City Building Permits
Town of Arlington, TENNESSEE Building Permit Guide
How to apply for a building permit in Town of Arlington, Tennessee. Permit authority, application steps, fees, and inspection requirements.
Permit Authority
Arlington's public pages focus on local development review, public-works inspections, right-of-way permits, and stormwater compliance. Develop901 states Shelby County Construction Enforcement issues building permits and inspections for projects in Arlington.
- Department
- Town of Arlington Planning and Development for development review and Public Works Construction Inspection for town infrastructure, with Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement for core building permits
- Address
- Town of Arlington, 5854 Airline Rd., P.O. Box 507, Arlington, TN 38002
- Phone
- Public Works Construction Inspection (901) 867-4980; Town Hall (901) 867-2620; Shelby County Construction Enforcement (901) 222-8300
Online Permit Portal
Platform: Accela Citizen Access • Account required: Yes • Submission: In-person only
Additional resources:
Application Process
- Confirm local development requirements with Arlington Planning and Development and Public Works, especially for drainage, right-of-way, grading, or infrastructure impacts.
- If the work affects the street, sidewalk, or public right-of-way, obtain Arlington's Street Cut/Excavation/Driveway Permit from the town document center or Town Hall.
- For building-code regulated construction, apply through Shelby County Construction Enforcement using the Develop901 Accela portal.
- Submit local plans and county plans as required for the scope.
- Pay the applicable town permit fees and separate Shelby County construction fees.
- Schedule Arlington inspections for town-regulated items and Shelby County inspections for county-issued building permits.
Typical processing time: No public general processing-time estimate found.
General Requirements
Arlington's construction-inspection page lists new single-family homes, curb cuts, new driveways, sidewalk repairs, driveway culvert installation, sidewalk drains, public infrastructure installed by private developers, non-residential site development, and soil-disturbing activities as items needing town inspection or approval. Core building permits are handled through Shelby County Construction Enforcement.
Required Documents
- General permit applications
- Plans and supporting documents as applicable
- Shelby County construction submittal requirements for building permits
- Permit validity
- Arlington does not publish a consolidated permit-expiration rule on the reviewed page. Shelby County permit expiration rules apply for the county building permit.
- Building code
- Arlington's public pages do not publish a separate local building-code adoption page in the reviewed material. Construction Enforcement states it handles Arlington projects under the shared Shelby County code system.
- Owner-builder
- No Arlington-specific owner-builder page found.
- Contractor requirements
- No Arlington-specific contractor-license summary found on the construction-inspection page; Shelby County registration and Tennessee licensing rules apply for county-issued permits.
Fees
- Minimum permit fee
- Not publicly summarized on the reviewed Arlington page.
- Plan check fee
- No Arlington-specific plan-check fee was clearly published on the reviewed page.
- Permit fee formula
- Arlington local permit fees vary by permit type; Shelby County building fees are valuation-based.
- Reinspection fee
- Not clearly summarized on the reviewed Arlington page.
- Payment note
- Street-cut and related permit applications are available online in the Document Center or through Town Hall; payment instructions were not clearly posted on the reviewed page.
Fees change. Verify current amounts at the official fee schedule.
Work That Does NOT Require a Permit
Contact the Town of Arlington Planning and Development for development review and Public Works Construction Inspection for town infrastructure, with Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement for core building permits to confirm whether your project requires a permit before starting work.
Inspections
How to Schedule
- Arlington Public Works: (901) 867-4980 (phone)
- Shelby County permit procedures for county building permits (other)
Typical inspection sequence: Arlington public page emphasizes inspection of homes, right-of-way work, infrastructure, site-development consistency, and soil-disturbing work, with county inspections layered onto county-issued building permits.
Additional Resources
- Building code: Arlington's public pages do not publish a separate local building-code adoption page in the reviewed material. Construction Enforcement states it handles Arlington projects under the shared Shelby County code system.
- Zoning information: View zoning info
- Development Permit Process
- Handouts and Info
- Construction Enforcement
- License lookup guide: Tennessee Contractor License Requirements
- Contract template: Tennessee Homeowner-Contractor Agreement
- Tennessee hub: Tennessee Contractor License & Permit Hub
Information on this page was last verified: March 2026. Permit rules and fees change — confirm current requirements directly with the Town of Arlington Planning and Development for development review and Public Works Construction Inspection for town infrastructure, with Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement for core building permits before applying.
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