Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Town of Farragut, Tennessee

At a glance

Building permits

Town approval required for new construction and most remodeling¹

Zoning

Town zoning applies inside Farragut limits²

Septic permits

Knox County Health Department Groundwater Protection Division³

RV living

Living, sleeping or housekeeping prohibited on a lot not approved by the Town for that use⁴

Building codes

Town adopted 2018 I-Codes for permits obtained on or after August 5, 2019⁵

Residential site plans

Town reviews setbacks, lot coverage, access and easements⁶

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Does Town of Farragut have zoning, and what does it mean for a building site?

Farragut planning staff administers and enforces the Town Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations inside town limits.² For a residential site plan, Farragut reviews setbacks, maximum lot coverage and access, and checks that easements are not violated.⁶ Ask the Planning and Zoning Division to identify the parcel’s district and the requirements for your proposed footprint before committing to a house design.⁶

Farragut also reviews subdivision proposals against its zoning, tree-protection, aquatic-buffer, sinkhole and subdivision rules.⁷ We could not confirm Farragut’s district-specific minimum lot sizes, minimum dwelling sizes or setback measurements; ask Town planning staff for the applicable dimensional schedule.⁶

Do you need a building permit in Town of Farragut, TN, and who issues it?

Farragut requires building permits for all new construction and most remodeling, both residential and commercial.¹ The Town Building and Fire Codes Division reviews commercial and residential construction plans for minimum code compliance.⁸ Farragut’s adopted-code notice specifies the 2018 I-Codes for building permits obtained on or after August 5, 2019.⁵

Contact Farragut Community Development at 865-675-2384, at 11408 Municipal Center Drive Farragut, TN 37934, for building-permit questions.⁸ Building-permit and planning applications go through the Town’s MGO software, with supporting documents uploaded as PDFs.⁹ Ask the Town for the fee applicable to your project; the Town requires payment of all permit fees before an inspection can be scheduled.⁸

How do septic permits work inside Town of Farragut?

Knox County Health Department Groundwater Protection Division assists with septic permits, designs and inspections for systems throughout Knox County, including Farragut properties.³ A septic system permit is required before constructing, modifying or repairing a septic system.¹⁰ Contact the county division directly rather than submitting a Knox County application through Tennessee’s general septic-services form.¹¹

Call 865-215-5200 (ext. 1) to discuss the septic permit or certification your project needs.³ The division may need a soil map or site plan, and private consultants perform soil testing.³ Knox County facilities without public sanitary sewer must have a subsurface sewage disposal system to treat all wastewater.³ Before buying a Farragut property with an existing system, request the county’s available septic records.³

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Town of Farragut?

Farragut prohibits living, sleeping or housekeeping in major recreational equipment or trailers parked or stored on a lot that the Town has not approved for that use.⁴ Owning the Farragut lot does not satisfy the stated Town-approval condition for RV occupancy.⁴ Before relying on an RV during construction, ask Farragut planning staff whether the proposed lot and use can receive approval.⁴⁶

We could not confirm Farragut’s specific tiny-home, manufactured-home or accessory-dwelling permissions; ask the Planning and Zoning Division about the proposed dwelling and parcel.⁶ Farragut’s building-code adoption and zoning administration still need to be considered together for a proposed small house.⁵²

Building a home in Town of Farragut: what are the steps, in order?

1. Ask Town planning staff to review the proposed residential site for setbacks, lot coverage, access and easements.⁶
2. If the Farragut home will use septic, contact Knox County Groundwater Protection about the site plan and soil map, and obtain the septic permit before dirt work or building-pad construction.³¹⁰
3. Submit the Town building-permit application and required PDF documents through MGO; completed applications receive code review in receipt order.⁹
4. Pay the Town permit fees before scheduling building inspections, and request those inspections online through MGO.⁸
5. Arrange electrical inspections separately with Lenoir City Utilities Board at (865) 986-6591.⁸

We could not confirm Farragut’s certificate-of-occupancy exceptions; ask the Building and Fire Codes Division what final approvals your home needs before moving in.⁸

What stays with Knox County, and what should you check before buying in Farragut?

Farragut handles town zoning and building-code review, while Knox County Health Department remains the septic contact.²⁸³ For land outside Farragut limits, use the Knox County guide: the county zoning ordinance expressly excludes Farragut and Knoxville.¹²

For a Farragut site in a mapped flood hazard area, contact the Town’s floodplain administrator about development review.¹³ Town Engineering reviews subdivision streets and drainage systems and is a contact for drainage questions.¹⁴ A driveway constructed, modified or changed in use on state-highway right-of-way requires a TDOT permit.¹⁵ Do not assume a county agricultural zoning exemption protects construction inside Farragut: Tennessee’s cited agricultural exemption applies to counties, not municipalities.¹⁶

Watch-outs

• Farragut currently reports delays in code reviews; ask Community Development about timing before setting a construction start date.⁹
• Farragut RV parking does not authorize living or sleeping on a lot that the Town has not approved for that use.⁴
• We could not confirm Farragut-specific owner-builder procedures or private-well requirements; ask Community Development which approvals your project needs.⁸

Sources

1. Building & Fire Codes (Town of Farragut), quoted and re-checked
2. Planning & Zoning (Town of Farragut), quoted and re-checked
3. Knox County Health Department Groundwater Protection Division (knoxcounty.org)
4. Sec. 14-52. Vehicles, trailers, and major recreational equipment (Town of Farragut), quoted and re-checked
5. Adopted Code Information (Town of Farragut), quoted and re-checked
6. Town of Farragut Planning and Zoning Division (townoffarragut.org)
7. Planning & Zoning (Town of Farragut), quoted and re-checked
8. Town of Farragut Building and Fire Codes Division (townoffarragut.org)
9. Town of Farragut Community Development — Online Applications (townoffarragut.org)
10. Septic System Construction Permit (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Online Application for Septic Related Services (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
12. Zoning Ordinance for Knox County, Tennessee, quoted and re-checked
13. Statewide Floodplain Administrator Directory (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Town of Farragut Engineering Department (townoffarragut.org)
15. Highway Entrance Permits (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
16. Exemption from County Zoning Regulation for Buildings on Land Used for Agriculture, Opinion No. 22-07 (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 11, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.