Inside Murfreesboro city limits
Murfreesboro keeps adding homes: in 2025 the City issued permits for 606 new detached houses, 431 townhomes and 20 duplex or zero-lot-line units (homes built right up to one side of their lot). Inside city limits, widening a driveway or building a sidewalk in the right-of-way needs a permit from the City's Engineering Department, $50 per street. See the permits guide.
Smyrna and La Vergne
Smyrna and La Vergne are incorporated towns with their own rules. In Smyrna, cutting a driveway across a curb or sidewalk needs a Public Works permit, while open patios need no building permit. In La Vergne, check with the town before work near the street.
Christiana, Rockvale and Lascassas
These communities aren't cities or towns in their own right (they are unincorporated), so homes there follow Rutherford County's rules: the County requires no permit for a concrete driveway, patio or sidewalk unless the slab will later be built on.
Eagleville
Eagleville is one of Rutherford County's four incorporated towns, with Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne, so it sets its own rules. Ask the town before work at the street.
Rules for all of Rutherford County
A Tennessee Home Improvement license is required for residential projects from $3,000 to $24,999 across the county, and Tennessee 811 needs at least three working days' notice before anyone digs.
Sources
- City of Murfreesboro, 2025 Building Permits Report (run January 2, 2026) and Right-of-Way (ROW) (checked October 27, 2026)
- University of Tennessee CTAS, Rutherford County (incorporated cities and towns) (checked October 27, 2026)
- Rutherford County, Building Codes FAQ (checked October 27, 2026); Town of Smyrna, Public Works FAQs and residential permit packet (checked October 27, 2026)
- Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, Home Improvement license (checked October 27, 2026); Tennessee 811, Before You Dig (checked October 27, 2026)