Service areas
Nashville and the twenty towns around it
From Gallatin and Lebanon down to Columbia and Murfreesboro. The dirt work is the same everywhere; the permit office and the ground under it are not.
Call (615) 209-7643 or send the estimate form
Why each town gets its own page
The rules change at the county line
Inside Metro Nashville, which takes in Antioch, Bellevue, Hermitage and Madison, Metro Water Services decides whether a grading job needs a permit, and a lot in a designated floodplain loses the small-job exemptions. Brentwood ties its exemption to slope. Unincorporated Williamson County runs its own land disturbance permit through the county engineer. Lebanon’s permit form warns that disturbing a sinkhole or cave takes a separate state permit.
None of that changes how a dozer cuts a pad. It changes what has to be filed before the dozer arrives, and that is why every town below has its own page.
Town by town
Who issues the grading permit where you are
| Town | County | Grading or land disturbance permit |
|---|---|---|
| Nashville | Davidson County | Metro Water Services |
| Antioch | Davidson County | Metro Water Services |
| Arrington | Williamson County | Williamson County Engineer |
| Bellevue | Davidson County | Metro Water Services |
| Brentwood | Williamson County | City of Brentwood Engineering |
| College Grove | Williamson County | Williamson County Engineer |
| Columbia | Maury County | City of Columbia Engineering |
| Franklin | Williamson County | City of Franklin Engineering (Stormwater) |
| Gallatin | Sumner County | City of Gallatin Engineering |
| Goodlettsville | Davidson and Sumner counties | Goodlettsville Community Development Services |
| Hendersonville | Sumner County | Hendersonville Public Works |
| Hermitage | Davidson County | Metro Water Services |
| La Vergne | Rutherford County | City of La Vergne Engineer |
| Lebanon | Wilson County | City of Lebanon Engineering |
| Madison | Davidson County | Metro Water Services |
| Mt. Juliet | Wilson County | Mt. Juliet Storm Water Department |
| Murfreesboro | Rutherford County | City of Murfreesboro Engineering |
| Nolensville | Williamson County | Town of Nolensville |
| Smyrna | Rutherford County | Smyrna Public Works (Storm Water) |
| Spring Hill | Maury and Williamson counties | Spring Hill Development Services |
| Thompson’s Station | Williamson County | Thompson’s Station Community Development |
- AntiochMill Creek country in southeast Nashville, where a floodplain lot loses Metro’s small-job grading exemptions.
- ArringtonUnincorporated southern Williamson County, where the county engineer issues the land disturbance permit.
- BellevueWest Nashville along the scenic stretch of the Harpeth River, rebuilt and built out since the 2010 flood.
- BrentwoodHillside lots where the city’s house-and-driveway grading exemption stops at a 15 percent grade.
- College GroveRural land between Franklin and Murfreesboro, a lot of it being cut into home sites for the first time.
- ColumbiaDuck River ground at the south edge of the Nashville Basin, with a city permit at one acre or 10,000 square feet of hard surface.
- FranklinHarpeth River town where the city itself handles the state stormwater coverage for sites of an acre or more.
- GallatinSumner County’s seat on Station Camp Creek, with land disturbance permits filed online with the plans.
- GoodlettsvilleA city split between two counties, with its own permit office for anything over an acre.
- HendersonvilleOld Hickory Lake shoreline, where every commercial site needs a land disturbance permit regardless of size.
- HermitageEast Nashville ground bounded by the Stones River bottoms and Percy Priest Lake.
- La VergneHurricane Creek and Stones River ground beside Percy Priest Lake, home of the state’s largest subdivision.
- LebanonCedar glade and limestone country, where disturbing a sinkhole takes a state permit of its own.
- MadisonNorth Nashville along Gallatin Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard, under Metro’s grading rules.
- Mt. JulietBetween two lakes, with a city land disturbance permit fee that starts at $250 for a site under an acre.
- MurfreesboroLimestone ground where shallow sinkholes flood in a storm, studied by the USGS with the city.
- NolensvilleMill Creek’s headwaters, mostly flat, filling with subdivisions since the 1990s.
- SmyrnaStones River and Stewarts Creek ground, where the town inspects a site before it issues a grading permit.
- Spring HillOne of the fastest-growing cities in the state, straddling two counties.
- Thompson’s StationA town where tree removal and grading both wait on a Land Development Permit.
Answers
Working outside Nashville
Does every town around Nashville have its own grading permit?
Most cities do. Metro Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Columbia, Gallatin, Hendersonville and the others each run their own program, while unincorporated Williamson County uses the county engineer. Each town page names the office and what triggers the permit.
Are Antioch, Bellevue, Hermitage and Madison under Nashville’s rules?
Yes. They are part of Metro Nashville and Davidson County, not separate cities, so Metro Water Services decides whether a grading job there needs a permit. A lot in a designated floodplain loses the exemptions that small jobs get elsewhere.
Do you work in Williamson, Rutherford, Sumner, Wilson and Maury counties?
Yes. The towns we serve sit in Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Sumner, Wilson and Maury counties, from Gallatin in the north to Columbia in the south. Goodlettsville and Spring Hill each straddle two counties.
What if my land is near one of these towns but not in it?
Ask. Put the nearest town in the estimate form and describe the land. The towns listed here are the ones with their own page, not a fence around where we will go.
Your town
Tell us where the land is
Put the town in the form. If it is near any of these, ask anyway.