Tennessee contractor licenses: the $25,000 line, nine home improvement counties and the trades around them

Tennessee uses dollar lines, and the line you sit on depends on the job and the county. A $30,000 re-roof needs a state contractor license anywhere in the state. A $9,000 deck in Nashville needs a home improvement license, and the same deck in a county that has not opted in does not. This page lays out the state's lines trade by trade. It is general information. Confirm with the board before you bid.

The $25,000 contractor license

The Board for Licensing Contractors requires a license for projects of $25,000 or more when you act as a prime contractor, certain subcontractors, or a construction manager. A masonry subcontractor needs one when the masonry portion is $100,000 or more.

The board lists classifications that include residential building (BC-A), commercial building (BC-B), industrial (BC-C), electrical (CE), HVAC (CMC-C), fire sprinkler (CMC-D), full mechanical (CMC), plumbing (CMC-A) and licensed masonry (LMC). The CMC and CMC-A exams require board pre-approval, which costs $50.

The application fee is $250. Applicants take a Business and Law exam plus a trade exam where required. The exams are open book and generally valid for two years, and the board says an exam vendor named Prov takes over administration from PSI on July 1, 2026. The financial side is where small companies get stuck:

• Your monetary limit is calculated as ten times the lesser of your working capital or net worth, plus required experience.
• Limits of $3,000,000 or less need a reviewed financial statement, and higher limits need an audited one. Statements must be under 12 months old.
• An unlimited limit needs $300,000 in both working capital and net worth.
• From July 1, 2026 a surety bond of at least 50 percent of the requested limit is an option.

You also need general liability insurance sized to your limit, workers' compensation unless you show an exemption, a reference letter from a past client, employer or code official who is not family, and a business tax license for each city or county where you work. Residential contractors with work under $125,000 can take a community college or vocational school limited license course in place of the exams (the BC-A/r license).

The board grants trade exam waivers to contractors actively licensed in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia, and accepts the NASCLA national commercial exam. Waivers do not apply to home improvement, LLE or LLP licenses. See our national guide on getting a contractor license for the general path.

Home improvement license: nine counties, $3,000 to $24,999

The board says a home improvement license is required for residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999, but only in Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby counties. Those include the Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga areas. The definition in T.C.A. 62-6-501 covers repair, replacement, remodeling, alterations or additions to land or a residential building, and the board's examples include driveways, pools, porches, garages, landscaping, fences, roofing and painting.

No exam is listed. The application fee is $250. You need proof of general liability and workers' compensation insurance, a $10,000 surety bond (or a cash or property bond or irrevocable letter of credit for the same amount), a photo ID, Secretary of State registration if you are a corporation, partnership or LLC, and experience doing remodeling. Landscaping and fencing appear in the board's list of examples, so a landscape crew taking on construction-type work such as a $6,000 patio in Davidson County should ask the board whether the license applies. Routine mowing contracts are not on the board's list.

Limited electrician and plumber licenses

Jobs under $25,000 do not need a contractor license, but electricians and plumbers can still need a state credential. The limited licensed electrician (LLE) and limited licensed plumber (LLP) apply to work in a municipality that uses the state Division of Fire Prevention for permits or inspections, on projects under $25,000. The application fee is $50 for the LLE and $75 for the LLP, each by passing a trade exam administered by Prov. General plumbing maintenance under $500 is exempt from the LLP.

The board's own advice is to check with local government first, because some municipalities accept the limited licenses and others run their own licensing. Our guides on becoming a licensed electrician and becoming a licensed plumber cover the national routes.

Pesticides: certification, license and charter

The Department of Agriculture splits the credential in three. Commercial certification, which costs $25 per exam, is the entry level. A license is for the person who supervises applications and is accountable for records. The exam costs $150, applicants must be commercially certified first, and a 70 percent score passes. A charter is a business permit for each location that offers custom application, with a pro-rated fee of $200 per year.

For lawn companies the path is certification in category C03 (ornamental and turf), then the Horticulture-Lawn and Turf (HLT) license. To sit the license exam you need two years working under a licensee, a four-year degree in a related field, or a similar license from another state. Tennessee honors other states' certifications but not their licenses.

Termite work uses the Wood Destroying Organisms license, which requires category C07 certification, and a new company holding it needs a $50,000 bond plus errors and omissions coverage of at least $100,000 per incident and $300,000 aggregate. License fees are pro-rated at $20 per category per year. See our pest control license guide.

Septic installers and home inspectors

Septic installers hold a permit from the state Department of Environment and Conservation, not a contractor license. The conventional installer permit costs $200, with $100 more for each alternative system type, and applicants who were not permitted the previous year, or did not perform satisfactorily, must score 70 percent or better on a written exam. New applicants must install a system under supervision of a department designee. Permits expire each December 31, and a lapse means reapplying.

Home inspectors are licensed by the Department of Commerce and Insurance. Requirements listed on the state page: age 18 or older, a high school diploma or GED, 90 hours of commissioner-approved training, a passing score on the National Home Inspector Examination, general liability insurance of at least $500,000, errors and omissions coverage, and a $300 application fee.

Work with no state license

Mowing, trimming and leaf raking are services to real property that the Department of Revenue says are not subject to sales tax (its 2021 presentation on services), and no contractor-board license applies at the state level. Cleaning, pressure washing and junk hauling are not named by the board either. What these businesses still need is the business tax license. An in-state business with more than $3,000 but less than $100,000 in gross receipts needs a minimal activity license from its county or city clerk. At $100,000 or more it needs a standard business license from the same clerk, per the Department of Revenue. Cleaning of tangible personal property is a taxable service, so register if that is part of your work. If you add pesticide spraying to a mowing route, you enter the section above. For the other states, compare with the sales tax on home services table.

Workers' compensation also follows the construction label. The Bureau of Workers' Compensation requires coverage from the first employee in construction, and at five employees elsewhere. Read our workers' comp by state guide for the range.

What to show on your site

Customers in Tennessee often ask for a license number because the state line is $25,000 and many assume everyone is licensed. If you hold a contractor, home improvement or limited license, put the license class and number on your site and match the name on your board record. See what a contractor website needs and our Tennessee business setup page. Rules change, so confirm each point with the board linked here. Treat this as general information and get legal advice for your own case.

Frequently asked questions