Davidson County, Tennessee septic permits and requirements

Permitting authority

Metro Public Health Department — Environmental Health, Septic and Sewage Disposal Systems / Environmental Engineering Services

Metro Public Health Department handles septic and sewage-disposal review in Nashville and Davidson County. Septic questions: 615-340-5630. The program provides onsite-system engineering, soils interpretation, development review, records, and septic-related permitting coordination.

Tennessee contract-county framework

TDEC’s current septic-services page identifies Davidson, Knox, and Sevier among the jurisdictions that provide their own groundwater-protection services. SepticScope therefore follows the local metropolitan or county process below instead of substituting the standard TDEC field-office workflow used in most Tennessee counties.

Metro Public Health is the local septic authority

TDEC identifies Davidson County/Nashville as a contract jurisdiction that provides its own groundwater-protection and septic services. Metro Public Health’s Septic and Sewage Disposal Systems program states that it performs soils interpretation, onsite-system design, technical consulting, land-use and development review, percolation-test monitoring, groundwater protection, and enforcement of rules governing subsurface sewage disposal.

Septic review is part of Metro development permitting

Metro Codes’ current permitting contact list identifies the Health Department as the septic contact for building-permit coordination and directs septic questions to the Environmental Engineering program at 615-340-5630. Applicants should resolve septic feasibility and required Health Department review before assuming a Codes building permit can proceed independently.

Parcel identification is required for property-specific research

Metro’s septic program states that property questions require the map-and-parcel number or tax ID. The program provides a property-file search for scanned Environmental Engineering files and a separate process to obtain existing approval, inspection, and bedroom information.

New-residence feasibility can be checked before final design

Metro Public Health provides a feasibility-assessment process for newly constructed residences that proposes use of a private septic system. The Environmental Engineering Services Program searches its files and reports available property information; existing homes use the separate septic-system assessment or records process.

Public sanitary sewer availability can change the path

Metro’s septic information form notes that a property may appear to have public sanitary sewer available and directs owners to Metro Water Services or the responsible utility to confirm availability and line location. Sewer availability should therefore be resolved early rather than assuming an onsite system will be accepted.

Official sources

SepticScope summarizes public-agency information for planning purposes. The permitting agency's current instructions control if they differ from this guide.