Counties › Tennessee › Cumberland County, TN
The county attorney told the County Commission in May 2026 that Cumberland County has no zoning. Building permits, state septic permits, subdivision rules, floodplain permits, state manufactured-home installation rules and recorded deed restrictions still apply. Each point below names its official source; confirm the details with the county office listed before you buy or build.
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The minutes of the May 18, 2026 County Commission meeting record the county attorney saying that Cumberland County has no zoning, and that the county had no rules on data centers at that time.
On June 15, 2026 the Commission adopted Resolution 06-2026-30, adopting the County Powers Act (Tennessee Code Annotated 5-1-118), and Resolution 06-2026-31, a temporary two-year moratorium on the construction, development, establishment or operation of data centers in the county while the county studies their impacts and considers regulations.
The Cumberland County Regional Planning Commission's subdivision regulations exclude the areas under the Crossville Regional Planning Commission and the municipalities of Crab Orchard and Pleasant Hill. Land inside a city or town follows that city's own rules, which can include zoning, so ask the city. Confirm the current status with the county before relying on this page.
Septic permits in Cumberland County are issued by the State of Tennessee, and the County Codes Department says state permits must be obtained before county permit applications are submitted. The county's building permit checklist asks for a copy of the septic permit and septic layout and gives the TDEC contact number 931-698-4515.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) says anyone who wants a septic system installed, or an existing faulty one repaired, must get a Septic System Construction Permit. Applications go to the Division of Water Resources at the Environmental Field Office (online application recommended); the review generally takes 10 days and must be completed within 45 days. TDEC lists a $400 permit fee for a new conventional system up to 1,000 gallons per day plus a $100 construction inspection, and inspects each installation.
For new subdivisions, the county subdivision regulations require written septic approval for lots that will use septic tanks before the final plat is approved, and they set minimum lot sizes (for example 2 acres with private water and private sewage disposal, or as determined by the County Environmentalist).
The County Codes Department lists a floodplain permit among the permits it handles. Ask the Codes Department whether a parcel lies in a flood hazard area before you build.
The county subdivision regulations require flood hazard areas to be shown on subdivision plats, every platted lot in land subject to flooding to have a flood-free building site, and no fill in the floodway of a stream.
The Cumberland County Codes Department began operating on January 1, 2024. It issues building permits and inspects residential and commercial construction. New homes need building, plumbing and mechanical permits from the county; electrical and septic permits come from the State of Tennessee.
The county's 2018 IRC inspection guide lists what a building permit application needs: a 911 address, a copy of the septic permit and layout, proof of contractor's license, proof of comp insurance or an affidavit of exemption, and a county business license. No inspections are scheduled without a permit, and a certificate of occupancy is required before a structure can be occupied.
Before January 1, 2024 the City of Crossville Codes Department handled inspections outside the city limits; the county page sends questions about city codes, and about permits from before 2024, to the city.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Manufactured Housing Section (State Fire Marshal's Office), licenses manufactured home installers and performs installation inspections under the Tennessee Manufactured Home Installation Act. Its installer FAQ says a license must be active before an installer sets up any manufactured home in Tennessee.
Per the same FAQ, the installer buys an installation permit decal from a county court clerk, completes the set-up, places the decal on the electrical panel box cover, and reports the installation to the State Fire Marshal's Office within seven days. If the home is inspected, the inspection happens within 20 business days of the report, and violations must be repaired within set deadlines.
The Cumberland County Codes Department page does not mention manufactured homes; ask the Codes Department which county permits apply to a manufactured home.
No county zoning does not remove private restrictions. Deed restrictions and homeowners' association rules are separate from zoning; read them in the recorded deed and plat at the Register of Deeds.
The county subdivision regulations say approved final plats are recorded with the Cumberland County Register of Deeds, list proposed deed restrictions among plat items where an area is not zoned, and allow the Planning Commission to require a homeowners' association to maintain private roads or common open space.
To see what is recorded against a parcel, check the deed and plat at the Register of Deeds, which links an online title search from its county page.
Building permits and floodplain permits: Cumberland County Codes Department, 1760 S Main Street, Crossville, TN 38555, (931) 710-5727, codes@cumberlandcountytn.gov, Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. New 911 addresses: E-911 office, 931-484-0179 (as printed in the county's inspection guide).
Subdivision and plats: Cumberland County Planning Commission, 931-979-2170. Septic permits: TDEC, 931-698-4515 (as printed in the county's inspection guide).
Deeds, plats and recorded restrictions: Cumberland County Register of Deeds, Cumberland County Courthouse, 2 N Main St Suite 204, Crossville, TN 38555, 931-484-5559, Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Manufactured home installation: TN Department of Commerce and Insurance, Manufactured Housing Section, 615-741-7192.
LandCheck took these facts from the county sources listed under each heading. General information, not legal advice: the county, the health department and a licensed installer have the final word, so confirm anything that matters with them before you buy. LandCheck is free with no account; terms, privacy and refunds.