Permits and licensing · Tennessee
Renovation permits and contractor licences in Tennessee
Tennessee licenses contractors at state level through one board, which also issues home improvement licences and the limited electrician and plumber licences. A contractor licence is required before contracting, including bidding, once a project reaches the value the Board sets. Building permits come from your city or county, and the State Fire Marshal's Office approves the local governments that run their own plan review and inspections.
Regulators and licensing bodies in Tennessee
These official bodies license contractors, oversee safety or issue permits in Tennessee.
Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors
Regulates contractors, home improvement contractors, limited licensed electricians and limited licensed plumbers, to protect public health, safety and welfare. The Board points to Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 62, Chapter 6 for the current licensing requirements. Each licence type has its own application route and its own limits.
Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office – Codes Enforcement Section
Enforces the statewide adopted fire and building construction safety codes, to give a reasonable degree of safety to life and property from fire and from hazards in the design, construction, alteration and repair of buildings. It also publishes which codes the state has adopted and approves local governments as exempt jurisdictions.
Metro Nashville Department of Codes and Building Safety
Issues building permits and the related trades permits for Nashville and Davidson County. A property owner who presently occupies or intends to occupy a single-family residence, or a licensed contractor, may obtain a building permit to construct or repair a residence.
Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement
Makes sure building construction conforms to the safety standards set out in state mandated building code regulations. It handles projects in Memphis, Arlington, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington and unincorporated Shelby County, and runs contractor registration for those jurisdictions.
Trades that need a licence in Tennessee
General contracting and renovation
A contractor licence is required before contracting, including bidding, offering to engage or negotiating a price, once a project reaches the value the Board sets, whether the firm is acting as prime contractor, as certain subcontractors, or as construction manager or consultant. Ask for the licence number before you talk price, not after.
Sources:Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Contractor license(opens in a new tab)
Consumer protection
Smaller residential remodeling falls under a separate home improvement licence, which covers a value band below the contractor threshold. The Board applies it only in the counties it lists: Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. Outside those counties the home improvement licence does not apply, so check the contractor licence instead.
Sources:Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Home improvement license(opens in a new tab)
Electrical work
The Limited Licensed Electrician covers work under a per-project value the Board sets, and is only required of electricians working in a municipality that uses the Division of Fire Prevention for permits or inspections. The Board tells applicants to check with the local government first, because many cities have their own licensing requirement for permits and inspections.
Sources:Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Limited Licensed Electrician(opens in a new tab)
Plumbing
The Limited Licensed Plumber works the same way: it covers work under a per-project value the Board sets, and applies where the municipality uses the Division of Fire Prevention for permits or inspections. General maintenance work below a small value the Board sets is exempt from the licence entirely.
Sources:Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Limited Licensed Plumber(opens in a new tab)
Certified trades
Subcontractors are not automatically covered by the prime contractor's licence. A subcontractor doing electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC or roofing work needs its own state licence once that portion of the job reaches the value the Board sets, and masonry has its own, higher threshold.
Sources:Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Contractor license(opens in a new tab)
Building and renovation permits in Tennessee
Permits are issued locally. Nashville's Department of Codes and Building Safety issues building and trades permits, and lets either a licensed contractor or an owner who occupies or intends to occupy a single-family home pull one. Memphis and Shelby County run one office covering Memphis, Arlington, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington and the unincorporated county, and Knoxville requires permits for new construction, for expanding an existing structure's floor area, height or stories, for modifying or fixing existing structures, and for demolition. The State Fire Marshal's Office lists the cities and counties it has approved as exempt jurisdictions, which do their own plan review and inspections.
Sources:Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office – Exempt jurisdictions(opens in a new tab)Knoxville – Plans review and permits(opens in a new tab)
Before you hire a contractor in Tennessee
Practical checks you can do yourself, using official tools where they exist.
Ask for the contractor's Tennessee licence number before you negotiate a price, and check it in the state's licence verification search.
Official lookup: Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance – Verify a license(opens in a new tab)
Check that the licence type matches the size of your job: a contractor licence above the Board's threshold, a home improvement licence below it.
Official lookup: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Contractor license(opens in a new tab)
If you live in one of the nine counties the Board lists, confirm a remodeler holds the home improvement licence.
Official lookup: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Home improvement license(opens in a new tab)
For electrical or plumbing work, ask your city whether it accepts the state limited licence or has its own licensing requirement.
Official lookup: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Limited Licensed Electrician(opens in a new tab)
Ask your city or county codes department which permits the job needs, and who is pulling them, before work starts.
Official lookup: Nashville – Codes and Building Safety: construction and permits(opens in a new tab)
Get the scope of work, the materials and the price in writing, signed by both of you, before any money changes hands.
Sources for renovation permits and licences in Tennessee
Every fact on this page comes from these official sources.
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors(opens in a new tab)
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – How to get a license(opens in a new tab)
- Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office – Codes Enforcement(opens in a new tab)
- Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office – State codes adoption and history(opens in a new tab)
- Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office – Exempt jurisdictions(opens in a new tab)
- Nashville – Codes and Building Safety: construction and permits(opens in a new tab)
- Memphis and Shelby County – Construction Code Enforcement(opens in a new tab)
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Contractor license(opens in a new tab)
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Home improvement license(opens in a new tab)
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Limited Licensed Electrician(opens in a new tab)
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Limited Licensed Plumber(opens in a new tab)
- Knoxville – Plans review and permits(opens in a new tab)
Find licensed pros
Compare local pros for the regulated trades in this guide, then confirm their licence with the regulator before you hire.
Renovation permits in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Planning a renovation?
Describe your project once and hear from local pros. Ask each one for their licence and permit details before you hire.