TVA Section 26a dock permits on Lake Blue Ridge

If it is at the water’s edge on Lake Blue Ridge (TVA’s Blue Ridge Reservoir), assume it needs a TVA Section 26a permit. TVA says building, changing or maintaining anything along its reservoir shorelines, including docks, shoreline stabilization and vegetation removal, needs one. On this Fannin County, Georgia, lake, that applies on private lots inside TVA’s jurisdiction as well as on TVA land.

Below is what the permit covers, the size and timing rules TVA has published under 18 CFR 1304, and what happens when a lot with a dock changes hands. One thing this page does not give you is fees or processing times. We could not verify them, so ask TVA directly.

What needs a 26a permit

TVA’s own answer to “do I need a permit?” begins “Most likely, yes.” Its shoreline permits page covers construction or changes along the shoreline, which includes:

• Building a dock, pier, boathouse, path or steps.
• Changing or adding to something already there.
• Maintaining existing structures.
• Shoreline stabilization.
• Removing vegetation.

The last three are the easy ones to overlook. Repair work on a dock and clearing brush for a better view are both on TVA’s list, so check with TVA before you start, not after.

Minor and major projects

TVA sorts 26a work into two groups.

We could not verify a fee or review time tied to either label. Ask TVA how your project will be classified and what its review involves.

Where TVA’s jurisdiction reaches

On TVA reservoirs, 26a jurisdiction typically reaches the 500-year floodplain, the area with a 0.2 percent chance of flooding in any given year, or the upper limit of TVA’s land rights, whichever is higher, per TVA. Within that area, two kinds of land come up.

• TVA land. Permission from TVA is always required before any activity on TVA land, even activities that would otherwise be exempt.
• Flowage easement land. Where TVA holds only a flowage easement over the shoreland, the terms of that particular easement and the other parts of 18 CFR 1304 govern its use, per TVA’s 26a regulations page.

Which one a lot has is a title question. Read the deed and the survey, and if they are unclear, ask TVA before you plan anything. Lake Blue Ridge adds a third possibility: TVA says the Chattahoochee National Forest borders roughly 80 percent of the shoreline (TVA), so many lots near the lake have national forest, not private land, at the water. Our guide to who owns Lake Blue Ridge’s shoreline explains the split.

Why the line sits above summer pool

The summer water line is not the top of the reservoir. TVA lists the top of Blue Ridge Dam’s gates at elevation 1,691 feet, the highest the water can safely go (TVA), while the guide curve peaks at about 1,686.8 feet around June 1. The reservoir also holds 68,500 acre-feet of flood-storage capacity. That is why TVA’s jurisdiction is measured by floodplain and land rights rather than by where the water happens to be on the day you visit.

How big a dock can be

Under 18 CFR 1304, docks, piers, boathouses and all other residential water-use facilities are limited to a total footprint of 1,000 square feet, per TVA. The limit is 1,800 square feet in areas of preexisting development. The cap covers all of those structures together, not each one separately.

Whether a lot sits in an area of preexisting development is TVA’s call, not a listing’s. Ask TVA before you design around the larger number.

Two deadlines to know

18 months to start building

A 26a permit expires if construction is not started within 18 months of the date it was issued, per TVA’s regulations page. If your plans slip, contact TVA before that window closes.

60 days after a sale

When waterfront land with a permitted dock changes hands, the new owner must notify TVA within 60 days. TVA reissues the permit if the facilities are in good repair and meet the standards they were originally permitted under. A dock in poor repair, or one that no longer matches its permit, may not be reissued as is, so look at it closely before closing.

A checklist for buyers and sellers

1. Ask for the existing 26a permit and any TVA correspondence about the dock.
2. Compare what is built with what was permitted: size, location and anything added later, measured against the total footprint cap.
3. Find out whether the land at the water is TVA land, flowage easement land or national forest.
4. Look at the dock against the seasonal water level, not just the summer view.
5. After closing, notify TVA within 60 days.
6. Before repairs, new decking or brush clearing, check whether you need a 26a permit.

Our Lake Blue Ridge homes and sell your lake home pages carry the same checks for each side of a sale. This guide is published by Gold Peach Realty, a North Georgia brokerage, and working with a local brokerage can help you line up the TVA paperwork with your closing dates.

Winter water and your dock

In a year with normal rainfall, Lake Blue Ridge varies by about 22 feet between summer and winter, according to TVA. TVA’s guide curve sits at 1,664.8 feet at the turn of the year and about 1,686.8 feet around June 1. A dock plan has to work at both ends of that range. TVA posts the current level on its lake-level page, and our lake levels page explains the curve.

What we could not confirm

TVA’s 26a fees and processing times did not render on the TVA pages we could read on October 18, 2026, so we do not print them. Ask TVA for the current fee and how long a review takes before you book a contractor. TVA’s shoreline construction permits page is the starting point for an application.

• Building, changing or maintaining anything along a TVA reservoir shoreline, including docks, shoreline stabilization and vegetation removal, needs a TVA Section 26a permit. TVA
• Under 18 CFR 1304, residential docks, piers, boathouses and other water-use facilities are limited to a 1,000-square-foot total footprint. The limit is 1,800 square feet in areas of preexisting development. TVA
• When waterfront land with a permitted dock changes hands, the new owner must notify TVA within 60 days. TVA reissues the permit if the facilities are in good repair and meet the original standards. TVA
• A 26a permit expires if construction is not started within 18 months of issuance. TVA

Questions people ask

Written by the Visit Lake Blue Ridge Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.