs depends far more on the parcel than on square footage, so we price against your land rather than publishing a rate card.

Barndominium Kits

Engineered barndominium shell packages delivered to your Tennessee lot, stamped for the criteria your county adopted.

Turnkey Builds

Start to finish barndominium construction: we handle permits, slab, shell, and full interior finish.

Custom Plans

Barndominium floor plans drawn to your land, your family, and the residential code your county actually enforces.

Post-Frame Homes

Pole barn construction adapted into full residences, with wide clear spans and fast dry-in.

Steel Construction

Red-iron and light-gauge steel framing: no rot, no termites, engineered to your county’s adopted wind criteria.

Shouses

Shop and house in one building: workspace and living space under a single roof and a single permit.

Metal Homes

Full metal-clad residences: low maintenance envelopes specified to your Tennessee climate zone.

Site Preparation

Clearing, grading, pad, drainage, and utilities: the work that decides whether the build goes smoothly.

Permitting & Engineering

Sealed structural engineering and the permit that depends on it, from submittal through final inspection.

What a build looks like

Three stages every Memphis project passes through, from a raw parcel to a finished home. Site work first, because that is where the budget is decided.

Stage one

The parcel

Zoning, setbacks, flood zone and utility access get checked before anything is drawn.

Stage two

Pad and permit

Clearing, grading and a compacted pad, while the submittal works through Shelby County.

Stage three

Frame to finish

Shell erected and dried in, then systems, insulation and interior finish through to CO.

Those are the rules for Shelby County. Tell us what you want to build and we will draw it to them.

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Where we build around Memphis

Shelby County and the rural land around it. The buildable acreage for a project this size usually sits outside the city limits, which is frequently what changes who issues your permit.

Our Memphis service area, covering Shelby County and the surrounding rural acreage. We build across this area from our office in Franklin, TN — this map marks the territory we serve, not a branch location.

Keep reading

The questions that usually come next once you know what Memphis allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and by size, with a calculator built on the same figures.

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Is It Legal in Tennessee?

Classification, zoning, the HOA gate, and why "nonresidential farm building" does not cover a home.

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How Long Does It Take?

Census build-duration data, and what actually sets the permit clock where you are building.

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Sources for this page

The primary documents behind the Memphis figures above. We would rather you checked them than took our word for it.

Nearby areas we build in

Others we cover in this part of Tennessee. The permitting authority, the adopted design criteria and the zoning can all differ from one to the next.

Nashville

Davidson County

Clarksville

Montgomery County

Building in Memphis: common questions

7 questions we get asked most often about building in Memphis. If yours is not on the list, ask it directly.

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Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Memphis or Shelby County?

Yes. Memphis and Shelby County adopt and enforce their own construction codes by joint ordinance, and one office - the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement at 6465 Mullins Station Road, on 901-222-8300 - handles plan review, permits and inspections for the city and the unincorporated county alike. Some Tennessee counties have voted themselves out of the residential code under state law. Shelby is not one of them, and a dwelling here needs a permit whichever side of the city line it sits on.

Does Memphis really require seismic design on a house?

It does, and it is written into the permit checklist rather than buried in the code. All new construction and additions over 400 square feet must show seismic requirements on the plans, and a plans examiner verifies the strapping and panels before the permit issues. Memphis sits in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and the locally published Table R301.2(1) gives a seismic design category of D0 or D1, which under IRC R301.2.2 puts a detached dwelling squarely inside the seismic provisions. For a clear-span building this is not a formality: seismic load combinations drive base connections, anchor bolts and lateral bracing hard.

Which code edition applies, and is it the same as the rest of Tennessee?

No, and Memphis is ahead rather than behind. Shelby County Code section 6-44 adopts the 2021 International Residential Code, effective in the City of Memphis and the unincorporated county from 31 December 2021, alongside the 2021 IBC, IECC, IPC, IMC and IFGC and the 2020 National Electrical Code. Tennessee's statewide residential code is the 2018 IRC. One practical difference: the state adopts IRC Appendix Q for tiny houses and Memphis and Shelby County adopt no IRC appendices at all.

Can I clad a house in metal in Memphis or Shelby County?

Yes, on a site-built dwelling. The Unified Development Code's minimum roof pitch, six-inch eave and vinyl-or-wood siding requirements sit inside the manufactured and modular home housing type and do not reach a house built on site. What does constrain cladding is private: recorded subdivision plats, planned developments and covenants. The permit office pulls the plat and checks setbacks and landscaping against it, so the plat is the document to read before choosing a wall panel.

Who issues the septic permit here?

The Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, not the state. Shelby County's own regulations state that sole responsibility for enforcement of the subsurface sewage law lies with the department, and the Water Quality Branch and Septic Tank Program at 1826 Sycamore View Road issues the permit on 901-222-9572. The fee is $175 and the application needs a plot plan and a soil analysis. A conventional system requires a percolation rate of no more than 105 minutes per inch and 370 square feet of trench bottom per bedroom; between 106 and 120 minutes per inch an alternative system is required instead.

How much land do I need if there is no public sewer?

In the CA Conservation Agriculture district a conventional dwelling needs four acres where neither public water nor public sewer is available, and two acres with public water and an approved individual treatment facility. R-E Residential Estate follows the same steps. The zoning code also sends unserviced lots to the Health Department for review, so the lot size and the septic design get settled together rather than one after the other. Sizing has to allow for a duplicate disposal area as well as the original field.

How long does plan review take, and does it need an engineer?

The office publishes an average of 7 to 20 working days depending on its workload, on four sets of plans at 11 by 17 inches or larger. It also states that an engineer's letter or structural calculations are required for new buildings and additions or any structural reconfiguration, and that the design professional must be licensed in Tennessee. That suits this building type: a clear-span frame already exceeds the prescriptive tables, so it is an engineered building under IRC R301.1.3 rather than a conventional one.

What clients say

4.9 out of 5 based on 8 reviews Placeholder content

Permitting was the part I was dreading and it turned out to be the part I thought least about. They handled the submittal, chased the review comments, and told me plainly which questions were the county deciding and which were ours.

Peter M. February 11, 2026

We had ten acres outside town and no idea what we could legally put on it. They pulled the zoning and the A-1 lot minimum before we spent anything on drawings, which saved us from buying plans for a building that would not have been approved.

Dale W. July 18, 2026

Ordered the shell kit and erected it with my brother-in-law over about six weekends. The drawings were clear, the bolt schedule matched what showed up on the truck, and the county inspector had no issues with the engineering.

Marisol T. June 2, 2026

Building in Memphis?

Start with the plan. Tell us what you want to build and we will draw it, then confirm what Shelby County will actually let you put on the parcel and what wind load it has to meet. That conversation costs nothing.

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