Tennessee contractor license requirements
What you need before your first paid job in Tennessee, one page for each trade. The license, the least insurance you must carry, whether the state asks for a bond, when you charge sales tax, and the deadlines that protect your right to be paid.
Plumbing in Tennessee
- License you need
- Contractor License, classification CMC-A (Plumbing and Gas Piping)Renews every two years
- Insurance you must carry
- $100,000liability, at least
- Workers' comp
- Requiredas soon as you have one employee
- Tennessee does not license plumbers by trade level. A plumbing business that takes jobs of $25,000 or more needs a contractor license with the CMC-A classification, issued to the business, not the person. Below $25,000 the state only steps in where its own Division of Fire Prevention does the permits and inspections, and there you need the Limited Licensed Plumber license, which is issued to a person and costs $75 for two years.
- The contractor license has no fixed insurance number. The board sets a monetary limit for your business, and your liability insurance floor follows it. Up to a $500,000 limit you need $100,000. From $500,001 to $1,500,000 you need $500,000. Above that you need $1,000,000.
HVAC in Tennessee
- License you need
- Contractor License, classification CMC-C (HVAC, Refrigeration and Gas Piping)Renews every two years
- Insurance you must carry
- $100,000liability, at least
- Workers' comp
- Requiredas soon as you have one employee
- Tennessee has no state HVAC license for small jobs. Plumbers and electricians get a Limited Licensed version for work under $25,000. HVAC does not. Under $25,000 you answer to your city or county, and in nine counties, including Davidson, Knox, Hamilton, and Shelby, a residential job of $3,000 or more needs the state Home Improvement license instead.
- At $25,000 and up, one system install can push you over the line. Then you need the full contractor license with the CMC-C classification, which means a CPA-reviewed financial statement, a reference letter, two exams, and $250.
Electrical in Tennessee
- License you need
- Contractor License, electrical classificationRenews not published
- Insurance you must carry
- $100,000liability, at least
- Workers' comp
- Requiredas soon as you have one employee
- Tennessee splits electrical work at $25,000. At or above that you need a contractor license, issued to the business. Below it the state only steps in where its own Division of Fire Prevention does the permits.
- The small-job license is called a Limited Licensed Electrician, and it belongs to a person rather than to a business. You may not call yourself a contractor while holding only that.
Across states
Can you charge sales tax on labor? The rule in 25 states. Which states tax the work itself, which tax only the parts, and how a repair differs from a new install.