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

Yes, in the areas the county administers. Madison County requires the owner or authorized agent to obtain permits before constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving or demolishing a structure, changing its occupancy, or doing regulated electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing work⁵. Madison County administers adopted building, residential, mechanical, plumbing, fuel-gas, existing-building and fire codes; the county's listed energy-code amendment took effect in 2024¹. Limited residential work is exempt, including a one-story detached accessory structure no larger than 200 square feet, a fence no taller than 7 feet, and a qualifying unattached deck no larger than 200 square feet and no more than 30 inches above grade⁷. Treat those exceptions narrowly: an exempt shed is not permission to use it as a dwelling, and other permit or zoning requirements may still apply^2,7.

The Madison County Building Department is at 100 E. Main St. Suite 100, Jackson, TN 38301, and its phone number is (731) 423-6014¹⁰. Madison County accepts permit applications through its Building Department and Citizen Portal: create the application, complete the required fields, upload plans and supporting documents, and submit it only when the package is complete¹¹. Septic approval or a utility-connection letter may be required when applicable, and construction cannot begin until the permit has been approved and issued¹¹. Madison County publishes project-valuation-based permit fees and adds a non-refundable $25 processing fee to every plan submittal; card payments carry a 3% convenience fee or $2, whichever is greater¹². For zoning and land-use questions, call the Building Department or planning staff at 731-425-8286¹³.

Yes. Madison County publishes separate Inner Region and Outer Region zoning materials plus a property-search map². The county zoning page also links separate material for the City of Three Way, so do not assume one county rule answers every parcel inside an incorporated municipality². In Outer Region R districts, a single-family lot with sanitary sewer must contain at least 9,000 square feet, while each dwelling unit without sanitary sewer needs at least 20,000 square feet or the Madison County Health Department standard, whichever is larger¹⁴. Those R districts require a front setback of 30 feet plus half the designated right-of-way width, side setbacks of 10 feet each and a rear setback of 20 feet¹⁵. All buildings, including accessory buildings, may cover no more than 30% of the lot¹⁵. Ask planning staff to confirm the parcel's region and district before applying these standards¹³. The available facts do not confirm a minimum dwelling size or building-height limit.

A septic permit is required to construct, modify or repair a septic system in Madison County, and the county requires a Health Department letter before issuing the building permit⁴. Tennessee treats Madison as a contract county, so permit packages go to the county rather than a state field office¹⁶. The standard septic permit costs $500, made up of a $400 permit fee and a $100 inspection fee, all due in advance and non-refundable; the county may also require a high-intensity soil map before it proceeds¹⁷. Septic permits stay with the county Environmental Health Section whether the parcel sits inside a city or not, where city sewer is not available³. Madison County Health's Environmental Health Section permits new conventional systems, oversees construction and repairs, and grants final approval where city sewer is unavailable³. Obtain the septic permit before starting dirt work or construction of the building pad; an alternative system requires an extra-high-intensity soils map prepared by a Tennessee-licensed soils consultant⁴. Only 18.7% of Madison County soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so make the site evaluation an early purchase contingency rather than assuming a standard system will fit¹⁸. Call Environmental Health at 731-423-3020 before finalizing the house site or building plans³.

Full-time living in an RV is not allowed in unincorporated Madison County: the county states that RVs, campers and temporary structures are not permitted as permanent housing⁹. That rule addresses permanent housing, not short-term recreational stays, and the county directs questions about RV or mobile-home parks to planning and zoning staff^9,13. We could not confirm a countywide temporary-camping limit or a tiny-home occupancy rule, and the answer can depend on whether the parcel falls under Inner Region, Outer Region or municipal zoning². Madison County's permit exemption for a small detached accessory structure does not make that structure an approved residence⁷. A tiny home used as a dwelling should be treated as a building-and-zoning question until the Building Department confirms the permit path and planning staff confirms the use for the parcel^1,13.

1. Identify whether county Inner Region, county Outer Region or municipal zoning controls the parcel, then confirm the proposed use and district with planning staff².
2. If the parcel is in an Outer Region R district, lay out the project against the applicable lot-size, setback and 30% building-coverage standards before commissioning plans^14,15.
3. If sewer is unavailable, obtain the septic approval and county Health Department letter required before the building permit can be issued^3,4.
4. Create the county permit application, complete every required field, upload the plans and supporting documents, and submit the completed package through the county process¹¹.
5. Pay the valuation-based permit charge and applicable plan-submittal and payment fees, then wait until the permit is approved and issued before beginning construction^11,12.
6. If acting as owner-builder, document that the home is for your own residential use and not for sale, lease or rent; only one homeowner permit is allowed every two years, and hired trades remain subject to licensing conditions, and a contractor paid $25,000 or more must be licensed⁶.
7. Schedule the required inspections in sequence, then complete all final approvals before expecting the certificate of occupancy^1,8.

Confirm the governing zoning region and district before relying on an advertised use, because Madison County publishes separate Inner and Outer Region materials and incorporated-area rules may differ². For an Outer Region R parcel, verify that the lot and planned building envelope satisfy the district's minimum lot size, setbacks and 30% maximum building coverage^14,15. Make septic feasibility a contract contingency: only 18.7% of county soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional drain field¹⁸. Check road ownership too; a county-road driveway culvert must be sized and approved by the Madison County Highway Department, while work on a state-highway right-of-way needs a TDOT permit^19,20. We could not confirm Madison County's private-well or subdivision requirements, and floodplain review is locally managed, so ask the Building Department which approvals apply before closing^10,21.