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Permitting Authorities / City of Franklin Building & Neighborhood Services

City of Franklin Building & Neighborhood Services

Adopted code

The permitting authority for the City of Franklin, Tennessee (Williamson County). Franklin administers its own residential building permitting, plan review, and code enforcement through its Building & Neighborhood Services department, separate from Williamson County's permitting authority, which covers unincorporated areas of the county.

Jurisdiction
City of Franklin, Tennessee
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
109 Third Avenue South, Suite 110, Franklin, TN 37064
Contact
  • url: https://www.franklintn.gov/government/departments-a-j/building-and-neighborhood-services/building-and-neighborhood-services
  • phone: 615-794-7012
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: STATE licensing is the operative requirement in Franklin; the city's own Municipal Code (Title 9, Business, Peddlers, Solicitors, Etc., read in full at the chapter level) contains licensing chapters only for plumbers and for gas/mechanical trades, and the city's own Trade Licensing page lists only Master Plumber and Master Mechanical applications -- no city-issued roofing or general-contractor license exists. At the state level, the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors requires a Contractor's License (T.C.A. tit. 62, ch. 6) before contracting, bidding, or negotiating a price on any project of $25,000 or more, and its own guidance names roofing expressly: subcontractors "must be licensed when contracting directly with a contractor...to perform electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, or roofing work when that portion of the project is $25,000 or more." Tennessee's separate, lower-tier Home Improvement License (threshold $3,000-$24,999, which also names roofing) applies only in nine named counties -- Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford, and Shelby -- and Williamson County (Franklin's county) is not among them. So in Franklin, a state contractor's license is triggered only at the $25,000 project/subcontract threshold; smaller roofing jobs are not reached by either state license tier.
Permit process note
Franklin's Building and Neighborhood Services department administers plan review, permit issuance, and inspections through an electronic plan review portal (franklin.idtplans.com). Contact the department directly at 615-794-7012 for project-specific requirements not detailed on the city's public pages.
Adopted code
The City of Franklin has adopted the 2024 International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, with Appendices CD and BO, as its residential code, codified at Franklin Municipal Code sec. 12-1001 and most recently re-adopted by Ordinance No. 2025-40 (sec. I, adopted October 14, 2025). The city's own Adopted Codes page states the 2024 edition took effect January 1, 2026, and that "any plans and/or revisions submitted before January 1st, 2026, will be reviewed and inspected under the 2018 [code]" -- i.e. the prior edition adopted by Ordinance No. 2018-14 (sec. I, September 11, 2018) governs the transitional caseload. The city's amendment section, sec. 12-1002 (read in full, 12 numbered items), amends only permit-exempt work under Section R105.2 (accessory structures under 200 sq ft; sidewalks/driveways), the board-of-appeals section, automatic fire sprinkler requirements (deferred to Title 7 of the Municipal Code), foundation/footing/crawl-space provisions (Sections R402-R408), and the energy chapter (Chapter 11, deferred to the separately adopted International Energy Conservation Code). It does not touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies.
Drip edge
Required — Franklin adopts the 2024 IRC as its residential code (Municipal Code sec. 12-1001). Its local amendment section, sec. 12-1002, read there in full (12 numbered items), does not touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, so the base 2024 IRC's drip-edge provision applies unmodified in Franklin. About drip edge
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Franklin's local amendment section to the 2024 IRC, sec. 12-1002, read in full (12 numbered items covering permit-exempt work, board of appeals, fire sprinklers, and foundation/crawl-space provisions), does not touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. No UL 2218 or Class 4 impact-resistance requirement appears in the city's adopted code or its amendments.
Repair permit threshold
No minimum-value exemption is stated for repair or renovation work. The city's Fee Schedule prices "Simple Permits" for building repairs and renovations to existing structures at a flat $50.00, applicable beginning at the lowest listed valuation tier of $1.00-$4,999.00; higher-valuation repair work is priced on a sliding scale starting at $64.00 for the $5,000.00-$14,999.00 tier. Franklin's adopted residential code (Municipal Code sec. 12-1001) states it governs the "alteration, repair, location and use" of one- and two-family dwellings, and the city's own amendment to the code's permit-exempt work list (sec. 12-1002) exempts only small detached accessory structures and private sidewalks/driveways.
Roof layer limit / recover
Franklin adopts the 2024 IRC as its residential code (Municipal Code sec. 12-1001). Its local amendment section, sec. 12-1002, read there in full (12 numbered items), does not touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, where the base IRC's roof-recover/replacement layer limit provisions live. So the base 2024 IRC provisions on roof layer limits apply unmodified in Franklin.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Franklin adopts the 2024 IRC as its residential code (Municipal Code sec. 12-1001). Its local amendment section, sec. 12-1002, read there in full (12 numbered items), does not touch Chapter 8, Roof-Ceiling Construction, or Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, where the base IRC's roof deck sheathing provisions live. So the base 2024 IRC provisions on roof deck sheathing apply unmodified in Franklin.
Sales & use tax
Franklin's combined general sales and use tax rate is 9.75%: the Tennessee state rate of 7.00% plus the Williamson County local-option rate of 2.75% (increased from 2.25% effective April 1, 2018). Tennessee's local sales tax is a county-level tax with no separate city add-on layer, so the rate is the same throughout Williamson County, including inside Franklin's city limits.

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