Building permits, zoning and land rules in Bedford County, Tennessee

Yes. Bedford County requires zoning and/or building permits for new commercial and residential structures and for listed accessory work, including pools, additions, porches, carports, detached garages, storage buildings, workshops and barns¹. Bedford County follows the 2021 International Residential Code with amendments and the 2015 building, plumbing and mechanical codes¹. After required final inspections are approved, the permit holder receives either a Certificate of Occupancy or a notice of final inspection authorizing use and occupancy¹. County driveway permits also become required effective July 1, 2026¹.

The Bedford County Building & Codes Department administers building permits, inspections and adopted codes for unincorporated Bedford County¹. Reach the office at 1 Public Square North, 3rd Floor, Suite 301, Shelbyville, TN 37160; call (931) 685-1336 Ext. 2 or email permits@bedfordcountytn.gov¹. Applications may be submitted in person, by email, by standard mail or through the county's online permitting portal, and every submitted application receives staff plan review⁴. The county may require Planning, electrical, environmental, fire-marshal or Highway Department approval before issuance¹. Zoning-compliance and temporary-use fees must be paid before the county acts on an application; the County Commission's schedule is posted in the Zoning Compliance Director's office².

Yes. The Bedford County zoning resolution applies outside municipal corporations, where Planning & Zoning reviews building applications and issues zoning and development permits^2,6. The county publishes district rules and keeps the official zoning map available for public inspection, so confirm the parcel's district before applying². Accessory structures generally must sit at least 10 feet from side and rear lot lines, subject to exceptions². Minimum lot area and lot coverage vary by district; a cited 30% coverage cap is district-specific, not countywide². Agricultural buildings used principally for agriculture remain subject to a building permit and applicable building standards, even where zoning exemptions apply². No house may be built on a lot that was vacant when the zoning resolution was adopted if the lot is under 75 feet wide at the building line or under 8,000 square feet, except in planned unit developments². Every manufactured home must be permitted before it is moved onto the site, and moving it first can double the permit fee as a penalty².

TDEC's Columbia Environmental Field Office, rather than Bedford County, administers septic permits because Bedford is not a contract county^3,9. A permit is required to install a septic system or repair a faulty one, and TDEC inspects each installation for compliance with the permit and state requirements^9,10. A conventional-system permit costs $400 for design flow up to 1,000 gallons per day, plus $100 for each additional 1,000 gallons per day; a conventional construction inspection costs $100^9,10. Only about 8.1% of Bedford County soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field, so settle septic feasibility before fixing the house site⁸. Reach the Columbia office at 1421 Hampshire Pike, Suite 100, Columbia, TN 38401 or (931) 380-3371⁷.

Bedford County limits habitation in a camping vehicle or recreational vehicle within a private campground or travel-trailer park to no more than 30 consecutive days; that provision does not answer long-term occupancy on an ordinary private parcel². We could not confirm the ordinary-parcel rule, so ask Planning & Zoning at 931-685-1336 before buying or connecting utilities⁶. An RV in a Special Flood Hazard Area must stay fewer than 180 consecutive days, remain fully licensed and highway-ready, or meet all new-construction requirements². Tiny-home parks are special-exception uses in the C-2 General Commercial District². One accessory dwelling is allowed with a primary single-family home, but it cannot be rented and is capped at 1,100 square feet or the stricter zoning limit². We could not confirm a general minimum dwelling size; ask Planning & Zoning for the parcel-specific answer⁶. Bed-and-breakfast and short-term (Airbnb-style) rentals are not allowed inside a municipal urban growth boundary, a platted subdivision, a planned unit development or a cluster home development, and the county health department must certify adequate subsurface disposal for the rented bedrooms².

1. Ask Planning & Zoning to confirm the parcel's district, setbacks, development constraints and flood status before fixing a building site².
2. Apply to TDEC for septic review and a construction permit before installing or repairing a system^9,10.
3. Choose a licensed contractor or document the owner-builder route for a personal residence, including workers' compensation coverage or an exemption^4,5.
4. Submit the county application and plans in person, by email, by mail or through the online portal; staff review every submitted application⁴. Pay the posted zoning-compliance fee before county action².
5. Obtain a Bedford County driveway permit where required, or a TDOT entrance permit when access touches state-highway right-of-way^1,11.
6. Request required inspections as construction advances, then obtain the county's Certificate of Occupancy or notice of final inspection before using the improvement¹.

Check zoning, setbacks, subdivision status (the Bedford County Regional Planning Commission has sole authority over subdivision applications²), flood exposure, legal access, septic soils and utility availability before closing. Bedford County requires flood-safety review for subdivisions and new development in flood-hazard areas, and development requires a permit before work begins². Only about 8.1% of county soils are rated without severe limits for conventional septic drain fields⁸. About 82.8% of Bedford County land has slopes of 15% or less, while about 40.4% is wooded⁸. The county center is about 21 miles from the nearest city of 100,000 or more, and county population density is about 112 people per square mile⁸. The effective property-tax rate is about 0.5%, with a median annual property-tax bill near $1,274⁸. We could not confirm a countywide private-well rule or universal water or sewer connection rule; ask the serving utility and TDEC before relying on an off-grid plan³.