· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Plumbing Repair
Metro Nashville’s permit lists draw the line in places that surprise people. A new dishwasher needs nothing from Metro; moving a sink a few feet across the room needs a plumbing permit. The rule of thumb that holds up: replacing a fixture where it already sits usually needs no permit, and moving a fixture, along with the pipes behind it, does.
Which plumbing jobs need a permit in Nashville?
Anything that changes the plumbing system rather than the appliance on the end of a line. Metro’s rehab permit table for one- and two-family homes marks relocating a plumbing fixture as plumbing-permit work and a new shower or bath enclosure as needing a building permit. Metro’s Building Permit Process page adds that when a project involves plumbing, separate permits and inspections are required, each trade with its own fee, so a remodel that adds a bathroom or a wet bar usually means a building permit with a plumbing permit alongside it.
Gas is its own trade. Metro’s list of projects that may or may not need a permit, dated 2022, puts a cooktop, a fireplace insert and a furnace changed to a different size or fuel under a gas/mechanical permit, and the same sheet puts a lawn sprinkler’s water connection and backflow preventer under a plumbing permit. Our post on when a gas line needs a plumber covers the gas side in full.
Water heaters are the gap. Neither Metro list mentions them, tank or tankless, so we won’t tell you a swap is permit-free, and we won’t tell you it isn’t. The way to settle it for your house is a call to the Permit Issuance office, which Metro’s contractor requirements sheet lists at 615-862-6517, before the old unit comes out. That goes for a water heater replacement, and it goes for repiping and sewer lateral work too, since neither list names them.
- Relocating a sink, toilet, tub or other fixture
- A new shower or bath enclosure
- A remodel that adds plumbing, such as a bathroom or wet bar
- A lawn sprinkler’s water connection and backflow preventer
- Gas appliance work, such as a cooktop or fireplace insert
- Water heaters, repiping and sewer laterals: ask Permit Issuance first
Which plumbing jobs can skip the permit?
Straight replacement of an appliance whose supply and drain stay exactly where they are. The same rehab table lists replacing a dishwasher, a garbage disposal or a refrigerator with an ice maker as needing no permit, and a vanity installed without electrical or plumbing work needs none either. Faucets, toilets set back on the same flange, shower heads, supply lines and shut-off valves don’t appear on it at all. Swapping one of those in place is the same kind of job as the disposal, though a list that says nothing is not the same as a list that says no, and our fixture installation work starts by asking which of the two a job is.
Once a replacement moves the drain even a few inches, or turns a tub into a shower with the drain somewhere new, it has stopped being a swap. On Metro’s table that is the relocation of a fixture, and it takes a plumbing permit.
Why the inspection is the part that matters
A permit is not a fee for permission. Metro’s page on renovating a single-family home says the permit is what triggers the required inspections, and the inspector holds the work to the codes Metro has adopted, which its adopted codes list shows include the 2024 International Plumbing Code with local amendments. A mistake costs least before anything is built over it, so on our jobs new piping stays open until it has been seen.
We’d treat a contractor’s offer to skip the permit as a reason to call a different contractor. The permit system is built around licensed trades: the Building Permit Process page says trade permits are obtained by a licensed subcontractor once the building permit is issued, Metro’s Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board examines master, journeyman and apprentice plumbers, and the state has its own limited licensed plumber law, § 62-6-401, listed on the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors’ laws page.
What unpermitted work costs you later
Permit records are public. Metro’s property permit history page explains how to pull up every permit on a parcel from the Parcel Viewer map, which means a buyer, or a buyer’s inspector, can check whether a remodeled bathroom has a permit behind it. When it doesn’t, the work can become a question during the sale, and permitting it after the fact may require opening finished walls so an inspector can see the pipe.
The other cost is who answers for the work. A contractor pulling a Metro building permit has to carry a $10,000 permit bond on jobs under $25,000 and a $40,000 bond above that, which Metro’s contractor requirements say is there to insure property owners that construction meets code. The self-permit affidavit in Metro’s residential permit application warns that an owner who takes out the building permit is responsible for code compliance on the whole project, subcontractors included, and loses that bond protection. A contractor who asks you to pull the permit in your own name is asking you to take that on. If you want a job scoped and permitted properly from the start, ask us for a free estimate.
Sources
- Metro Nashville Codes, Renovate a Single-Family Residence — Rehab permit table: fixture relocation needs a plumbing permit, new shower or bath enclosure needs a permit, dishwasher, disposal and ice-maker refrigerator replacement and vanities without plumbing need none; the permit triggers required inspections; self-permit limits for owner-occupants, LLCs, trusts and rentals
- Metro Nashville Codes, Building Permit Process — Plumbing work needs separate permits and inspections with separate fees; trade permits are obtained by a licensed subcontractor after the building permit is issued
- Metro Nashville Codes, List of Building Projects Which May or May Not Require a Permit (2022) — Cooktop, fireplace insert and furnace changed in size or fuel need a gas/mechanical permit; lawn sprinkler water connection and backflow preventer need a plumbing permit; water heaters not listed
- Metro Nashville Codes, Contractor Requirements for Building Permits (2024) — Permit Issuance phone 615-862-6517; $10,000 and $40,000 permit bonds and their purpose
- Metro Nashville Codes, Adopted Codes List — 2024 International Plumbing Code adopted with local amendments
- Metro Nashville Codes, Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board — Examines master, journeyman and apprentice plumbers and applicants for homeowner permits
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Laws — Limited licensed plumbers under T.C.A. § 62-6-401
- Metro Nashville Codes, Davidson County Property Permit History — Permit history for any parcel through the Parcel Viewer map
- Metro Nashville Codes, Residential Building Permit Application (2024) — Self-permit affidavit: the owner is responsible for code compliance of the whole project and loses the contractor bond protection
FAQ
Which Plumbing Jobs Need a Permit in Nashville — questions
Do I need a permit to replace a water heater in Nashville?
Metro’s published permit lists don’t mention water heaters, tank or tankless, so there is no line on them to point to either way. Call Metro’s Permit Issuance office at 615-862-6517 and describe the exact swap before the old unit comes out. Getting the answer first costs a phone call; getting it after costs more.
Can a homeowner pull their own plumbing permit?
Metro has a homeowner permit, and its Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board examines the people who apply for one. For building permits, an owner who lives in or plans to live in a single-family home can pull one to renovate, and a self-permit on a house held in an LLC or trust, or on a rental, is limited to work under $25,000. The work still has to meet code and pass the same inspections. Ask Permit Issuance what the plumbing side requires before you start.
What happens if work was done without a permit before I bought the house?
Start with the record. Metro’s property permit history shows what was permitted on your parcel, and a licensed plumber can look at what was not. Whether to permit the remediation or leave it alone is a question for that plumber and your closing attorney, and the answer depends on what the work was and whether it can be reached without demolition.
How do you apply for a plumbing permit in Nashville?
On a remodel, the licensed plumber pulls it once the building permit is issued, according to Metro’s Building Permit Process page, and plumbing carries its own permit, inspection and fee. When you are not sure whether a job needs a permit at all, call Permit Issuance at 615-862-6517 before work starts.