Tennessee contractor rules for ads, phones, texts and tax lines

Federal rules also apply in Tennessee. The TCPA covers texts and autodialed calls, and CAN-SPAM covers email. Both topics have their own pages: the TCPA guide and the recording guide. Here is what Tennessee adds on top. This is general information as of October 2026, not legal advice. Several of these rules are agency rules and fee schedules, which change more often than statutes, so confirm with the agency before you act.

Do Tennessee ads and websites need a license number?

For home improvement contractors, yes in the media the rule lists. Rule 0680-07-.04, issued by the Board for Licensing Contractors, says a licensed home improvement contractor may not solicit home improvement business through an advertisement in a newspaper, magazine, circular or printed document, or a television or radio announcement, unless the contractor's name and license number are stated in it. The rule does not list websites or social media by name, so a page that omits the number is not clearly a violation of the text we read. We would put the number on the site anyway, because the same rule bans false, deceptive or misleading ads about home improvements, including ads about finance or credit terms, and a license line in the footer is the cheapest trust signal you have.

Who is a "home improvement contractor" depends on geography. According to the Board's home improvement page, a home improvement license is required for residential remodeling jobs priced above $3,000 and under $25,000 in nine counties: Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. A county adopts the law by a two-thirds vote of its legislative body under Rule 0680-07-.14 and then notifies the Board in writing of the effective date. Our Tennessee contractor licenses guide covers the thresholds.

The rule also limits manufacturer slogans. Phrases such as "Factory to You," "Direct to You," "Buy from the Manufacturer" or "Save the Middleman's Profit" may be used only if the advertiser actually makes the product. A siding or window company that installs another maker's product should not use that language in a page title or ad headline.

What name must go on contracts and quotes?

The licensed name. Rule 0680-01-.25 says a licensee must contract and operate under the name on its license, and Rule 0680-07-.17 repeats it for home improvement contractors, with the stated purpose of keeping the public from being confused about whether an entity is licensed. Contracting under a different name is a violation that can lead to discipline. If you change your business name, the general rule says you cannot bid on or enter contracts in the new name until you hold a revised license, and you have 90 days from the new entity's formation to apply for a license in that name. Your website should carry the legal name from your license on the quote form and contract template, even if your brand is shorter. Do the rebrand in your paperwork before you do it on the truck.

Can you record calls in Tennessee?

Yes, when you are on the call. Tenn. Code Ann. 39-13-601(b)(5) makes interception lawful when the person recording is a party to the communication, or when one party consented in advance, unless the purpose is a criminal or tortious act. Call tracking, a recorded main line and a recording AI receptionist are all fine. Add a short spoken notice if callers might be in an all-party consent state. The recording guide explains how.

What do Tennessee's Do Not Call/Text rules add?

The Tennessee Public Utility Commission keeps a "Do-Not-Call / Do-Not-Text Register" of residential landline and cell numbers, under Tenn. Code Ann. 65-4-401 and following. The Commission's Chapter 1220-04-11, retitled the Tennessee Do Not Call/Text Regulations in a rulemaking docketed 23-00030 and filed in 2024, defines a telephone solicitation as any voice or text message communication that encourages the purchase or rental of property, goods or services. It lists appointment-setting calls, surveys and "give-aways" among the communications covered. Business numbers are not on the register.

• Hours: no solicitation call or text to a residential subscriber outside 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the called party's location without the subscriber's prior express permission (Rule 1220-04-11-.02(1)).
• Identity: state clearly who is calling and for what organization at the start, provide a callback number that gets answered while solicitations are running, and do not block or interfere with caller ID.
• Your own list: every solicitor must keep a list of people who do not want solicitations.
• Annual fee: a telephone solicitor pays $500 on or before May 1 for the July 1 to June 30 year, as the Commission's solicitor FAQ lists it in October 2026.

The exclusions decide whether a home-service company is caught. The definition does not include a communication to a residential subscriber with the subscriber's prior express permission, and it says that using residential telephone service to operate a business counts as express permission. It also excludes communications to an "existing customer," a residential subscriber with whom you have had a business relationship within the prior twelve months. A narrow "occasional and isolated" exclusion exists for a direct employee's contact with someone the business reasonably believes is considering its service, but only if the business does not sell by telephone solicitation and sends no more than three communications in a calendar week.

Under that definition, customers from the last year fall inside the existing-customer exclusion and a cold list does not. A customer from two years ago is outside the exclusion. The Commission's FAQ says violations of T.C.A. 65-4-405 and the rule can bring fines of up to $2,000 per incident, and that the register applies to out-of-state companies when calls or texts reach Tennessee numbers. Because that FAQ does not discuss whether a company that only contacts existing customers must register, ask the Commission if you plan outreach beyond them. The federal rules, covered in our TCPA guide, apply on top of all of this.

When can a Tennessee customer cancel a job sold at home?

The state Division of Consumer Affairs describes the Home Solicitations Act of 1974 as a three-business-day cooling-off period. The cancel window runs to midnight ending the third business day following signature, in a door-to-door sale where the seller makes the first contact and the sale happens in the buyer's home, or where the seller sells somewhere other than the usual place of business. The Division's list of exclusions includes cash sales under $25, motor vehicles and farm equipment, insurance or securities, and farm animals and perishables. Sellers must give a receipt or written agreement that explains the right to cancel and shows the seller's mailing address. After a valid cancellation, the seller has 10 days to refund, and 20 business days to retrieve goods already delivered.

That description comes from a 2010 agency news release, not from the statute text, which we did not read for this page. The rule fits a salesperson who knocks, or a crew lead who closes a roofing or window deal at the kitchen table. It is a poor fit for a customer who requests an estimate through your website and signs electronically, though a lawyer should confirm that for your case. If you sell at the door, put the cancellation language on the signature page. For clauses beyond the cancel notice, see the service contract guide.

How does Tennessee sales tax show up on service invoices?

Tennessee taxes only the services the law names. A Department of Revenue taxpayer-education presentation (it refers to changes effective July 1, 2021) lists repair services and repairs of tangible personal property as taxable, covering work done to preserve or restore it, mending, alterations, refinishing, and "service calls where any repair work is done or contemplated." Installation charges are taxable when the item stays personal property after installation, and the presentation gives a window air conditioning unit as the example. Cleaning of tangible personal property is taxable too. Services performed on real property are different: the same document says grass cutting, trimming, bush trimming and leaf raking are not subject to sales tax.

For a quote form and invoice, this means the job type decides the tax line. An appliance repair visit needs it, and a lawn mowing visit does not. A service call that includes repair work needs a tax line even when the charge is only the trip fee. Register in the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point if you sell anything taxable. The document is a presentation, and the Department's repair-services rule (Rule 1320-05-01-.54) is the more formal source, so check the current rules for edge cases. The state-by-state table is in our sales tax guide.

Does Tennessee's privacy law reach a small contractor?

Almost certainly not. The Tennessee Information Protection Act took effect July 1, 2025 (Public Chapter 408 of 2023). The scope section in the bill text on the legislature's site, as amended in House Commerce, applies it only to businesses that exceed $25,000,000 in revenue and also either process personal information of at least 175,000 consumers in a calendar year, or process at least 25,000 consumers and earn more than half of gross revenue from selling personal information. A contractor or home-service company with a customer list in the thousands is far below both tests. We read the amendment text, not the enrolled public chapter, which the state server would not serve to us, so confirm the scope wording in Public Chapter 408 before relying on this. The Act also bars private lawsuits and gives enforcement to the Attorney General. It does not replace good habits: keep customer data only where it is needed.

What this means for your setup

Website: put your legal name and license number in the footer and on contract templates, check your county against the nine home improvement counties, and keep slogans honest. See our website service.

Business line and AI receptionist: recording a call you take part in is lawful in Tennessee. An AI receptionist that answers inbound calls is not placing solicitations, so the register rules are about your outbound calls and texts.

Email and texts: keep a dated record of the last purchase for every customer, so you know who is within twelve months. Send texts only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and honor stop requests. A custom CRM can store that history. CAN-SPAM covers email nationwide. Confirm questions with the Public Utility Commission or a Tennessee attorney.

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