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12 permits · verified 2026-10-27

What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Blount County Tn?

In short

A contractor or trade in Blount County Tn, TN has 1 permit that applies to every business of this type, plus 11 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 contractor or trade in Blount County Tn

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Commercial Plumbing-Only and Gas/Mechanical-Only Permitsonly if it applies to youBlount County Development ServicesCommercial plumbing-only permit: $75 + $5 per fixture; commercial gas/mechanical-only permit: $75; each plus any applicable review feesper project2026-10-27
Contractor Licenseonly if it applies to youTennessee Board for Licensing Contractors$250 application; $200 to renew2 years2026-09-03

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

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 contractor or trade 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 contractor or trade in Blount County Tn, TN, 1 apply to every business of this type and 11 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 0 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Commercial Plumbing-Only and Gas/Mechanical-Only Permits: Commercial plumbing-only permit: $75 + $5 per fixture; commercial gas/mechanical-only permit: $75; each plus any applicable review fees

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 contractor or trade?

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 contractor or trade 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 Board for Licensing Contractors. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a contractor or trade need in Blount County Tn that other businesses do not?

1 of the 2 permits particular to a contractor or trade here applies to no other business type we cover in Blount County Tn: Contractor License.

Contractor License

The threshold is $25,000 for a prime contractor and for electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing subcontractors, but $100,000 for a masonry subcontractor — the one trade with its own number. Drywall, painting, landscaping, carpentry and excavation need no state license at all. Below the main threshold a separate home improvement license covers residential work from $3,000 to $24,999, at the same $250 and $200 per business location plus a $10,000 surety bond, but only in the nine counties that have adopted it: Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. The monetary limit on your license is separate from the threshold and is set at ten times the lesser of working capital or net worth, with $300,000 in both needed for an unlimited license. Late renewal costs $20 a month for up to a year.

Shared with other businesses in Blount County Tn

  • Commercial Plumbing-Only and Gas/Mechanical-Only Permits — Blount County Development Services, Commercial plumbing-only permit: $75 + $5 per fixture; commercial gas/mechanical-only permit: $75; each plus any applicable review fees, per project. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, salons and barbers, auto repair shops and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the veterinary clinics page.

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 4 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across TN and are covered on the TN state page.

How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Blount County Tn?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 1 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs Contractor License. A auto repair shop needs Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Tennessee Position, which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Blount County Tn, TN, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops2111
Salons and barbers2111
Veterinary clinics2111
Coffee shops4113
Restaurants4113
Childcare centres1021
Fitness studios0020
Food trucks2022
Retail stores1021

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 shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the veterinary clinics page. 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. 0680-01 — contractor licensing fees and bidding thresholdsTennessee Board for Licensing Contractors · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  2. Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — home improvement license and the counties that have adopted itTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance · 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.