Installation Permits

County clerks are responsible for selling installation permits to licensed installers of manufactured homes.  Under T.C.A. § 68-126-406, prior to installing a manufactured home an installer must obtain a permit and pay an inspection fee of forty-five dollars ($45.00).  A permit is required for each installation.  The permit is purchased from the county clerk of any county by paying the inspection fee.  The county clerk issues a permit decal which must be placed on the electrical panel box cover of the manufactured home.  The installer must write the address of the home on the permit, and the electrical inspector cannot authorize the electricity to be turned on at the home if no installation permit decal is present.

Of the $45.00 fee, the county clerk retains eight dollars ($8.00) and remits thirty-seven dollars ($37.00) to the commissioner of commerce and insurance (to be used to defray inspection costs) on a monthly basis, no later than the twentieth (20th) day of the month following the month in which the fee is paid, with a report showing the license numbers of the installers and retailers who purchase permits and the corresponding permit numbers sold. The decals are furnished to the county clerks by the commissioner.  County clerks are required to account for each permit decal issued.

If a permit is lost or destroyed, the county clerk may issue a replacement decal upon payment of an additional forty-five dollars ($45.00) and submission of an affidavit stating that the decal was lost or destroyed.  The county clerk retains eight dollars ($8.00) and remits a copy of the affidavit and thirty-seven dollars ($37.00) to the commissioner of commerce and insurance with the monthly report.

Inspections are handled by the Department of Commerce and Insurance, as is licensing of installers and retailers of manufactured homes.  The responsibilities of the county clerk are limited to selling installation permits, collecting the inspection fees, and filing reports and remitting fees monthly to the commissioner of commerce and insurance.