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Roofing in Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee

Hail belt

Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, TN, issued by Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee - Department of Codes and Building Safety (Codes Administration). Residential building permits are applied for through Metro Codes' ePermits portal by registered contractors, or in person via the Zoning Help Desk; re-roofs are issued as a distinct permit type. Metro Codes is at 800 President Ronald Reagan Way, Nashville, TN 37210 (615-862-6500). Separate trade permits and fees (plumbing, electrical, gas/mechanical) apply to those trades and are not part of a roofing permit. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee sits in one of the country's most hail-prone regions. This hub aggregates Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County's roofing permit and contractor-registration requirements and impact-resistant material options — every fact linked to its sourced directory record.

Roofing permits & building code in Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County are set locally by Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee - Department of Codes and Building Safety (Codes Administration). Tennessee licenses roofing contractors at the state level through the Board for Licensing Contractors under T.C.A. Title 62, Chapter 6, on a two-tier basis — a Home Improvement License covers residential roofing from $3,000 up to $25,000 but exists in only nine counties, and a Building Contractor license is required above that limit — while roofing code content stays local, because T.C.A. 68-120-101 lets a municipality opt out of the state residential code, and Tennessee cities routinely adopt newer editions than the state — always confirm the current requirements with the authority before starting work.

Roofing permit
Required
Contractor registration
Required
Adopted building code
CITY-SET, NOT STATE-GOVERNED. Metro Nashville & Davidson County is a locally-exempt jurisdiction under Tennessee's state residential building code program (T.C.A. § 68-120-101), so it adopts and enforces its own building codes rather than defaulting to the State Fire Marshal's statewide residential code. The current adopted residential code is the 2024 International Residential Code, adopted as the "Nashville and Davidson County Residential Code 2024" by Metro Council Ordinance BL2025-898, approved on final reading July 15, 2025 and signed by Mayor Freddie O'Connell July 16, 2025; all plans and applications are subject to the new code as of the July 16, 2025 effective date, with a 180-day grace period offered by Metro Codes for projects whose preliminary design had been done under the prior 2018 code. BL2025-898 adopted a family of 2024 I-Codes together: 2024 IBC, 2024 IRC, 2024 IEBC, 2024 IFGC, 2024 IMC, 2024 IPC, 2024 ISPSC and 2024 IECC, plus the 2023 National Electrical Code and ICC A117.1-2017. This SUPERSEDES the earlier "Nashville and Davidson County Residential Code 2018" (2018 IRC), which many third-party roofing guides still cite. EDITION NOTE: Tennessee's statewide rule chapter (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23) adopts the 2018 IRC, but that statewide standard is the fallback only for jurisdictions the State Fire Marshal's Office still enforces directly -- it is not what governs in Nashville, which enforces its own, more recent adoption. Local Metro amendments to the adopted I-Codes are codified at Metropolitan Code of Laws Title 16 (Buildings and Construction), ch. 16.08 (Building Codes), with the residential amendments at § 16.08.014.
Registration details
  • license: STATE licensing is the operative requirement, and Davidson County sits in the narrower of Tennessee's two license tracks, so a roofer working in Nashville faces a state licence at a much lower dollar threshold than in most of the state. Tier 1 -- a full Contractor's License from the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (T.C.A. Title 62, ch. 6) is required anywhere in Tennessee for construction or improvement work with a total project cost (materials plus labor) at or above $25,000; roofing is licensed as a specialty under the Building classification rather than as a freestanding statewide "roofing licence." Tier 2 -- a separate Home Improvement License (T.C.A. § 62-6-501 et seq.) is required for residential remodeling/improvement work valued from $3,000 up to but not including $25,000, and this second track applies in only nine named Tennessee counties: Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. DAVIDSON COUNTY (Nashville) IS ON THAT LIST. "Home improvement" is defined at T.C.A. § 62-6-501(4)(A) to include "repair, replacement, remodeling, alterations, or additions to any land or residential building," and the Board's guidance enumerates roofing by name among the covered work. Net effect in Nashville: roofing jobs at or above $25,000 total cost need a full BLC Contractor's License; roofing jobs from $3,000 to just under $25,000 need a Home Improvement License, which is a real separate state licence and not a mere local registration; jobs under $3,000 trigger neither state licence. This is a state licensing regime, not a Metro Nashville one -- no additional Metro-issued roofing-contractor registration on top of the state licence was identified. Contractors do need to be registered with Metro Codes to use the ePermits portal to pull residential building permits, which is a permitting-system account rather than a separate trade licence.
Permit process
Residential building permits are applied for through Metro Codes' ePermits portal by registered contractors, or in person via the Zoning Help Desk; re-roofs are issued as a distinct permit type. Metro Codes is at 800 President Ronald Reagan Way, Nashville, TN 37210 (615-862-6500). Separate trade permits and fees (plumbing, electrical, gas/mechanical) apply to those trades and are not part of a roofing permit.

View the full Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County permitting authority record →

Impact-resistant roofing materials for Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County hail

Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee sits in one of the country's most hail-prone regions. For hail exposure, the highest impact rating a roof covering can earn is UL 2218 Class 4. These cataloged material categories reach Class 4:

Class 4 impact-resistant materials

Class 4 Impact-Resistant Shingle Corrugated Metal Panel Metal Shingle Rubber (Polymer) Shingle Standing-Seam Metal Roof Stone-Coated Steel Synthetic Shake Synthetic Slate Synthetic Tile

Browse every option on the Class 4 impact-resistant materials hub, and read the Class 4 impact-resistant shingles buyer's guide. Many insurers offer premium credits for a documented Class 4 roof — confirm terms with your carrier.

Local permitting authority

Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee - Department of Codes and Building Safety (Codes Administration)city

Roofing guides

Class 4 Impact-Resistant ShinglesGuide Asphalt vs. Metal vs. TileGuide Wind & Fire RatingsGuide

Sources