11 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page, and what the Census counts of cocktail bars in Tennessee say.
11 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 6Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 11 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Members keep a dated, noted plan for each saved location in the workspace.
1Set up the business0 of 3
File online through the Secretary of State’s business services site (form SS-4270). The articles name a registered agent with a Tennessee street address. Changing the registered agent on the annual report adds $20. A 2025 bill (SB 37) proposed replacing the per-member schedule with a flat fee; the Secretary of State still publishes the per-member schedule.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed when an LLC or corporation trades under any name other than its registered one. A sole proprietor files nothing with the state for a trade name, though the county clerk’s business license asks for it. No publication is required.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the Department of Revenue registration. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Register on the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point before the first sale. The sales tax certificate of registration must be displayed, and the state rate plus the county or city local rate is collected on retail sales and prepared food. An LLC also registers for the franchise and excise tax, which carries a minimum yearly franchise tax. Tennessee has no income tax on wages, so there is no state withholding account.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for the business tax with the Department of Revenue or at the county clerk before opening; the Department does not issue the license itself, the clerk does, and the health department, the beer board and the cosmetology board all ask to see it. The 2023 Tennessee Works Tax Act raised the standard license threshold from $10,000 to $100,000, so most first-year storefronts start on the minimal activity license. Under $3,000 in sales no license is needed.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing; a change of use needs building permits and inspections, and the certificate of occupancy comes before the health permit and the liquor license. Where the city or county has not adopted its own program, the State Fire Marshal’s Office reviews plans and inspects commercial buildings.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit the plan review before building out or converting a space, pass the opening inspection, then post the permit. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all food service establishments under the rule; a shop selling only packaged food is a retail food store under the Department of Agriculture instead. Seats in an auxiliary area count toward the primary permit’s seating.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Tennessee does not require a certified food protection manager. A person in charge must be present whenever the establishment is open and shows knowledge one of three ways: no priority violations at the inspection, a food protection manager certificate from an ANAB accredited program, or correct answers to the inspector’s questions. The certificate is the surest route and some metro health departments expect one.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
No quota: the license goes to any qualifying premises, but only in a city or county that has approved liquor by the drink by referendum, so check the local option before signing. A restaurant license needs seating for at least 40 at tables and regular meal service; a bar whose food sales fall short applies for the limited service restaurant license on the same fee page. Apply through the RLPS portal with the certificate of compliance, the lease, the floor plan and the owners’ disclosures. Every server and bartender holds a TABC server permit within 61 days of hire, after a certified alcohol awareness course; permits issued since January 1, 2025 run two years.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Beer in Tennessee is any malt beverage up to 8% alcohol by weight, and selling it is permitted locally, not by the state Commission, so a bar or restaurant holds the beer permit alongside the LBD license and a brewery taproom holds one to pour its own beer. The beer board sets distance rules from schools and churches and may deny on them; the permit is tied to the premises and the owner and is not transferred.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Workers’ compensation insurance is required once the business has five or more employees; part-time staff, minors and working family members all count, and a construction business needs it from the first employee. Report each new hire within 20 days. The unemployment account opens once wages are paid, through the Department’s employer portal.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the cocktail bars already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a cocktail bar at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The cocktail bar check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State business forms and fees page and filing fee FAQ (Tennessee Code 48-249-1007); annual report instructions; Secretary of State assumed name application (form SS-4402) and fee schedule; IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue registration pages; Tennessee business tax manual (June 2026); Department of Revenue business tax registration and licensing page; business tax manual (June 2026); BUS-15 and BUS-20 guidance; Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal’s Office codes enforcement pages; municipal ordinances; Department of Health rule 1200-23-01-.09 (permit fees, adopted to match Tennessee Code 68-14-713); Department of Health food service establishment rules; Department of Health demonstration of knowledge fact sheet (2026 rule change); rule 1200-23-01-.02; Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission fees page and restaurant LBD license page; Tennessee Code 57-4-301; Tennessee Code 57-5-104; County Technical Assistance Service beer permit pages; Metro Nashville beer permit ordinance; Department of Labor and Workforce Development UI tax rates page (2026 wage base and new employer rate); Bureau of Workers’ Compensation “Who must carry insurance” page; U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.
Questions about opening here.
11 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the annual report, assumed name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), tax registration: sales and use tax, franchise and excise tax, county and city business license and the business tax and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 5 more.
Tennessee Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, Tennessee Department of Revenue, Your county clerk, Your city or county codes and zoning office and Your county health department, and 3 more.
With articles of organization (llc) and the annual report (Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business Services), then assumed name registration (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: liquor by the drink (lbd) restaurant license and beer permit (on-premises). The local license usually comes first.
Each item's fee, renewal cycle and official page are shown to members, as the agency published them on the date checked. Cities and counties add their own fees.
How to open a cocktail bar in Tennessee (2026) | DoorWorthy
