What Tennessee business licenses cost

The cheap layer: the local licenses every business shares

The license stack is the cheapest part of starting a Tennessee business. The county and city licenses together cost $30 in Memphis, the most documented city in the state.

The Department of Revenue sets the state side of the figure: a separate $15 business license registration fee must be paid to the county and/or municipal clerk for each new business. Memphis adds its own $15 city license fee inside municipal boundaries, published alongside the county's.

Both renew annually on the application anniversary. A renewal that runs late draws the clerk's late process rather than a state fine, and the businesses that lose licenses in this state lose them by forgetting, not by shortage of money.

$15The Tennessee Department of Revenue states that a separate $15 business license registration fee must be paid to the county and/or municipal clerk for each new business. — Tennessee Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

$15 + $15The City of Memphis states that businesses within the municipal boundaries need a combined City of Memphis license at a $15 fee and a Shelby County Business License at a $15 fee. — City of Memphis, retrieved 2026-09-29

The heavier layer: the entity filing and its annual report

The LLC costs more to file in Tennessee than the local licenses cost in a decade. The Articles of Organization form SS-4270 states the fee on its face: $50 per member, with a minimum fee of $300 and a maximum of $3,000.

The annual report carries the same shape at the same office. The Secretary of State's FAQ states the LLC annual report fee is $300 minimum up to a $3,000 maximum, $50 per member for every member over six members. Corporations file at $20.

The comparison that matters for a solo owner: a one-member LLC pays $300 to form, $300 a year to report, and $30 a year in local license fees. A sole proprietorship, whose only state record is the tax registration and the county license, carries none of those entity fees. The trade-off is liability protection, which does an LLC need a business license covers from the license side.

$50 per memberThe Articles of Organization form SS-4270 states a filing fee of $50 per member, with a minimum fee of $300 and a maximum fee of $3,000. — Tennessee Secretary of State, form SS-4270, retrieved 2026-09-29

$300 to $3,000The Secretary of State's FAQ states the LLC annual report fee is $300 minimum up to $3,000, rising $50 per member over six members, while corporations file at $20. — Tennessee Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29

The trade licenses, priced from their own boards

The trade layer is where a small budget feels it. Each board publishes its own fee schedule, and the figures below are those schedules' own numbers, not estimates.

The electrician's Limited Licensed Electrician license is $50 to apply and $50 to renew, with an $80 reinstatement and a $10 per month late penalty. The cosmetology side splits in two: the individual license is $60 original and $60 renewal, and the shop license is $150 for a new shop and $75 to renew. A dual shop, offering cosmetology and barbering, pays $200 to open and $100 to renew.

The pesticide side carries the real money. The charter itself is a prorated $200 per year, but the charter also requires a $10,000 surety bond and liability insurance with minimum coverages of $250,000 per incident and $500,000 aggregate. The certification exams are $25 per attempt.

$50 initialThe Board for Licensing Contractors publishes the LLE fee schedule: $50 initial, $50 renewal, $80 reinstatement, and $10 per month late renewal penalty. — Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, retrieved 2026-09-29

$60 and $150The Board's fee schedule states an individual cosmetologist license is $60 original and $60 renewal, and a new shop license is $150 with $75 renewal. — Tennessee Cosmetology and Barber Examiners Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

$200 per yearThe Department of Agriculture states a pesticide charter requires a prorated $200 per year fee, a $10,000 surety bond, and $250,000 per incident liability coverage, with $25 exams. — Tennessee Department of Agriculture, retrieved 2026-09-29

The health permit and the city permits on top

Food businesses pay a permit rather than a trade license. In Shelby County the health department states the food service permit at $210 per year for 50 seats or less and $360 per year for 51 seats or more, with a bar fee of $100. A food truck, having no seats, pays the $210 figure.

The city layer for trucks varies by city, and the difference is a budget line, not a rounding error. Knoxville's Mobile Food Unit ordinance charges an initial $200 annual fee with a $50 annual renewal, and $75 for a one-time event permit. Memphis charges its two $15 business licenses instead.

The pattern generalizes across the state: the health permit is uniform where the county health department applies it, and the city permit is whatever the city council set. Read both pages before the menu is printed.

$210 per yearThe Shelby County Health Department states a food service permit costs $210 per year for 50 seats or less and $360 per year for 51 seats or more, with a bar fee of $100. — Shelby County Health Department, retrieved 2026-09-29

$200 initialThe City of Knoxville states mobile food units pay an initial $200 annual fee, a $50 annual renewal, and $75 for a one-time event permit. — City of Knoxville, Business License and Tax Office, retrieved 2026-09-29

The annual obligations that follow the licenses

Two annual bills follow the stack, and neither is a license. The business tax return is due on the 15th day of the fourth month after the fiscal year ends, with a $22 minimum per location for Class 1-4 and 5B taxpayers. Class 5A locations carry a $450 minimum, capped at $1,500.

The LLC annual report is the second, $300 minimum for an LLC, $20 for a corporation. Closing the business triggers one more bill: Memphis's closing steps include a final business tax return within 15 days of closing, with the $22 minimum applying.

The renewal calendar is the quiet third obligation. Every license in this article renews annually except the pesticide certification, which runs a three-year cycle ending June 30, 2026 in its current round. Put each date in one calendar the week it is issued, and check the whole list once a quarter.

$22 per locationThe business tax return instructions state Class 1-4 and 5B taxpayers owe at least $22 per location, and Class 5A taxpayers owe $450, capped at $1,500. — Tennessee Department of Revenue, form BUS 428, retrieved 2026-09-29

June 30, 2026The Tennessee Department of Agriculture states that the current pesticide certification cycle ends on June 30, 2026, running on a three-year cycle from July 1 to June 30 of the third year. — Tennessee Department of Agriculture, retrieved 2026-09-29

What the totals look like for four first-year businesses

The table below adds the published figures for four common first-year cases, all inside Memphis where both local licenses apply. It is arithmetic on the figures above, not new fees, and it excludes insurance, equipment, and rent, which dwarf every license in every trade.

A sole-proprietor cleaner's stack is the $30 in local licenses plus the $22 tax minimum. An LLC adds the $300 filing and the $300 annual report. A salon adds the $60 personal license and the $150 shop license. A food truck adds the $210 health permit.

What the table shows is the shape of the costs: the shared layer is trivial, the entity layer is fixed, and the trade layer decides the budget. Every figure's source is named above, and each one is re-checkable on the agency page on the date shown.

$150 and $60The Cosmetology and Barber Examiners Board states that the initial full service cosmetology shop application fee is $150 and the individual cosmetologist license is $60. — Tennessee Cosmetology and Barber Examiners Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

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