Can you drill a well without a permit in Tennessee?

Exempt — no permit or water right. Statewide a domestic well needs no water-use permit (file a Notice of Intent with TDEC and use a licensed driller). Shelby County is the only TN county that additionally requires a local groundwater/well permit.

Which Tennessee counties have groundwater restrictions?

1 Tennessee counties sit in a managed, over-appropriated, adjudicated, or critically overdrafted groundwater basin — including Shelby County. Each county profile cites the specific basin and rule.

Tennessee · off-grid water rights

Water rights in Tennessee

Whether a new off-grid home can legally get its own water in Tennessee: the state well and water-rights rules, then the 1 counties where a specific groundwater basin adds a catch — each cited to the state water agency.

Tennessee water rules

Household well
Exempt — no permit or water right
Statewide a domestic well needs no water-use permit (file a Notice of Intent with TDEC and use a licensed driller). Shelby County is the only TN county that additionally requires a local groundwater/well permit.
Limit: no state water-use permit for a domestic well; register >=10,000 gpd
TDEC Division of Water Resources — Well Water ↗
Greywater reuse
none
No residential greywater provision; treated as wastewater.
Greywater Action / EPA REUSExplorer ↗
Rainwater harvesting
unrestricted
Legal; green infrastructure supported.
NCSL ↗
Water rights
riparian
Riparian; registration only above 10,000 gpd; agriculture/domestic exempt.
National Agricultural Law Center ↗

1 constrained counties in Tennessee

ManagedShelby CountyShelby County Ground Water Quality Control Board area (Memphis Sand aquifer)29

The Bolthole Index Letter

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Keep exploring Tennessee

See the full Tennessee county ranking, compare states on the water-rights hub, or read how water access is scored. Physical water is dimmed — never erased — where a county sits in one of these basins, household-first.

General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.