7 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 1 more.
How to open a business in Tennessee
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page.
What licenses do you need to open a business in Tennessee? 7, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in Tennessee takes. A license specific to your kind of business comes from the agency that regulates it; if one of the twenty named businesses is close to yours, its page lists those too.
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 4Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 7 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
Set 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
- Premium only
- Renewal
- Premium only
- Official page
- sos.tn.gov
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Before the first hireOpens after step 3
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the businesses already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a business at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The business 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 Labor and Workforce Development UI tax rates page (2026 wage base and new employer rate); Bureau of Workers’ Compensation “Who must carry insurance” page. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.