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Demolition permits in Chattanooga, TN

Data through September 2026 · updated 18 Oct 2026

285 demolition permits were issued in Chattanooga, October 2024 through September 2026: about 142 a year and 2% of all permits. 110 demolition permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 37% fewer than the 175 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is March. The usual one took 27 days from issue to the city's final. 37405 has the most, 59.

285permits issued
110last 12 months
Marbusiest month
27days, usual issue to final
29%finished
Sep 2026records through

Demolition permits by month

Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026.

Oct 2024: 17Oct2024Nov 2024: 19Dec 2024: 13Jan 2025: 15Jan2025Feb 2025: 15Mar 2025: 22Apr 2025: 8May 2025: 16Jun 2025: 9Jul 2025: 9JulAug 2025: 14Sep 2025: 18Oct 2025: 10Nov 2025: 11Dec 2025: 6Jan 2026: 15Jan2026Feb 2026: 11Mar 2026: 9Apr 2026: 8May 2026: 7Jun 2026: 7Jul 2026: 7JulAug 2026: 11Sep 2026: 8
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 202417
Nov 202419
Dec 202413
Jan 202515
Feb 202515
Mar 202522
Apr 20258
May 202516
Jun 20259
Jul 20259
Aug 202514
Sep 202518
Oct 202510
Nov 202511
Dec 20256
Jan 202615
Feb 202611
Mar 20269
Apr 20268
May 20267
Jun 20267
Jul 20267
Aug 202611
Sep 20268

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When demolition permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). March is the busiest (131), April the quietest (67). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 126 (100 = an average month)February: 109 (100 = an average month)March: 131 (100 = an average month)131April: 67 (100 = an average month)May: 97 (100 = an average month)June: 67 (100 = an average month)July: 67 (100 = an average month)August: 105 (100 = an average month)September: 109 (100 = an average month)October: 114 (100 = an average month)November: 126 (100 = an average month)December: 80 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January126
February109
March131
April67
May97
June67
July67
August105
September109
October114
November126
December80

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How long a demolition permit takes

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 51 with a final date.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025175
Finished29.1%
Usual days, issue to final27
Middle half, days9–85

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ZIP codes with the most demolition permits

Counted at the property's ZIP code. Share is the part of the city's 285 demolition permits.

ZIP codePermitsShare
374055921%
374045218%
374213211%
374063111%
37407207%
37409166%
37343155%
37415155%
37411135%
37419104%

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How these numbers are made

Source: City of Chattanooga Hub (ChattaData), All Permits (nightly CSV extract, ArcGIS item 9937e99e93de467eae5f592061c2672c), read 18 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Residential permits the City of Chattanooga Land Development Office issues inside the city: building, repair and replace, modification and demolition permits for homes, and electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas permits the city marks residential. Commercial, industrial and institutional permits, street cuts, land disturbing, low voltage permits and certificates of occupancy in the same file are not counted. Unincorporated Hamilton County, East Ridge, Red Bank, Signal Mountain and the other towns run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

  • The file names a contractor company on about seven in ten of the permits counted here, and on none before 2020. The contractor table counts permits filed per firm among those; it does not rate, rank or compare their work.
  • The file has a declared cost on only a few commercial permits, so we show no costs.
  • The file's completion date is empty. A final date here is the date the city last changed the permit's status, on permits whose status is Complete. A permit with any other status (Active or Stopped) counts as open; the file has no expired status.
  • In mid-2025 the city renamed several permit types (for example 'Residential Building Permit Old' and 'Residential Modification Permit' became 'Residential Building Permit' and 'Residential Repair Replace'); both names are counted the same way.
  • A new house gets separate building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas permits, so one project can count several times, once under each kind of work.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Demolition permits in Chattanooga, TN", https://contractorrecords.com/chattanooga/demolition-permits, data through September 2026, from the City of Chattanooga Land Development Office building-permit records.

Link to a table: By month · Season · Days to final · By ZIP code.

Download the tables (CSV): Demolition permits by month · Demolition permits by calendar month (index) · Demolition permits: days to final · Demolition permits by ZIP code.

Common questions

  • How many demolition permits does Chattanooga issue a year?About 142 a year in Chattanooga: 285 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 110 of them in the last 12 months.
  • How long does a demolition permit take in Chattanooga?The usual one took 27 days from issue to the city's final inspection, and the middle half took 9 to 85 days (51 permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025 that reached a final). The wait to get the permit issued is not in this file.
  • When do people in Chattanooga file the most demolition permits?March (131 against an average month of 100); April is the quietest (67). If you can choose, a quiet month at the permit counter can mean contractors have more room in their schedules.
  • Which ZIP code has the most demolition permits in Chattanooga?37405, with 59 of the 285 (21%); then 37404 (52).