Outside McMinnville city limits, Warren County’s Building & Environmental Codes Department issues building permits and inspects homes and commercial buildings under the 2018 International Codes. Apply through the county’s iWorQ portal with a card, or in person by cash or check. Fees follow construction cost, from $100 for jobs up to $5,000 to $550 at $300,000, plus $50 for each further $50,000.
Who issues permits in Warren County?
The county’s Building & Environmental Codes Department, led by Building Codes and Environmental Director Cole Miller, enforces the building codes along with the county’s mobile home park, junkyard and landfill, airport zoning and planning-region subdivision rules. The office is at 201 Locust Street, Suite 6, in the Warren County Administrative Building in McMinnville, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (931-474-2633, wccodes@warrencountytn.gov).
The State Fire Marshal lists the county and all four towns as exempt from the state residential program, meaning residential codes are enforced locally rather than by the state.
| Area | Who issues building permits |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated Warren County | Warren County Building & Environmental Codes |
| McMinnville | City Community Development Department, 101 E. Main St. (931-473-1204), which handles building permits, inspections, zoning and floodplain management inside the city |
| Morrison | Town of Morrison Codes Department, 130 W. Maple Street, (931) 635-2363; its building permit application covers new homes, additions, accessory buildings over 100 sq ft, decks, pools, plumbing, mechanical, signs and demolition, and the town has adopted the 2018 International Codes |
| Viola and Centertown | The published sources do not say whether the county or the town issues permits; the county application asks whether a site is inside city limits. Viola town hall: (931) 952-3775 |
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Get a free quote →What needs a Warren County building permit?
Permit required
- New homes and commercial buildings, including towers
- Additions of 30 sq ft or more (with drawings)
- Decks of 30 sq ft or more, or costing over $1,000 including labor
- Detached garages, carports, playhouses, patio covers, porches and storage buildings over 200 sq ft
- Remodels that affect the structure, that a bank or lender is financing, or that change a commercial building’s life safety plan
- Above-ground and in-ground pools
- In-ground storm shelters
No county permit
- Agricultural structures
- Mobile homes, which the county treats as exempt under state guidelines
- Accessory buildings of 200 sq ft or less
Under Resolution 29-2019 the adopted codes apply to residential and commercial construction alike.
Applying online or in person
The county’s iWorQ citizen portal has three building applications: the Residential Building Permit Application for new homes, the General Permit Application for commercial work and residential decks, and the Swimming Pool Permit Application. Online filing requires a credit or debit card payment when you apply. To pay by cash or check, print the same application from the county’s Documents & Links page and bring it to the office; checks are made out to the Warren County Trustee.
A homeowner can pull the permit without a contractor by signing the affidavit on the application: you must be the record owner, the building must be for your own use and not for sale or rent, you cannot have had a homeowner permit in the past two years, and you may not hire a construction manager. If you later hire a contractor, the permit is voided and the contractor applies again. Anyone hired for work worth $25,000 or more must be licensed, and the form asks for the contractor’s licence number and BC, BC-A or BC-B classification.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →Electrical, septic and pool rules
- Electrical: McMinnville runs its own electrical inspections inside city limits and is on the State Fire Marshal’s exempt list. Everywhere else in the county the electrical permit is a state permit bought in CORE; the state lists no local issuing agent in Warren County.
- Plumbing and HVAC: the single-family application asks whether an addition or change of occupancy includes plumbing or HVAC, and the county charges its $100 plumbing and mechanical inspection fee on top of the building permit.
- Septic: TDEC’s Cookeville Environmental Field Office (931-520-6688) serves Warren County. On the county application you certify that public sewer is available or that you have a septic permit.
- Pools: water deeper than 24 inches needs a barrier at least 4 feet high, in place before the pool is filled past 24 inches or used. An orange temporary fence may stand for no more than 60 days during construction, doors from the house need alarms if the house forms part of the barrier, and state law requires a pool alarm where the water is 36 inches deep or more.
Warren County permit fees
The fee schedule in Addendum Two to Resolution 29-2019, in force since January 1, 2020, applies to residential and commercial permits and is paid in full when you apply. It is based on the expected construction cost, which may not be lower than the cost worked out from the ICC’s latest Building Valuation Data with a 0.60 modifier.
| Total construction cost | Fee |
|---|---|
| $0 to $5,000 | $100 |
| $5,001 to $25,000 | $200 |
| $25,001 to $100,000 | $350 |
| $100,001 to $150,000 | $400 |
| $150,001 to $200,000 | $450 |
| $200,001 to $250,000 | $500 |
| $250,001 to $300,000 | $550 |
| Over $300,000 | $550 for the first $300,000, plus $50 for each further $50,000 or part of it |
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →So a $420,000 project pays $550 plus three $50 steps, $700 in all. Extra charges of $100 each apply for a plumbing and mechanical inspection, a slab poured separately from its footings, and a prefabricated wall inspection. A re-inspection after more than one rejection costs $100. Starting work knowingly before the permit is issued can add a penalty equal to the full permit fee.
Decks and pools carry no permit fee, and an in-ground storm shelter is a flat $50. Commercial buildings over 12,000 sq ft, and projects that would have gone to the State Fire Marshal for review before the county became exempt, also pay plan review of $1.50 per $1,000 of value up to $1,000,000 and $1.00 per $1,000 above that.
Drawings and application details
New homes need blueprints or working drawings showing the square footage. New commercial buildings also need a life safety plan. Additions of 30 sq ft or more need drawings too. The single-family application asks for:
- The type of work: new house, addition of 30 sq ft or more of interior space, or change of occupancy to a single-family home
- Heated and unheated square footage
- Foundation type (crawl space without slab, slab and footing cast separately, or monolithic), basement, and number of stories
- The address, whether it is inside city limits, and the parcel ID (control map, group and parcel)
- Owner and contractor details and the total construction cost
The form also reminds permit holders that checking deed restrictions is their responsibility.
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Get a free quote →How to get a Warren County permit
Use the parcel ID to check whether the lot is in McMinnville or another town; inside McMinnville, apply to the city instead.
Arrange public sewer or a TDEC septic permit, since the application asks you to certify one or the other.
Have plans with square footage ready, plus a life safety plan for commercial work.
Choose the residential, general or pool application, and pay by card online or by cash or check at 201 Locust Street.
Call the county at (931) 473-2505 for the code needed to request inspections online.
Outside McMinnville, purchase it from the state in CORE before the wiring starts.
Booking Warren County inspections
Inspections are requested through the iWorQ portal with the access code the department issues for your permit. Separate inspections are charged for plumbing and mechanical work, slabs cast apart from their footings and prefabricated walls. When work has been rejected more than once, the re-inspection it needs is charged at $100.
Disputes over a permit decision or a code interpretation go to the county’s Board of Appeals.
The county’s amendments to the 2018 residential code drop the electrical chapters (34 to 43) and the sprinkler requirement for one- and two-family homes, and its energy rules use the 2009 insulation table in place of the 2018 one, with no floor R-value required.
Tennessee statewide rules
Tennessee licenses contractors through the Board for Licensing Contractors for jobs of $25,000 or more; a Home Improvement licence applies below that only in the nine counties that opted in. Tennessee rules
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Warren County permit search and official resources
- Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office
- Tennessee Residential Jurisdictions & Inspectors
- Warren County adopted-code resolution
- Warren County single-family permit application
- Warren County Building & Environmental Codes
- Warren County iWorQ permit portal
- Warren County codes documents and links
- Warren County general permit application
- Warren County pool permit application
- City of McMinnville Community Development
- Tennessee state electrical permits (CORE)
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Warren County permit FAQs
How much is a building permit in Warren County, TN?
It depends on construction cost: $100 up to $5,000, $350 from $25,001 to $100,000, $500 from $200,001 to $250,000, and $550 at $300,000 plus $50 per additional $50,000.
Do I need a permit for a shed or detached garage?
Yes, if it is larger than 200 sq ft. Agricultural buildings are exempt.
Do I need a permit for a deck or pool?
Yes. A deck of 30 sq ft or more, or costing over $1,000, needs a permit, and so does any pool, but neither is charged a permit fee.
Can I build my own house in Warren County?
Yes, as the record owner building for your own use, once every two years, by signing the homeowner affidavit on the application.
Who issues permits inside McMinnville?
The City of McMinnville Community Development Department, 101 E. Main St., 931-473-1204, which also inspects electrical work inside the city.
Which building code does Warren County use?
The 2018 International Codes and the 2018 NFPA Life Safety Code, adopted by Resolution 29-2019 with local amendments.
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More Tennessee permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Warren County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.