Nashville contractor permit bonds, business license and wash water rules

Nashville and Davidson County operate as one government, so there is no separate county permit office to find. Metro Codes and Building Safety issues the permits, the County Clerk handles business licenses, Metro Water Services watches stormwater and Metro Waste Services permits haulers. The details below come from those Metro offices, read in October 2026, and are general information, not legal advice. Some of the Metro forms we read carry 2013 to 2024 dates, so call before you file.

State license first, Metro paperwork second

Tennessee licenses contractors at the state level. The Board for Licensing Contractors sets a $25,000 line for prime contractors, and its home improvement license covers residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999 in nine counties, Davidson among them. Our Tennessee contractor licenses guide and the Tennessee startup page explain that layer. Metro's permit instructions repeat the same thresholds and then add bonds, insurance proof and a local business license on top.

The Davidson County business license has a $100,000 trigger for outsiders

Metro's contractor requirements for building permits say a contractor must provide a Davidson County business license or sign an affidavit stating the business is exempt. A license is required if your place of business is in Davidson County, if it is outside Tennessee, or if it is outside the county but inside Tennessee and the company does more than $100,000 in bid price in Davidson County in a taxable year. A Tennessee contractor based in a neighboring county can therefore work smaller Nashville jobs on an exemption affidavit and cross the line on a large one.

The County Clerk's Business Tax Division is at 700 President Ronald Reagan Way, Suite 101, Nashville, TN 37210, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. Metro lists 615-862-6050 for the clerk's office, and the Metro general line is 311 or 615-862-5000. The state side of this tax is explained by the Tennessee Department of Revenue, which we link from the Tennessee page. We could not read a Metro fee schedule from an official page, so ask the clerk for current amounts.

Metro makes you post a permit bond

This is the Nashville rule that surprises out-of-town crews. Metro says all contractors must have a permit bond on Metro Form DCAB7 from a surety company, to protect property owners and Metro that construction meets code. The amounts are:

• $10,000 for contracts or bids under $25,000.
• $40,000 for contracts or bids of $25,000 and over.
• The bond must be in exactly the same name as on the state license, if one applies.

Blasting contractors need a business license, a $10,000 bond and public liability blasting insurance of $10,000/$300,000. House movers need a business license and a $40,000 bond. Every contractor must show workers' compensation proof or sign an affidavit that the business is exempt, and the certificate of insurance goes to Metro as certificate holder, c/o Metro Codes. The Permit Issuance desk is at 615-862-6517.

How Metro states the license thresholds on its own form

Metro's instruction sheet says a state license may be required, depending on the amount or type of work. For bids or contracts over $3,000 and under $25,000 on a single family, duplex, triplex or quad, it requires a State Home Improvement License, a State Contractor's License with a residential classification, or a license with building categories. For $25,000 and over it requires a State Contractor's License. It also notes that a Residential Contractor (BC-A) license is limited to residential buildings with up to four dwelling units and three stories. Metro's building permit guides list decks, patios, fences and front porches, so those jobs sit closer to the line than a wash or mowing job.

Where permits are filed, and a fake-fee warning

Metro Codes' Help Desk for the building permit process is at 800 President Ronald Reagan Way, Nashville, TN 37210, at 615-862-6510, open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Codes department's general line is 615-862-6500. Contractors who want to submit plans and information online use Metro's ePermits system, and Metro keeps a "When do I need a permit" list. Its permit page also warns that fraudulent fee requests have recently impersonated planning and zoning agencies, and tells people to verify any fee request through official Metro channels. If a customer forwards a fee request that looks wrong, point them to Codes before they pay.

Dirty wash water is an illicit discharge, with a daily penalty

Metro Code 15.64.205 makes all non-stormwater discharges into community waters unlawful, including Metro's storm sewer system. The exempt list includes individual residential car washing, unless the director has identified it as a contaminant source. Violations carry a civil penalty of $50 to $5,000 per day, and each day can count separately. Metro's NPDES Division published pressure washing guidance in January 2013 that lists acceptable places for wash water:

• Spread across grass so it soaks in, which the guide notes is fine for car washing.
• Poured into a sanitary sewer fixture such as a cleanout, mop sink, toilet or floor drain after solids settle and are thrown away as solid waste.
• Run through an oil and water separator first if there is more than a sheen.
• Into a storm drain only if no chemicals were used, the area was generally clean and there is no sheen.
• Collected by an environmental waste company when the water carries oil, grease, extreme pH, solvents, lead-based paint or gas.

The NPDES line is 615-880-2420. Because the guide is older, ask before you rely on it for a large job. Our pressure washing startup guide covers capture equipment.

Haulers need an annual permit for each vehicle and container

Metro Waste Services says anyone who collects, hauls or transports waste in Davidson County must hold a private collection permit under Metro Code 10.20.100, with each vehicle and mobile waste container permitted every year. The listed fees are $60 per vehicle under 3 cubic yards, $120 per vehicle over 3 cubic yards and $12 per container of 2 cubic yards or more. Generator fees are $1 per cubic yard of construction and demolition waste and $6 per ton of other solid waste, and collectors submit monthly reports. Unpermitted vehicles, containers and unpaid fees draw fines of $50 per day each. Questions go to 615-767-2631, and the office is at 1600 2nd Ave N. A junk removal truck that hauls debris falls under this reading, so see our junk removal startup guide and confirm your category with Waste Services.

Construction noise near homes

A 2017 Metro Council ordinance, BL2017-835, recites that Metro Code 16.44.030 bars construction equipment noise above 70 dB(A) between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. within or adjoining a residential zone. The same ordinance, approved September 20, 2017, requires project information signs at permitted building and demolition sites with a permit valuation over $2,500, stating when work is prohibited and the noise limits. We read the rule only as recited in that ordinance, so check the current code text for hours that may have changed.

Tennessee 811: three working days, fifteen-day ticket

Tennessee 811 says a standard request needs at least three working days' notice, or 72 hours excluding weekends and holidays, and can be postdated up to ten working days. Tickets are valid fifteen calendar days after the legal start date, and working on an expired ticket is against state law. The tolerance zone is the width of the buried facility plus two feet each side, where excavators must use reasonable care such as hand digging. If a homeowner hires you, the ticket must be in your company's name. Call 811 or (800) 351-1111.

Climate and busy seasons

The National Weather Service's Nashville climate page lists normal values of 49.1 degrees for the January high and 90.9 degrees for the July high, with 50.51 inches of precipitation and 4.7 inches of snow a year. Those figures put summer heat well above 90 degrees and winter highs near 50, with little snow, so plan crews around the heat and the rain rather than around plowing.

Putting the Nashville rules into your setup

A Nashville website page that names Davidson County, your state license number and your Metro bond status answers the first question a careful customer asks. Calls about permits and bonds come in during job hours, so an AI receptionist can capture the address and job value, which decides whether the $10,000 or $40,000 bond applies. Tennessee's call recording rules sit in our recording guide. Confirm forms and amounts with Metro before you file.

Frequently asked questions