Memphis Building Permit Timelines & Delays
In Memphis no local rule says how fast your plans must be reviewed: the building code the City shares with Shelby County promises only that the building official will examine them “within a reasonable time after filing.” The real deadline comes from the State. Since October 1, 2024, plans already checked by a registered third party must get an answer within 10 business days, or the application fees are refunded and the plans can go to the State for review instead. Building has slowed meanwhile: permits issued across Shelby County authorized 1,230 new housing units in 2025, down 40% from 2,061 in 2024 and the fewest since 2009. From January 1, 2027 a new state law puts 30- and 60-business-day deadlines on site plans, subdivision plats and other development applications, but not on building permits.
Memphis permitting, the figures
The key published figures for this jurisdiction — each cited to its official source.
What the data shows
The building code Memphis shares with Shelby County sets no review deadline: the building official examines applications “within a reasonable time after filing”, and an application not pursued is treated as abandoned six months after filing (2021 Memphis and Shelby County Building Code, §§105.3.1–105.3.2).
Tennessee’s third-party law is the one firm clock today: since October 1, 2024 the local office has 10 business days to approve, deny or ask for more on plans already checked by a registered third party, and Memphis and Shelby County (except Arlington and Lakeland) are on the State’s list of jurisdictions that run their own plan review (Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office, 2024).
From January 1, 2027, Public Chapter 1044 sets 30- and 60-business-day deadlines for local review of site plans, subdivision plats and other development applications and approves an application automatically when a deadline is missed, but the University of Tennessee’s guidance says it does not apply to building, fire, mechanical, plumbing or electrical permits (University of Tennessee, 2026).
Permits issued across Shelby County authorized 1,230 new housing units in 2025, down 40% from 2,061 in 2024 and the fewest in any year since 2009 (U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2026).
Most delay accumulates before technical review
The data points to the same lever everywhere: most delay accumulates before technical review, in completeness and resubmittal cycles. Permavia's Permit Review Diagnostic checks your plans against applicable codes and common reviewer issues before you submit — so your package is more likely to clear on the first pass.
Memphis permitting: FAQ
How long does it take to get a building permit in Memphis, TN?
There is no published deadline. The 2021 Memphis and Shelby County Building Code says only that applications are examined “within a reasonable time after filing”, and an application not pursued in good faith is treated as abandoned six months after filing, with extensions of up to 90 days at a time on written request (2021 Memphis and Shelby County Building Code, §§105.3.1–105.3.2). No current turnaround goal or measured review time was found on the joint office’s pages. Plans already checked by a registered third party must get an answer within 10 business days (Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office, Third-Party FAQ). Once issued, a permit lapses if work does not start within six months (§105.5).
Who issues building permits in Memphis: the City or Shelby County?
Neither alone. The Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Enforcement is a joint agency that enforces the shared Memphis and Shelby County Building Code (2021 Memphis and Shelby County Building Code, §103). It sits in the Division of Planning and Development, Develop901, and reviews plans, issues construction permits and inspects work in Memphis, Arlington, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington and unincorporated Shelby County (Develop901, Construction Enforcement). Apply through the Develop901 Citizen Portal; projects in Bartlett and Collierville cannot be submitted there and go to those cities’ own offices (Develop901 Citizen Portal).
What is Tennessee’s 10-day rule for third-party plan review?
Since October 1, 2024, plans that a registered third party has already reviewed can be submitted to the local building department, which then has 10 business days to approve them, issue a deficiency report or ask for more information (Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office, Third-Party FAQ; Tenn. Code Ann. §68-120-101(k)). If it does not respond in time, it must refund the application fees, and the plans can be submitted to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which also has 10 business days (UT MTAS, Third-Party Inspectors). The rules apply in jurisdictions that run their own plan review and inspections, and the State lists Memphis and Shelby County among them, though its Shelby County entry excludes Arlington and Lakeland (Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office, Exempt Jurisdictions).
Does Tennessee’s 2027 development review law cover Memphis building permits?
No. Public Chapter 1044, signed into law in 2026, takes effect January 1, 2027. It sets 30- and 60-business-day deadlines for local review of development applications such as site plans and preliminary subdivision plats and for site inspections, limits each application to two deficiency notices, sets a 120-business-day timeline for releasing project sureties, and treats an application as approved if the local government misses a deadline (University of Tennessee MTAS, PC 1044 FAQ; Institute for Public Service, Policy Guide, 2026). The University’s guidance says it does not apply to building, fire, mechanical, plumbing or electrical permits, which stay under separate state law, including the 10-business-day third-party rule (MTAS, PC 1044 FAQ; Institute for Public Service, Policy Guide, 2026).
Sources
All figures on this page are drawn from Memphis and Shelby County Construction Enforcement: service area, codes and permit portal, Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development (Develop901). The joint office’s Construction Enforcement page (plan review, permits and inspections for Memphis, Arlington, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington and unincorporated Shelby County, applied for through the Develop901 Citizen Portal) and its notice that the 2021 International Codes took effect January 1, 2022; supplemented by the 2021 Memphis and Shelby County Building Code with local amendments, the December 2025 joint ordinances adding an optional middle-scale housing appendix, the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office third-party FAQ and exempt-jurisdiction list, the University of Tennessee’s guidance on Public Chapter 1044 (2026), which excludes building permits, FEMA’s DR-4898-TN notices in the Federal Register, and U.S. Census population and building permit figures. Read the Construction Enforcement page (Develop901). Specific tables, reports, and pages are cited inline with each figure above.
Three kinds of figures appear here. Rules: the 10-business-day third-party deadline has been in effect since October 1, 2024; Public Chapter 1044 was adopted in 2026 and takes effect January 1, 2027, and its deadlines are given as summarized by the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service and Institute for Public Service, because the statute text could not be opened for this guide; that guidance says the law does not apply to building, fire, mechanical, plumbing or electrical permits. Local: the joint building code sets no review deadline, and no current published turnaround goal was found; an older Shelby County FAQ, written when the office enforced the 2015 codes and did not yet take applications online, estimated 7 to 20 working days on average, and it is not used as a current figure. Measured: no public plan review times were found; the City’s open-data hub lists building permits issued since 2021, but the dataset could not be read for this guide. The housing unit counts are Census Building Permits Survey figures for all of Shelby County, including Bartlett and Collierville, which issue their own permits; they count units authorized by permits, not homes started or review times. The 40% drop and the “fewest since 2009” comparison are our arithmetic from the Census annual series.