EAST TENNESSEE COUNTY PERMITTING & REGULATORY GUIDE
What each county charges, what you file, and what happens when an inspection fails — for Sevier, Knox, Blount and Hamilton counties. Where we have not confirmed a fee, the page says so.
A construction permit must be issued before work starts. Claims filed after the job is finished get rejected, and the fix is expensive — sometimes excavating a completed installation. If a contractor offers to start while the paperwork catches up, get another quote.
You pull a construction permit through the county for the work on your property. Separately, the person doing the work must hold an installer permit issued by TDEC: $200 for conventional systems, plus $100 for each alternative type they are approved to install — low pressure pipe, mound, oxidation lagoon, aerobic treatment. If your site needs a mound and the contractor only holds the conventional permit, they cannot legally do the job.
FEE SCHEDULES BY COUNTY
- Repair vs new: a repair permit is $75, a new-system permit $300. Ask which one the installer filed and why.
- Failed inspection: written or verbal notice, a Re-Inspection Application with a $100 fee, then a call between 8:00 and 9:00am to be rescheduled.
- Also billed: water sample $100; subdivision evaluation $75 per lot plus $75 per existing home.
- Statewide range shown: $150–500 for a construction permit; Knox County’s own schedule is not yet confirmed on this site.
- Ask for four figures: new-system permit, repair permit, inspection letter, re-inspection fee and how rescheduling works.
- Karst ground: shallow bedrock on some lots pushes the design to a mound or treatment unit and roughly doubles the field cost.
- Statewide range shown: $150–500 for a construction permit; Blount County’s own schedule is not yet confirmed on this site.
- Ask whether they take cards: several East Tennessee offices still require payment by mail, which adds days to a closing timeline.
- Foothill ground: valley floor to Smokies foothills; which system your lot is allowed depends on the soil test.
- Statewide range shown: $150–500 for a construction permit; Hamilton County’s own schedule is not yet confirmed on this site.
- Chattanooga pricing: complete replacement $15,000–30,000, tank only $3,000–8,000.
- Ridge lots: shallow bedrock requires more expensive designs than valley lots; get the perc test first.
HOW TO AUDIT AN EXISTING HISTORICAL PERMIT ON FILE
TDEC Water Resources Data Viewer
TDEC runs an online data viewer that holds subsurface sewage disposal records for many properties. Searches work best with the parcel ID, or the subdivision name and lot number.
• Owner or builder name at the time
• Subdivision name and lot number
County office records request
Older installations are often on paper at the county environmental health office rather than online. Ask for the septic file for your parcel; a public records request works if the desk cannot find it.
• Ask about response time and copy fees
• Ask whether they accept cards or mail only
If there is no permit on file
A missing permit usually stops the financing rather than the sale. Lenders generally require an inspection letter showing the system works, and the county charges for that letter separately from any permit.
• Inspection letter: $100 in Sevier, ask elsewhere
• Repairs, if found, need their own permit
A perc test ($300–800) or a soil scientist’s map. It decides which system types the site is allowed, so it comes before any quote.
Where the house, driveway, well and property lines are, and where the field and its reserve area go. The county tells you the scale and format it wants.
Whether the house is on public water or a private well. Wells need a setback from the field; the county sets the distance.
The installer’s TDEC installer permit: $200 for conventional systems, plus $100 for each alternative type. Match it to the system your soil requires.
SEVIER COUNTY FEE SCHEDULE — CONFIRMED
The one county schedule we have confirmed against the county’s own published figures. Select a line item to see what Sevier County Environmental Health charges for it:
Septic permit for a new system. Filed by mail with payment attached; the county does not accept cards. Contractors sometimes file this instead of the $75 repair permit because it is simpler for them — ask which one went in.