The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Knox County, Tennessee - Codes Administration

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Knox County, TN?

Adopted code

Knox County, Tennessee - Codes Administration

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Knox County, TN, issued by Knox County, Tennessee - Codes Administration. Knox County's Codes Administration department (400 Main Street, Suite 547, Knoxville) reviews plans and issues residential building permits through its online Knox Permit Portal, with a separate Permit Inspection Lookup tool for scheduling and viewing inspection results. Applications are taken 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; plan sets larger than 11x14 inches must be submitted in PDF format rather than in person. A 2.50% convenience fee, collected by a third-party processor and not retained by the county, applies to credit-card transactions. Property owners may self-permit their own single-family residence under the county's Homeowner's Affidavit (citing TCA 62-6-103), limited to one such permit every two years, for their own use and not for resale, lease, or rent; anyone else hired to do the work must be a properly licensed contractor.

Roof code checklist: Knox County, TN

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofYesIRC_ammendments.pdf2026-08-08
Repair permit thresholdPublishedSchedule_of_Fees.pdf2026-08-08
Layer limit / roof-overPublishedR908.3.1.1IRC_ammendments.pdf2026-08-08
Deck & sheathingPublishedIRC_ammendments.pdf2026-08-08
Drip edgeYesIRC_ammendments.pdf2026-08-08
Ice & water shieldNoIRC_ammendments.pdf2026-08-08
Mid-roof inspectionNoknoxcounty.org2026-09-01
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNoIRC_ammendments.pdf2026-08-08
Wind design criteriaPublishedIRC_ammendments.pdf2026-08-08
Adopted codePublishedordinance.pdf2026-08-08
Contractor license / registrationYestn.gov2026-08-08
Sales & use taxPublishedavalara.com2026-08-08

Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.

Jurisdiction
Knox County, Tennessee
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
400 Main Street, Suite 547, Knoxville, TN 37902
Contact
  • url: https://knoxcounty.org/codes/permitinfo.php
  • phone: 865-215-2325
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: Two separate Tennessee credentials can apply to residential roofing work in Knox County. The state's general contractor license (Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, TCA Title 62, Chapter 6) is required statewide before bidding or contracting as a prime contractor, subcontractor, or construction manager on a project of $25,000 or more; the Board's own page names roofing subcontractors specifically as needing this license once the roofing portion of a project reaches $25,000. Separately, the Board's Home Improvement Contractor license (for residential remodeling jobs of $3,000 to $24,999) applies only in the counties that have adopted that law, and the Board's own page names Knox County as one of the nine counties where it applies; the Board's definition of "home improvement" explicitly includes roofing. Knox County's own Homeowner's Affidavit form separately reiterates that anyone hired by a homeowner (other than the owner personally, under TCA 62-6-103's once-every-two-years exemption) is treated as a prime contractor or construction manager subject to these license requirements.
Permit process note
Knox County's Codes Administration department (400 Main Street, Suite 547, Knoxville) reviews plans and issues residential building permits through its online Knox Permit Portal, with a separate Permit Inspection Lookup tool for scheduling and viewing inspection results. Applications are taken 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; plan sets larger than 11x14 inches must be submitted in PDF format rather than in person. A 2.50% convenience fee, collected by a third-party processor and not retained by the county, applies to credit-card transactions. Property owners may self-permit their own single-family residence under the county's Homeowner's Affidavit (citing TCA 62-6-103), limited to one such permit every two years, for their own use and not for resale, lease, or rent; anyone else hired to do the work must be a properly licensed contractor.
Adopted code
2018 International Residential Code (IRC), adopted by Knox County Ordinance O-18-10-101 (2nd reading approved November 19, 2018), which repealed and replaced the county's prior 2012-edition codes. The ordinance's own text (read in full) states it adopts "the 2018 edition of the International Residential Code...by reference, as if set out at length in this section, with the amendments set out in this article." The county's separately published "History of Codes Adoptions" document corroborates the same ordinance number and 2018 IRC edition.
Drip edge
Required — Knox County adopts the 2018 IRC by Ordinance O-18-10-101. The county's own amendments document (read in full, covering appendices, R102, R105.2, Table R301.2(1), R302.5.1, R303.4, R313, R314.3, R502.11.4, energy-chapter tables, and the manufactured-housing appendices) does not touch Chapter 9's roof-covering provisions, so the base 2018 IRC drip-edge requirement applies unmodified. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Not required — The county's own 2018 IRC amendments document, read in full, amends Table R301.2(1) (Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria) with the instruction "Insert 'No' in the table for Ice Barrier Underlayment Required." No other provision in either amendment document adds an ice-barrier or ice-and-water-shield requirement. About ice & water barrier
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — No mid-roof, dry-in or underlayment inspection is established for a reroof in Knox County, and the negative rests on three enumerations rather than on silence. (1) The County's Construction Handouts page lists every handout Codes Administration publishes -- 2018 IBC ADA Information, Brick Installation, Emergency Openings, Energy Requirements, Firestop Certification, Fire Protection of Floors, Home Occupation, Footing Instructions, Gas Pipe Sizing, Foundation Anchorage, Mechanical Ventilation, Crawl Space, Deck, Duct Installation, Garage Requirements, Floor Bracing, Manufactured Homes, Swimming Pool, Radon, Stairs, Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms, Rafter Information, and Recreational Fire Pits. There is NO roofing handout, and the anchored word "roof" occurs ZERO times on the page -- Rafter Information is the nearest thing and is a framing document. (2) The County's Third-Party Inspection Policy enumerates the inspection categories a third-party inspector may perform: "Foundations, Footings and Slab Prep"; "Structural integrity - Framing and Firewall"; plumbing above and below grade; HVAC; gas piping, with gas inspections for a meter set reserved to the County; energy code requirements; above-ceiling inspections; and fire safety features, with final life-safety inspections reserved to County inspectors. Measured across that document, twenty-eight occurrences of "inspect" and ZERO of "roof". It does state the general before-covering rule -- "Inspection reports must be approved before work is covered" -- and reserves finals: "Knox County inspectors will conduct all final inspections to verify compliance with life safety features." (3) Knox County adopted the 2018 International Residential Code by Ordinance O-18-10-101, and its published IRC amendment list was read in full: it contains ZERO occurrences of R109, of R905 or R908, and of the anchored word "roof". So the County amends neither the inspection scheme nor the roofing chapter, and base 2018 IRC Section R109 governs unaltered. That section was read directly. It enumerates foundation, plumbing/mechanical/gas/electrical, floodplain, frame and masonry, other, fire-resistance-rated construction, and final -- no roof-covering stage -- and across the whole section the word "roof" appears exactly once, in R109.1.4, which requires that framing inspection "shall be made after the roof, masonry, framing, firestopping, draftstopping and bracing are in place." The frame inspection therefore follows the roof rather than interrupting it. NOTE the residual discretion: R109.1.5 lets the building official require "any other inspections to ascertain compliance", which is authority to look at a given roof, not a scheduled mid-roof stage.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — I read the county's own IRC amendments document and its "Significant Changes" summary in full; neither contains the strings "UL 2218" or "Class 4," and neither amends any Chapter 9 impact-rating provision. No impact-resistant roof-covering mandate appears in Knox County's adopted code or its own amendments.
Repair permit threshold
No dollar-value or size threshold is published for repair work. The county's own Schedule of Fees prices building permits starting at the lowest valuation tier ($50 for a project valuation up to $2,000, rising $5 per additional $1,000), with no stated minimum valuation below which a permit is not required and no roofing-specific exemption.
Wind design criteria
Per the county's own amendments to 2018 IRC Table R301.2(1) (Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria): Wind Speed 90 (mph); topographic effects "No"; Seismic Design Category "C"; ground snow load 10 PSF; weathering "Severe"; frost line depth 12 inches; termite "Moderate to heavy"; winter design temperature 19 degrees Fahrenheit; air freezing index 210; mean annual temperature 59.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roof layer limit / recover
Knox County adopts the 2018 IRC by Ordinance O-18-10-101. Neither the county's IRC amendments document nor its "Significant Changes" summary (both read in full) amends any Chapter 9 roof-recover or roof-replacement layer provision, so the base 2018 IRC provisions on this point apply unmodified. Base-code rule, read at 2018 IRC Section R908.3.1.1 (Roof recover not allowed) and quoted here rather than left behind the ICC paywall: a roof recover "shall not be permitted" where "the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering" (nor where the existing covering is water soaked or deteriorated, or is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile). One existing layer may therefore be recovered; a second existing layer forces tear-off to the deck.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Knox County adopts the 2018 IRC by Ordinance O-18-10-101. Neither the county's IRC amendments document nor its "Significant Changes" summary (both read in full) amends any Chapter 9 roof-deck sheathing provision, so the base 2018 IRC provisions on this point apply unmodified. (The "Significant Changes" document does note new fastener and footing requirements for exterior decks under R507, but that section covers exterior deck structures, not roof-deck sheathing.)
Sales & use tax
9.25% combined rate for Knox County, Tennessee (7% Tennessee state sales tax plus 2.25% local option sales tax), per Avalara's published county rate table. The Tennessee Department of Revenue publishes local sales tax rates only through an interactive map tool rather than a plain readable document; Avalara is named here as the aggregator carrying the rate that mirrors that DOR tool.

More roof permit pages in Tennessee

Knoxville, TNRoof permit Memphis, TNRoof permit Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee - Department of Codes and Building Safety (Codes Administration)Roof permit Montgomery County, Tennessee - Building and Codes DepartmentRoof permit Murfreesboro, TNRoof permit Roofing in TennesseeState hub

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Knox County's Codes Administration department issues residential building permits and enforces the county's adopted building codes. Its enacting ordinance (O-18-10-101) adopts the 2018 International Residential Code "for the purpose of regulating...construction...within Knox County," the same phrasing used for the county's companion 2018 International Building Code article. The City of Knoxville, which sits inside Knox County, maintains its own separate building-permit operation and has its own record; this record covers Knox County's Codes Administration only.

Hail reports near the center of Knox County, TN

Reports, last 24 months
10
Largest, last 24 months
1.75 in Sep 4, 2025
Most recent
Oct 21, 2025 0.75 in
Reports, last 5 years
18
5 most recent reports, last 5 years
DateHail sizeDistance
Oct 21, 20250.75 in9 mi SE
Sep 4, 20251.75 in10 mi W
Sep 4, 20251.50 in9 mi W
Sep 4, 20251.00 in6 mi S
Sep 4, 20250.75 in9 mi SE

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database and daily storm reports (reports since the start of the current year are preliminary), within 10 miles of the center of Knox County, TN. Data through Sep 23, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.

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Sources

Roofing questions: Knox County, TN

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Knox County, TN?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Knox County, TN. No dollar-value or size threshold is published for repair work. The county's own Schedule of Fees prices building permits starting at the lowest valuation tier ($50 for a project valuation up to $2,000, rising $5 per additional $1,000), with no stated minimum valuation below which a permit is not required and no roofing-specific exemption.

Is ice & water shield required in Knox County, TN?

No. The county's own 2018 IRC amendments document, read in full, amends Table R301.2(1) (Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria) with the instruction "Insert 'No' in the table for Ice Barrier Underlayment Required." No other provision in either amendment document adds an ice-barrier or ice-and-water-shield requirement.

Is drip edge required in Knox County, TN?

Yes. Knox County adopts the 2018 IRC by Ordinance O-18-10-101. The county's own amendments document (read in full, covering appendices, R102, R105.2, Table R301.2(1), R302.5.1, R303.4, R313, R314.3, R502.11.4, energy-chapter tables, and the manufactured-housing appendices) does not touch Chapter 9's roof-covering provisions, so the base 2018 IRC drip-edge requirement applies unmodified.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Knox County, TN?

Knox County adopts the 2018 IRC by Ordinance O-18-10-101. Neither the county's IRC amendments document nor its "Significant Changes" summary (both read in full) amends any Chapter 9 roof-recover or roof-replacement layer provision, so the base 2018 IRC provisions on this point apply unmodified. Base-code rule, read at 2018 IRC Section R908.3.1.1 (Roof recover not allowed) and quoted here rather than left behind the ICC paywall: a roof recover "shall not be permitted" where "the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering" (nor where the existing covering is water soaked or deteriorated, or is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile). One existing layer may therefore be recovered; a second existing layer forces tear-off to the deck.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Knox County, TN?

Yes. Two separate Tennessee credentials can apply to residential roofing work in Knox County. The state's general contractor license (Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, TCA Title 62, Chapter 6) is required statewide before bidding or contracting as a prime contractor, subcontractor, or construction manager on a project of $25,000 or more; the Board's own page names roofing subcontractors specifically as needing this license once the roofing portion of a project reaches $25,000. Separately, the Board's Home Improvement Contractor license (for residential remodeling jobs of $3,000 to $24,999) applies only in the counties that have adopted that law, and the Board's own page names Knox County as one of the nine counties where it applies; the Board's definition of "home improvement" explicitly includes roofing. Knox County's own Homeowner's Affidavit form separately reiterates that anyone hired by a homeowner (other than the owner personally, under TCA 62-6-103's once-every-two-years exemption) is treated as a prime contractor or construction manager subject to these license requirements.

What building code does Knox County, TN use?

2018 International Residential Code (IRC), adopted by Knox County Ordinance O-18-10-101 (2nd reading approved November 19, 2018), which repealed and replaced the county's prior 2012-edition codes. The ordinance's own text (read in full) states it adopts "the 2018 edition of the International Residential Code...by reference, as if set out at length in this section, with the amendments set out in this article." The county's separately published "History of Codes Adoptions" document corroborates the same ordinance number and 2018 IRC edition.