Tennessee
Buying Land in McNairy County, Tennessee
County seat Selmer, in the rolling farm and timber country of southwest Tennessee near the Mississippi border. McNairy County has not adopted a countywide zoning ordinance or building code -- Selmer maintains its own municipal zoning under a dedicated title of its town code, and land outside any incorporated town's limits is not subject to a general county zoning map. Here's what that split means in practice.
Zoning is a Selmer question, not a county question
McNairy County has not adopted a countywide zoning ordinance or general building code covering its unincorporated territory, based on the available evidence for this research pass -- placing it among the roughly half of Tennessee's 95 counties that have chosen not to exercise the option under the County Zoning Enabling Act. Zoning here instead exists at the municipal level: Selmer, the county seat and largest town, maintains its own municipal code with a dedicated Title 14 covering zoning and land-use control, and the county's other incorporated towns likely run comparable codes of their own within their respective corporate limits.
For a buyer, this means the single most important early question isn't 'what does McNairy County zoning allow here' -- it's 'is this parcel inside Selmer (or another town) at all.' A rural parcel outside any municipal boundary isn't subject to a general zoning map dictating use, density, or setbacks the way a parcel inside Selmer's limits would be under Title 14. That said, an absence of zoning doesn't mean an absence of all regulation: septic permitting, any applicable floodplain rules, and state-level standards for manufactured housing installation still apply on unincorporated county land regardless of zoning status.
A rural county with a well-known local story
McNairy County's best-known piece of local history has nothing to do with land-use regulation but is worth knowing as regional context: former McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser, who served in the mid-to-late 1960s and became known for an aggressive personal campaign against organized moonshine and gambling operations along the Tennessee-Mississippi state line, became the basis for the 1973 film "Walking Tall" and its sequels and a 2004 remake. The Buford Pusser Home and Museum still operates today in Adamsville, an incorporated town within McNairy County, and continues to draw a modest but steady stream of visitors interested in the story -- a genuine, long-documented piece of the county's identity rather than a marketing invention.
That history mostly matters to a land buyer as regional color rather than a zoning or land-use consideration, though it's worth knowing if you're evaluating a parcel near Adamsville specifically, since proximity to the museum and related tourist traffic can be a modest factor in commercial or short-term-rental land value near that specific town.
Septic, water, and confirming the details
Septic system permitting in McNairy County follows the statewide TDEC Rule 0400-48-01 framework described on our Tennessee state page. This research pass could not independently confirm a specific McNairy County Health Department street address or phone number with sufficient confidence, so use the Tennessee Department of Health's own local health department directory to find the current contact rather than relying on a secondhand listing, and confirm current processing times and site-evaluation requirements directly.
Water rights on any McNairy County parcel follow Tennessee's statewide riparian, reasonable-use doctrine, and manufactured-home installation is regulated at the state level regardless of whether your specific parcel sits inside a municipal zoning boundary or in the unincorporated county. As with any unzoned rural Tennessee parcel, a title search and a look at any recorded plat restrictions remain the most reliable way to know what private covenants, if any, apply on top of the absence of public zoning.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in McNairy County
No countywide zoning or building code was found for unincorporated McNairy County in this research pass -- confirm current status directly with the county, and confirm municipal boundaries with Selmer or the relevant town before assuming a parcel is inside or outside a zoned area.
Planning & Zoning
Town of Selmer
Selmer's own municipal zoning ordinance (Title 14 of the town code) for parcels inside town limits.
Other
McNairy County Clerk
General confirmation of municipal boundaries and any county-level permitting for unincorporated land.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
McNairy County Health Department
Septic system site evaluations and permits under the statewide TDEC standard.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
McNairy County Register of Deeds
Recorded deeds, subdivision plats, and title history for a specific parcel.
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Get local guidanceSources
- McNairy County, Tennessee — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- Selmer, Tennessee — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- The Selmer Municipal Code — Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS), University of Tennessee (accessed 2026-09)
- McNairy County, Tennessee - Home — McNairy County, Tennessee (accessed 2026-09)
- Tennessee Department of Health Local Health Departments — Tennessee Department of Health (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09