Nashville, TN
Nashville plumbing permit cost
A Nashville plumbing permit is a price list with a $75.00 minimum:
$11.00 per fixture, $32.00 for each additional building drain, $80.00 each for a sewer connection, a water service connection and a septic tank with its disposal field, and $43.00 for a hot water heater. A fixture counts as a fixture "whether or not the fixture is actually set at the time the plumbing system is installed" — and subsection C lists thirty-two classifications, from area drains to water tanks, that count as one fixture each.
How this fee is calculated
These are the components the schedule defines for this permit, as they applied on 2026-09-28. A component only applies to your project if its conditions match — read that column before assuming a figure. Want a figure for your own project? Estimate this fee with the permit fee calculator.
| Component | Formula | Applies when | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing permit — $32.00 per additional building drainPermit fee | $32.00 per building drain | Each building drain on the permit | — |
| Plumbing permit — $11.00 per plumbing fixturePermit fee | $11.00 per fixture | Each fixture on the permit | — |
| Plumbing permit — $80.00 per septic tank and disposal fieldPermit fee | $80.00 per septic tank | Each septic tank on the permit | — |
| Plumbing permit — $80.00 per sewer connectionPermit fee | $80.00 per connection | Each connection on the permit | — |
| Plumbing permit — $43.00 per hot water heaterPermit fee | $43.00 per heater | Each heater on the permit | — |
| Plumbing permit — $80.00 per water service connectionPermit fee | $80.00 per water service connection | Each water service connection on the permit | — |
| Plumbing permit — $75.00 minimum feePermit fee | the shortfall up to the $75.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| Plumbing permit — $50.00 reinspection feeInspection fee | $50.00 flat fee | reinspection is true | — |
A real permit fee is these components added together. The department’s final calculation is the one that applies — this is the schedule it will be based on.
A worked example
Follow the arithmetic by hand. Every line is produced by the engine from the rules above, so the total cannot drift away from the schedule behind it.
Worked example
A bathroom remodel's plumbing at a one-family dwelling — a water closet, a lavatory, a bath tub and a hot water heater, on one permit.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Fixtures | 3 |
| Number of heaters | 1 |
| Number of building drains | 0 |
Example total
$76.00
An estimate, not an official fee. It is calculated from the published fee schedule as it applied on 2026-09-28. The permit office’s own calculation is the one that applies, and your project may fall under rules this schedule does not describe.
Fee schedule as of 2026-09-28Rules applied 4Rules considered 8
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Plumbing permit — $32.00 per additional building drainPermit feeThe table's "Each additional building drain ... $32.00" row. A building drain is not a fixture and not a connection: it is the horizontal run that carries the building's waste to the sewer, counted per additional drain, and the dataset counts it separately for that reason.Show the working
| $32.00 per building drain | $0.00 |
Plumbing permit — $11.00 per plumbing fixturePermit feeThe table's "$11.00 each fixture" row, under its own footnote: "Each fixture outlet shall be counted as one fixture in figuring the total permit fee, whether or not the fixture is actually set at the time the plumbing system is installed." Subsection C then lists what counts as one fixture — thirty-two kinds, from area drains and backflow preventers to water closets and water tanks, including "solar panels when connected to plumbing system" and "swimming pools" — all at one fixture each.Show the working
| $11.00 per fixture | $33.00 |
Plumbing permit — $43.00 per hot water heaterPermit feeThe table's "Hot water heater ... $43.00" row. A water heater is its own line on this table and not a fixture, even though the schedule's fixture classification list would not otherwise catch it: the row exists because a water heater replacement is the most common plumbing permit there is, and it is priced alone. The gas/mechanical table prices the same appliance at $21.00 — a different permit.Show the working
| $43.00 per heater | $43.00 |
Plumbing permit — $75.00 minimum feePermit feeThe plumbing fee table's own first row: "Minimum fee (each permit) ... $75.00". Charged as the shortfall on the permit fee, so a permit that computes less — a single hot water heater at $43, say — pays $75.00, and a permit whose rows exceed it pays its own arithmetic.Show the working
| $75.00 minimum on calculated permit fee, less the $76.00 calculated | $0.00 |
| Total | $76.00 |
Fees that do not apply here
Listed so you can see what was considered and left out, rather than wondering whether something is missing. A rule can also be left out because it is not published for this permit at all, and that is stated where it matters.
- Plumbing permit — $80.00 per septic tank and disposal field — septic tank count was not provided, so this component could not be calculated.
- Plumbing permit — $80.00 per sewer connection — connection count was not provided, so this component could not be calculated.
- Plumbing permit — $80.00 per water service connection — water service connection count was not provided, so this component could not be calculated.
- Plumbing permit — $50.00 reinspection fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Limits of this estimate
- septic tank count is required by at least one fee rule and was not provided (input "custom.septic_tanks").
- connection count is required by at least one fee rule and was not provided (input "custom.connections").
- water service connection count is required by at least one fee rule and was not provided (input "custom.water_service_connections").
Assumptions
- Calculated from 4 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Three fixtures at $11.00 are $33.00 — water closet, lavatory and bath tub, each of which subsection C names as one fixture whether or not it is set. The hot water heater is its own row at $43.00, so the permit computes $76.00 and clears the $75.00 minimum on its own.
Add a sewer connection and a water service connection and the permit grows the way the table does: $80.00 + $80.00 + $32.00 for a second building drain, each on its own count, with the minimum still doing nothing because the rows already exceed it.
A hot water heater alone is the case the minimum exists for: $43.00 computes, $32.00 of shortfall is charged, and the permit is $75.00. And the gas line to that heater is a different permit at a different price — $21.00 on the gas/mechanical table, not $43.00 here.
What is different in Nashville
The table is seven rows and a footnote. The minimum is the first row — "Minimum fee (each permit) ... $75.00" — and it is a floor rather than a base: a hot water heater replacement computes $43.00 and pays $75.00. Fixtures are $11.00 each, and the schedule is unusually explicit about the count: "Each fixture outlet shall be counted as one fixture in figuring the total permit fee, whether or not the fixture is actually set at the time the plumbing system is installed." Subsection C then lists what counts — area drains, backflow preventers, baptisteries, bath tubs, boiler blowoff tanks, combination sink and tray, commercial icemakers, dental lavatories and units, diluting tanks and interceptors, dishwasher fixed units, commercial disposal units, drinking fountains, floor drains, grease traps and interceptors, kitchen sinks, lavatories, pools and fountains and aquaria, roof drains, shower drains, slop sinks, "solar panels when connected to plumbing system", sump pumps, swimming pools, urinals, washers both domestic and commercial, water closets and water tanks.
Three rows price infrastructure rather than fixtures, and each is its own count: $32.00 for each additional building drain, $80.00 per sewer connection, $80.00 per water service connection, and $80.00 for a septic tank and disposal field — one price for the tank and the field together. A hot water heater is its own row at $43.00, and the gas/mechanical table prices the same appliance at $21.00 under a different permit; they are not the same charge. The last row is a penalty rather than a price: $50.00 each time an inspection is repeated.
What this figure does not include
Impact fees, utility connections and other departments’ permits are the usual omissions, and in some jurisdictions they are larger than the permit fee itself.
Not included in these figures
This is the plumbing permit fee Metro Code 16.12.220 charges. It excludes:
- The gas/mechanical permit — Metro Code 16.16.400's own permit, with a $75 minimum, gas and mechanical appliances at $11.00 residential and $16.00 commercial beyond the first, a $11.00 gas meter connection, $21.00 for a hot water heater on that permit, $50.00 for underground fuel lines, and $32.00 per 100,000 Btuh of connected heating and cooling capacity.
- The re-inspection fee — $50.00 each when an inspection is repeated: a penalty on the permit rather than part of its price.
- Metro Water Services charges — the water utility's tap, meter and availability fees are its own, charged beside the plumbing permit.
- The permit classifications list as a fee — subsection C's thirty-two classifications decide what counts as one fixture; they are a counting rule, not a price list.
- The fixture count as an estimate — the count is of fixture outlets on the application, and the calculator reads the number the applicant supplies.
What you need before applying
- A fixture outlet counts as a fixture whether or not it is setRequired
Metro Code 16.12.220 B's footnote: "Each fixture outlet shall be counted as one fixture in figuring the total permit fee, whether or not the fixture is actually set at the time the plumbing system is installed." Subsection C lists what counts — thirty-two classifications, including area drains, backflow preventers, bath tubs, boiler blowoff tanks, commercial icemakers, dental units, dishwasher fixed units, drinking fountains, floor drains, grease traps, kitchen sinks, lavatories, roof drains, shower drains, slop sinks, "solar panels when connected to plumbing system", sump pumps, swimming pools, urinals, water closets and water tanks. The count is of outlets, not of installed fixtures.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in Nashville?
$75.00 minimum per permit, plus $11.00 for each fixture, $32.00 for each additional building drain, $80.00 each for a sewer connection, a water service connection and a septic tank with disposal field, and $43.00 for a hot water heater. A three-fixture bathroom with a water heater computes $76.00; a water heater alone pays the $75.00 minimum.
What counts as a fixture?
Subsection C lists thirty-two classifications that each count as one fixture — area drains, backflow preventers, bath tubs, boiler blowoff tanks, commercial icemakers, dental units, dishwasher fixed units, drinking fountains, floor drains, grease traps, kitchen sinks, lavatories, roof drains, shower drains, slop sinks, solar panels connected to the plumbing system, sump pumps, swimming pools, urinals, water closets, water tanks and more — and the footnote says the count is of outlets: "whether or not the fixture is actually set at the time the plumbing system is installed".
Is the water heater charged on the plumbing permit?
Yes, at $43.00 as its own row on this table. The gas/mechanical table prices a water heater at $21.00 as part of a different permit, and both are real: the plumbing permit prices the water and drain connections, the gas permit prices the gas connection. A replacement that only swaps the appliance and reconnects both may need both permits.
What is an additional building drain, and how is it different from a sewer connection?
The table prints them as separate rows: "Each additional building drain ... $32.00" and "Sewer connection ... $80.00". The building drain is the horizontal run that carries the building's waste to the sewer; the sewer connection is the tie to the public main. A permit can carry both, and each is counted on its own row.
Is there a minimum fee on a plumbing permit?
"Minimum fee (each permit) ... $75.00" — the table's first row. It is a floor, not a base: it is charged only when the permit's rows compute less than $75.00, which is what happens on a single water heater ($43.00) or a small fixture count.
Does the plumbing permit include the gas piping?
No. Gas and mechanical work has its own permit under Metro Code 16.16.400, with its own $75.00 minimum, its own appliance rows and a rate of $32.00 per 100,000 Btuh of connected equipment. The plumbing permit prices the plumbing rows only, and the gas permit is filed beside it.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Metro Nashville Codes Fee Schedule (Metro Code 16.28.110 – 16.20.250, with ICC valuation data)
Read 2026-09-25 with pdftotext in -layout mode (the text is single-column and reads cleanly). The first four lines are the whole building mechanism: "The total permit cost for a building permit includes: Zoning Examination Fee of $25 / Building Valuation Fee: See below (Valuation Table is on last page) / Codes Tech Fee: 10% of the Building Valuation Fee / Building Plan Review Fee: See below". Then the Metro Code itself: 16.28.110 (building permits — residential $5.00 per $1,000; the commercial ladder; moving $252; signs; trailers; use and occupancy $55; re-inspection $50; plans examination with its $275,000 seam and its exemptions), 16.12.220 (plumbing — $75 minimum, $11 fixtures, the thirty-two-item fixture classification list), 16.16.400 (gas/mechanical — $75 minimum, appliance rows, $32 per 100,000 Btuh), 16.20.250 (electrical — outlets, motors, ranges, water heaters, heat by kilowatts, dryers, signs, services per meter, panels by amperage, the $75 minimum, service releases and emergency reconnection), and the ICC Building Valuation Data (February 2025) with its per-square-foot construction costs and worked permit-fee multiplier example. The sheet cites its own legislation: BL2022-1215 (fee schedule) and BL2022-1254 (codes tech fee).
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.