What does RS5 zoning mean in Nashville?

RS5 is a single-family residential district requiring a minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet; the number in any RS code sets that minimum lot size in thousands of square feet. It only permits detached single-family housing, not duplexes or multi-family buildings.

What is Nashville's Downtown Code (DTC)?

The Downtown Code is a form-based zoning district that governs parcels within Nashville's downtown core in place of the standard suburban base districts like RS or CS. It regulates building form, height, and street-level activation rather than relying primarily on use-based standards.

How do I find the zoning for an address in Nashville?

The Metro Nashville Planning Department's zoning map viewer shows the current district for any parcel in Davidson County, since Metro's consolidated government zones the entire county under one code. You can also confirm classifications through the Planning Department's zoning classifications reference page.

Nashville, Tennessee · city zoning districts · 15 districts

Nashville, TN zoning map & districts

Nashville and Davidson County consolidated into a single metropolitan government in 1963, so one Metropolitan Zoning Code and one Metro Planning Department govern the entire county rather than separate city and county ordinances. The 40-member Metro Council (35 district members, 5 at-large) has final say on rezonings and text amendments, the Metro Planning Commission reviews rezonings and subdivision plats and makes recommendations, and the Board of Zoning Appeals hears variances; downtown parcels are governed by a distinct Downtown Code (DTC) rather than the standard suburban base districts.

The code Metropolitan Zoning Code

Nashville zoning map

The interactive map needs JavaScript. See the official Metro Nashville Parcel Viewer (Metro Planning / IT Mapping Services) instead.

Residential 43
Mixed-use 23
Commercial 16
Industrial 4
Special purpose 3
Other / unclassified 1
Downtown / core 1

Source: Metro Nashville Parcel Viewer (Metro Planning / IT Mapping Services), retrieved 2026-08-29. Basemap: © OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Find a district by address

District lookup only. No bulk standards and no ordinance citations are held for this city yet. Not a zoning verification.

Source: the official Metro Nashville Parcel Viewer (Metro Planning / IT Mapping Services) , retrieved 2026-08-29 — the authoritative source for current boundaries.

The Metro Nashville Planning Department publishes the official zoning map and the Metropolitan Zoning Code, including a dedicated zoning classifications reference and the Downtown Code text, through its own site and the Metro Code of Ordinances.

A published summary is never the authority. The adopted ordinance and the city's official zoning map govern, and both change — verify the district and every standard on your parcel before you rely on it.

How zoning works in Nashville

Base zoning is organized around several families: single-family residential (RS, keyed to minimum lot size, e.g. RS5, RS10, RS20), one- and two-family residential (R, e.g. R6, R8), multi-family residential (RM, e.g. RM9, RM20), mixed-use (MUN, MUL, MUG, MUI, from neighborhood-scale to intensive), office (ON, OL, OG), commercial (CL, CS, CA, CF), and industrial (IWD, IR, IG), plus agricultural (AG) districts at the county's rural edges. Nashville has no citywide missing-middle or ADU mandate, so density and detached-accessory-unit allowances vary district by district, and specific plan (SP) zoning is common on larger infill and redevelopment sites in lieu of a standard base district.

Nashville zoning districts by family

The 15 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in Nashville, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.

Key districts in the Metropolitan Zoning Code — a curated reference, not the exhaustive list. Confirm against the current adopted code.
Code	District	What it is for
Residential 5 districts
RS10	Single-Family Residential (RS10)	Detached single-family district keyed to a 10,000-square-foot minimum lot size; the numeral in RS districts sets the minimum lot size in thousands of square feet.
RS5	Single-Family Residential (RS5)	Smaller-lot single-family district (5,000 sq ft minimum), common in older, denser Nashville neighborhoods.
R6	One- and Two-Family Residential (R6)	Allows detached one- and two-family housing on smaller lots than the RS districts.
RM9	Multi-Family Residential (RM9)	Lower-density multi-family district permitting townhomes and small apartment buildings.
RM20	Multi-Family Residential (RM20)	Higher-density multi-family district for larger apartment developments.
Mixed-use 3 districts
MUN	Mixed-Use Neighborhood	Smallest-scale mixed-use district, sized to neighborhood commercial nodes.
MUL	Mixed-Use Limited	Mid-scale mixed-use district combining residential and limited commercial uses along corridors.
MUG	Mixed-Use General	Broader mixed-use district allowing a wider range of commercial intensity than MUL.
Commercial 3 districts
OL	Office Limited	Lower-intensity office district, often used as a transition between residential and commercial areas.
CS	Commercial Services	General commercial district for retail and service uses along arterial corridors.
CL	Commercial Limited	Smaller-scale commercial district for neighborhood-serving retail and services.
Downtown / core 1 district
DTC	Downtown Code	Form-based code governing downtown Nashville parcels in place of the standard suburban base districts.
Industrial 2 districts
IWD	Industrial Warehousing/Distribution	District for warehousing, distribution, and logistics uses.
IG	Industrial General	General industrial district permitting the broadest range of manufacturing and industrial uses.
Special purpose 1 district
AG	Agricultural	Rural-edge district for farming and very low-density uses at the county's outer boundary.

Nashville zoning — common questions

What does RS5 zoning mean in Nashville?: RS5 is a single-family residential district requiring a minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet; the number in any RS code sets that minimum lot size in thousands of square feet. It only permits detached single-family housing, not duplexes or multi-family buildings.
What is Nashville's Downtown Code (DTC)?: The Downtown Code is a form-based zoning district that governs parcels within Nashville's downtown core in place of the standard suburban base districts like RS or CS. It regulates building form, height, and street-level activation rather than relying primarily on use-based standards.
How do I find the zoning for an address in Nashville?: The Metro Nashville Planning Department's zoning map viewer shows the current district for any parcel in Davidson County, since Metro's consolidated government zones the entire county under one code. You can also confirm classifications through the Planning Department's zoning classifications reference page.

Working in Tennessee? Get on the list.

The parcel layer lands in the order demand does. Illinois went first because that's where the deals were; the next state is decided by who tells us what they're trying to underwrite. Tell us where you're building and what you wanted to run — you'll hear from us when Tennessee opens, and sooner if we need a test parcel.

Keep reading

← Tennessee zoning — who holds the zoning power in Tennessee, under which enabling statute, and the reforms that override local rules.

Other Tennessee cities

The zoning reference → — every state, plus city-level district guides like this one.

Nashville zoning summaries on this page are provided for information, not legal advice. Confirm every project against the current adopted code for the jurisdiction.