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Memphis and Shelby County, TN building permits

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

9,445 building permits were issued in Memphis and Shelby County from October 2024 to September 2026, about 4,722 a year. Remodel and repair permits lead with 2,643, then new homes (1,840) and garages, sheds & shade structures (787). 76% were for homes. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here: these pages show what was built, where and when.

9,445permits issued
4,722a year
76%for homes
Sep 2026records through

What gets built here

Remodels & repairs

2,643permits
1,330last 12 mo

New homes

1,840permits
960last 12 mo

Garages, sheds & shade structures

787permits
381last 12 mo

Additions

765permits
353last 12 mo

Roofing

468permits
221last 12 mo

Pools & spas

344permits
166last 12 mo

Fences & walls

281permits
171last 12 mo

What this page can and can't show

  • ✓Permits the city issued, by kind of work, month and ZIP code.
  • ✓What the job was declared at on the permit.
  • Who did the work. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here.
  • Which permits were finished. The file carries no usable permit status, so it can't say which permits were finished.
  • Street addresses or owners. We publish counts and permit rows without them.

Building permits the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development issues: the City of Memphis, unincorporated Shelby County and the towns that use the joint office (rows carry Memphis, Cordova, Arlington, Millington, Lakeland, Eads and other postal cities). Germantown, Collierville and Bartlett, which run their own permit offices, appear only where the joint office issued the permit. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are not in this file.

Hiring someone here?

The permit file can't tell you who does good work. Ask for the contractor's license number and look it up at verify.tn.gov, then ask the city whether they pulled the permit for your job.

How to check a contractor's license in Tennessee →

Permits by kind of work

Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, every kind of work with 100 or more. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026. Homes is the share issued as residential permits.

Kind of workPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Remodels & repairs2,64328%1,330
New homes1,84019%960
Garages, sheds & shade structures7878%381
Additions7658%353
Roofing4685%221
Pools & spas3444%166
Fences & walls2813%171
Other2,26724%975

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: demolition (21), ADUs & casitas (15), solar (14).

Download this table (CSV)

Memphis permit statistics →Memphis permits by ZIP code →Memphis building permit search: the Develop901 Citizen Portal and the DPD permit file →

Before you start a project

All guides →

How these numbers are made

Source: Memphis Open Data Hub, DPD Building Permits (ArcGIS layer), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out. The file carries no usable permit status, so it can't say which permits were finished, so no finished share is shown.

Building permits the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development issues: the City of Memphis, unincorporated Shelby County and the towns that use the joint office (rows carry Memphis, Cordova, Arlington, Millington, Lakeland, Eads and other postal cities). Germantown, Collierville and Bartlett, which run their own permit offices, appear only where the joint office issued the permit. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are not in this file.

  • The layer names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages.
  • The layer has no status and no final date, so it cannot show which permits finished or how long they took.
  • Only building permits are published: no electrical, plumbing or mechanical permits.
  • The value is the valuation on the permit, which sets the fee. It is not a final cost.

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, "Memphis and Shelby County, TN building permits", https://contractorrecords.com/memphis/, data through September 2026, from the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · Browse the permits · Permits each month.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits in the last 12 months.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Memphis issue a year?About 4,722 a year in Memphis and Shelby County: 9,445 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 4,581 of them in the last 12 months. That counts the permits the city issued, homes and commercial, not denied or withdrawn applications.
  • Can I find a contractor's permits in Memphis?Not from this file: the city publishes its permits without the contractor's name, so we can't list or rank firms. Check a license at verify.tn.gov and ask the contractor for the permit number of a past job.
  • What do people build most in Memphis?Remodels & repairs: 2,643 of the 9,445 permits (28%), then new homes (1,840), garages, sheds & shade structures (787), October 2024 through September 2026.
  • How do I look up a building permit in Memphis?Filter the permit list on this page by month, kind of work and ZIP code to see what was issued. For one property's permits, search the city's own records by address or permit number; we don't publish addresses. How to look up a permit in Memphis →
  • How many permits were issued in Memphis last month?342 in September 2026, the last full month on file; 4,581 over the last 12 months.

Browse the permits

Browse 9,445 permits

Every permit in the file issued October 2024 through September 2026, newest first. Pick a month, a kind of work or a ZIP code. Each row is one permit: no street address, no names.

The list loads as you reach it (9,445 permits).

IssuedKind of workCity permit typeZIP

Permits each month, the last 12 months

Permits issued each month and the kind of work with the most. A month opens its permits in the list above.

MonthPermitsTop kind of work
Sep 2026342Remodels & repairs (71)
Aug 2026410Remodels & repairs (132)
Jul 2026566Remodels & repairs (282)
Jun 2026368Remodels & repairs (95)
May 2026427Remodels & repairs (118)
Apr 2026393New homes (100)
Mar 2026456New homes (108)
Feb 2026344New homes (94)
Jan 2026268Remodels & repairs (71)
Dec 2025344Remodels & repairs (101)
Nov 2025290Remodels & repairs (97)
Oct 2025373Remodels & repairs (91)

Download this table (CSV)