Administrative overview · FIPS 47081
Hickman County permit authority
The first compliance decision is jurisdictional: identify the office with statutory authority over your parcel, then use its filing and inspection sequence to keep the project moving.
Jurisdictional status
County
This county profile is the primary starting point for unincorporated-area permitting.
Responsible agency
Hickman County Building Commissioner / Codes Enforcement, administered through the County Mayor’s Office
For a project in or near Hickman County, this office is the identified point of contact for permit intake, statutory code enforcement, plan review coordination, and inspection release conditions. Confirm the parcel’s boundary and project type before relying on the county lane.
Direct contact
931-729-5534 (Austin Brown, Building/ADA Coordinator); 931-729-2492 (County Mayor’s Office)
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Hickman County Building/ADA Coordinator, 114 N. Central Avenue, Suite 101, Centerville, TN 37033; County Mayor’s Office, Suite 204 at the same address
Operating hours
N/A; the county’s official administrative-office page does not publish Building Commissioner public hours. Contact 931-729-5534 to confirm.
Review expectation
N/A; no general plan-review or issuance timeline is published. A permit becomes invalid if authorized work does not begin within 12 months of issuance or is suspended/discontinued for one year. Board of Zoning Appeals applications are decided within 30 days when applicable.
Compliance workbench
Choose the next project decision.
Apply online
Open the verified digital gateway, application form, and review timeline.
Open guide →Fees & penalties
Understand fee schedules, enforcement exposure, and stop-work liabilities.
Open guide →Codes & exemptions
Read the code framework, minor-work exemptions, and inspection lane.
Open guide →Agency website
Visit the primary public source for current notices and contact changes.
Open guide →Source trail
Official sources for this profile
Use these direct agency or licensing links to confirm current instructions before you file, pay, or schedule work. External pages control if their information differs from this directory.
Project questions
Frequently asked questions for Hickman County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
Hickman County Building Commissioner / Codes Enforcement, administered through the County Mayor’s Office is the identified county-level authority for this profile. Confirm that the property is in its service area before filing.
How should I begin an application?
Begin with the online permit gateway listed in the application guide. If the portal does not recognize the address or project type, contact 931-729-5534 (Austin Brown, Building/ADA Coordinator); 931-729-2492 (County Mayor’s Office).
How long might review take?
N/A; no general plan-review or issuance timeline is published. A permit becomes invalid if authorized work does not begin within 12 months of issuance or is suspended/discontinued for one year. Board of Zoning Appeals applications are decided within 30 days when applicable.
How are inspections scheduled?
Contact the Building Commissioner/Building Coordinator at 931-729-5534 or austin.brown@hickmancountytn.gov for permit and inspection instructions. The resolution authorizes compliance inspections and requires a second inspection after a building or premises is ready for occupancy and within one year following occupancy; owners must correct deficiencies. Applications require written forms plus duplicate, scaled plans or plats showing the lot, structures, uses, and parking/loading information.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
Hickman County’s official 2023 county-commission agenda records adoption of changes to the 2018 International Residential Code and adoption of the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code for new residential construction on or after July 1, 2023. The County Building Commissioner also enforces the current Hickman County Zoning Resolution, last updated March 2025, including floodplain and land-use controls. A zoning-compliance/building permit is required before excavation, construction, moving, alteration, repair, expansion, change of use, or filling of land. Agriculturally related construction is expressly exempt under Section 5.070. The resolution also exempts sealed-plan requirements for structures under three stories and 5,000 square feet, one- or two-family dwellings/domestic outbuildings, and farm buildings not intended for human habitation; this is a plan-sealing exemption, not a blanket permit exemption.