Can you build on land in Shelby County, Tennessee?
Thinking about buying land or a vacant lot in Shelby County, TN? Before you commit, check the things that actually decide whether a parcel is buildable — and know exactly where to verify each with the county.
What decides if Shelby County land is buildable
- Flood zone. Is the parcel in a FEMA floodplain? Building in a Special Flood Hazard Area means elevation requirements, costly flood insurance, or no-build zones.
- Soil & septic. With no public sewer, the ground must pass a perc/soil test for a septic system. USDA soil data and slope flag parcels where septic is hard or impossible.
- Zoning. Does the county zoning allow what you want to build — a house, manufactured/mobile home, barndominium, tiny home, or keeping animals?
- Legal access. Is there a recorded road frontage or easement to the parcel? Landlocked lots with no legal access can't be permitted.
- Wetlands. USFWS-mapped wetlands can restrict or block building and trigger federal permitting.
- Wildfire. USFS wildfire-hazard exposure affects insurance, defensible-space rules, and construction.
- Utilities. Public water/sewer district, or well + septic? What's available at the road changes the site-development cost sharply.
PeckCheck pulls the Shelby County parcel record and AI-researches the zoning (the county publishes no zoning GIS), then layers on FEMA flood, USDA soil/septic, USGS slope, USFWS wetlands and USFS wildfire — from official records.
Check a Shelby County parcel →
Where to verify in Shelby County
The official offices and records to confirm each of the above for a specific Shelby County parcel:
| Zoning / planning | Memphis-Shelby County Division of Planning & Development (DPD) + the Unified Development Code (UDC). NOTE: Memphis, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Millington, Arlington and Lakeland have their OWN zoning — use county/UDC zoning only for unincorporated parcels |
|---|---|
| Septic / health | Shelby County Health Department, Environmental Health (Memphis, TN); TN TDEC subsurface sewage disposal (SSDS) rules. Most of the urbanized county is on public sewer |
| Permits / perc history | Memphis-Shelby County Construction Code Enforcement; Shelby County Health Dept septic-permit lookup |
| Deeds / CC&Rs / easements | Shelby County Register of Deeds (Memphis, TN) — search by owner/address/parcel for deeds, sales & CC&Rs (this is the best route to OWNER for Shelby, since the assessor GIS owner data is not openly queryable). Subdivisions commonly carry POA/CC&Rs |
| Water / wells | Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) draws from the Memphis Sand aquifer; TN TDEC water-well completion report database |
| Utilities (sewer/water districts) | Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW); suburban utilities (Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Millington); Shelby County area water/sewer districts |
| Fire | Memphis Fire Department / suburban municipal fire departments; Shelby County Fire Department (unincorporated); TN Division of Forestry |
This is a starting point for due diligence, not legal, title, or engineering advice. Always confirm zoning, septic feasibility, access and flood status directly with Shelby County and a licensed professional before you buy.