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12 permits · verified 2026-10-27

What permits do you need to open a childcare centre in Blount County Tn?

In short

A childcare centre in Blount County Tn, TN has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 9 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Blount County Development Services charges $100 per sign permit, per the fee schedule effective January 1, 2020 for the sign permit. 7 of the 12 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-27 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a childcare centre in Blount County Tn

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Child Care Agency LicenseTennessee Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care and Community Services$100–$500 one-time application, banded by category and capacitycontinuous — there is no renewal cycle2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Blount County Tn

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Change of Occupancy / Conditional Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to youBlount County Development ServicesVaries — formula on the Blount County Tn pageper project2026-10-27
Sign Permitonly if it applies to youBlount County Development Services$100 per sign permit, per the fee schedule effective January 1, 2020per permit2026-10-27
County Business License (Standard or Minimal Activity)only if it applies to youBlount County Clerk$15 registration fee per new business, paid to the County Clerk (county license only; a business inside a city also obtains that city's license)annual; the license is renewed each year upon payment of the business tax, for no additional fee (per CTAS)2026-10-27
Building Permit and Plans ReviewBlount County Development ServicesVaries — formula on the Blount County Tn pageper project2026-10-27
Zoning Applications: Special Exception, Variance, Rezoning, Site Plan and Zoning Lettersonly if it applies to youBlount County Development ServicesVaries — formula on the Blount County Tn pageone-time, per application2026-10-27
Subsurface Sewage Disposal (Septic) System Permit and Site Evaluationonly if it applies to youBlount County Department of Environmental HealthVaries — formula on the Blount County Tn pageper system2026-10-27

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

TN registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youTennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable OrganizationsVaries — formula on the TN pageno expiry, but an annual report on the same per-member scale is due each year2026-09-03
For-Profit Corporation Charteronly if it applies to youTennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations$100 one-time filingno expiry, but a $20 annual report is due each year2026-09-03
Standard or Minimal Activity Business Licenseonly if it applies to youTennessee Department of Revenue$15 per jurisdiction per location — charged again by the city if it has enacted the taxannual for a standard license, renewed free when the tax return is filed2026-09-03
Annual Reportonly if it applies to youTennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable OrganizationsVaries — formula on the TN pageannual — due the first day of the fourth month after the fiscal year ends2026-09-03
Sales and Use Tax Certificate of RegistrationTennessee Department of RevenueNo feeno expiry stated2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a childcare centre in Blount County Tn?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 12 records listed for a childcare centre in Blount County Tn, TN, 3 apply to every business of this type and 9 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

7 of the 12 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Child Care Agency License: $100–$500 one-time application, banded by category and capacity

The other 6 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Blount County Tn permits page and the TN state page.

Is Blount County Tn expensive for a childcare centre?

Comparing like with like — only the permits charged as a single flat fee, since a valuation formula has no figure to rank — Blount County Tn sits where the table below puts it against every other TN jurisdiction covered here that publishes the same permit.

County Business License (Standard or Minimal Activity): Blount County Tn charges $15. Across 5 jurisdictions it runs from $15 in Rutherford County to $15 here, with a median of $15. 4 charge exactly the same.

Read the spread rather than the rank. County Business License (Standard or Minimal Activity) varies by $0 between the cheapest and dearest jurisdiction here, which is the sort of gap worth knowing before you sign a lease on one side of a city line rather than the other.

Which offices issue these permits in Blount County Tn?

Permits for a childcare centre in Blount County Tn, TN come from 6 separate offices: Blount County Development Services, Blount County Clerk, Blount County Department of Environmental Health, Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations, Tennessee Department of Revenue, Tennessee Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care and Community Services. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a childcare centre need in Blount County Tn that other businesses do not?

1 of the 1 permit particular to a childcare centre here applies to no other business type we cover in Blount County Tn: Child Care Agency License.

Child Care Agency License

Six bands, all charged once: $100 for a family home, $125 for a group home, $200 for a centre under a hundred children, $400 above a hundred, $500 above two hundred and fifty, and $200 for a drop-in centre. The fee model changed on 20 November 2025 — it used to offer annual, biennial and triennial pricing on a license headed Annual, and the rule is now headed Continuous License with the fee schedule applying only to initial applications. Any source describing a Tennessee child care license as annual, or quoting biennial or triennial fees, is out of date. One oddity is reproduced rather than interpreted: the bands read less than 100, more than 100 and more than 250, which leaves exactly 100 and exactly 250 children unaddressed on the face of the rule. The fee is collected late in a ten-step process, after inspections.

The other 6 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Blount County Tn, TN; what each one involves is set out on the Blount County Tn permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across TN and are covered on the TN state page.

How does a childcare centre compare with other businesses in Blount County Tn?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A childcare centre also needs Child Care Agency License. A auto repair shop needs Commercial Plumbing-Only and Gas/Mechanical-Only Permits and Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Tennessee Position, which a childcare centre does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Blount County Tn, TN, compared with a childcare centre
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a childcare centreOnly a childcare centre needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops2012
Coffee shops4014
Contractors and trades2012
Fitness studios0010
Food trucks2012
Restaurants4014
Retail stores1011
Salons and barbers2012
Veterinary clinics2012

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Blount County Tn permits page and the TN state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Tennessee Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-04-05 — child care agency licensing, including the application fee schedule effective 20 November 2025Tennessee Department of Human Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.