18 permits · verified 2026-10-08
What permits do you need to open a auto repair shop in Williamson County Tn?
In short
A auto repair shop in Williamson County Tn, TN has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 15 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Williamson County Clerk charges $15 county license per location (county-only; a location inside a city that levies the business tax also needs a separate city license) for the county business license (standard or minimal activity). 10 of the 18 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-08 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a auto repair shop in Williamson County Tn
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Use Permitonly if it applies to you | Williamson County Community Development — Planning Department | $100.00 Special Use Permit + accompanying site plan fee of $100.00 for the first 5,000 square feet + $0.02 for every square foot over 5,000 | one-time, per application | 2026-10-08 |
| Septic Operation Permit — Qualifying Commercial/Non-Residential Facilitiesonly if it applies to you | Williamson County Department of Sewage Disposal Management | Under Section 33 of the regulations, fees are set by the Williamson County Board of Health and 'listed and displayed at the Department offices'; the Operation Permit fee is not published online — contact the Department at (615) 790-5751 | 1 year; renewal application due 30 days before expiry | 2026-10-08 |
| Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Tennessee Positiononly if it applies to you | Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Division of Regulatory Boards | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-03 |
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 Williamson County Tn
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Business License (Standard or Minimal Activity)only if it applies to you | Williamson County Clerk | $15 county license per location (county-only; a location inside a city that levies the business tax also needs a separate city license) | standard license: renewed at no fee when the state business tax return is filed and paid, expiring 30 days after the return due date; minimal activity license: renewed each year for $15 | 2026-10-08 |
| Building Permit (unincorporated county) | Williamson County Building Codes Department | Varies — formula on the Williamson County Tn page | per project | 2026-10-08 |
| Plumbing and Mechanical Permits (unincorporated county)only if it applies to you | Williamson County Building Codes Department | Varies — formula on the Williamson County Tn page | per project | 2026-10-08 |
| Adequate Facilities Tax — New Non-Residential Floor Areaonly if it applies to you | Williamson County Building Codes Department | Varies — formula on the Williamson County Tn page | one-time, per new building or addition | 2026-10-08 |
| Zoning Certificate (unincorporated county) | Williamson County Community Development — Planning Department | Varies — formula on the Williamson County Tn page | per use or project | 2026-10-08 |
| Major Site Plan Reviewonly if it applies to you | Williamson County Community Development — Planning Department | Varies — formula on the Williamson County Tn page | one-time, per plan | 2026-10-08 |
| Rezoning Requestonly if it applies to you | Williamson County Community Development — Planning Department | $300 per rezoning request | one-time, per request | 2026-10-08 |
| Sign Permit (unincorporated county)only if it applies to you | Williamson County Codes Compliance | Varies — formula on the Williamson County Tn page | per sign | 2026-10-08 |
| Land Disturbance Permit (subdivisions and site plans)only if it applies to you | Williamson County Engineering Department | $300 per permit | per project | 2026-10-08 |
| Alternative Subsurface Sewage Disposal System (Septic) Permitonly if it applies to you | Williamson County Department of Sewage Disposal Management | $550 per alternative system permit | per system | 2026-10-08 |
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
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations | Varies — formula on the TN page | no expiry, but an annual report on the same per-member scale is due each year | 2026-09-03 |
| For-Profit Corporation Charteronly if it applies to you | Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations | $100 one-time filing | no expiry, but a $20 annual report is due each year | 2026-09-03 |
| Standard or Minimal Activity Business Licenseonly if it applies to you | Tennessee Department of Revenue | $15 per jurisdiction per location — charged again by the city if it has enacted the tax | annual for a standard license, renewed free when the tax return is filed | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Reportonly if it applies to you | Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations | Varies — formula on the TN page | annual — due the first day of the fourth month after the fiscal year ends | 2026-09-03 |
| Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Registration | Tennessee Department of Revenue | No fee | no expiry stated | 2026-09-03 |
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 auto repair shop in Williamson County Tn?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 18 records listed for a auto repair shop in Williamson County Tn, TN, 3 apply to every business of this type and 15 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
10 of the 18 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Special Use Permit: $100.00 Special Use Permit + accompanying site plan fee of $100.00 for the first 5,000 square feet + $0.02 for every square foot over 5,000
Septic Operation Permit — Qualifying Commercial/Non-Residential Facilities: Under Section 33 of the regulations, fees are set by the Williamson County Board of Health and 'listed and displayed at the Department offices'; the Operation Permit fee is not published online — contact the Department at (615) 790-5751
The other 8 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Williamson County Tn permits page and the TN state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Williamson County Tn?
Permits for a auto repair shop in Williamson County Tn, TN come from 9 separate offices: Williamson County Clerk, Williamson County Building Codes Department, Williamson County Community Development — Planning Department, Williamson County Codes Compliance, Williamson County Engineering Department, Williamson County Department of Sewage Disposal Management, Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Division of Regulatory Boards, Tennessee Department of Revenue. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Williamson County ClerkIssues 1 permit on this page: County Business License (Standard or Minimal Activity)1320 W. Main St., Suite 135, Franklin, TN 37064 · (615) 790-5732 (business tax)www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/165/Licenses-Permits
- Williamson County Building Codes DepartmentIssues 3 permits on this page: Building Permit (unincorporated county), Plumbing and Mechanical Permits (unincorporated county), Adequate Facilities Tax — New Non-Residential Floor Area1320 West Main Street, Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37064 · (615) 790-5718www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/100/Building-Codes
- Williamson County Community Development — Planning DepartmentIssues 4 permits on this page: Zoning Certificate (unincorporated county), Major Site Plan Review, Special Use Permit, Rezoning Request1320 West Main Street, Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37064 · (615) 790-5725www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/17/Community-Development
- Williamson County Codes ComplianceIssues 1 permit on this page: Sign Permit (unincorporated county)www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/101/Codes-Compliance
- Williamson County Engineering DepartmentIssues 1 permit on this page: Land Disturbance Permit (subdivisions and site plans)www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/17/Community-Development
- Williamson County Department of Sewage Disposal ManagementIssues 2 permits on this page: Alternative Subsurface Sewage Disposal System (Septic) Permit, Septic Operation Permit — Qualifying Commercial/Non-Residential Facilities(615) 790-5751www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/126/Sewage-Disposal
- Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable OrganizationsIssues 3 permits on this page: Articles of Organization (LLC), For-Profit Corporation Charter, Annual Report312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue, 6th Floor, Nashville, TN 37243-1102 · (615) 741-2286tncab.tnsos.gov
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Division of Regulatory BoardsIssues 1 permit on this page: Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Tennessee Position500 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243-0565 · (615) 741-2241www.tn.gov/commerce/regboards.html
- Tennessee Department of RevenueIssues 2 permits on this page: Standard or Minimal Activity Business License, Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Registration500 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37242 · (800) 342-1003www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/business-tax/registration-and-licensing.html
What does a auto repair shop need in Williamson County Tn that other businesses do not?
1 of the 3 permits particular to a auto repair shop here applies to no other business type we cover in Williamson County Tn: Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Tennessee Position.
Special Use Permit
As published on the county's Special Use Permit Review Fee justification sheet, the fee is '$100.00 Special Use Permit, Accompanying Site Plan Fee $100.00 for first 5,000 square feet + $0.02 for every square foot over 5,000'. A Special Use Permit is needed where the Zoning Ordinance's use tables list a business use as a special use in the zoning district, which can include uses such as child care, vehicle repair and veterinary services depending on the district; it applies only in unincorporated Williamson County. Check the use table for the property's district with the Planning Department at (615) 790-5725 before signing a lease.
Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Tennessee Position
The Department of Commerce and Insurance publishes the complete list of every programme its regulatory boards division runs — twenty-one of them, accountancy through scrap metals — and that list names no automotive repair programme, so no state repair-shop license fee applies; the Secretary of State's index of every agency holding administrative rules likewise has no chapter for automotive or motor vehicle repair. The only vehicle-trade chapter belongs to the Motor Vehicle Commission, whose fee rule enumerates every category it licenses and includes no repair shop. What does bite is selling or dismantling rather than repairing: a dealer license is $600 for two years, an automotive dismantler and recycler the same, an auction $1,200. Business tax applies to repair services, but that is a tax registration rather than a license.
Shared with other businesses in Williamson County Tn
- Septic Operation Permit — Qualifying Commercial/Non-Residential Facilities — Williamson County Department of Sewage Disposal Management, Under Section 33 of the regulations, fees are set by the Williamson County Board of Health and 'listed and displayed at the Department offices'; the Operation Permit fee is not published online — contact the Department at (615) 790-5751, 1 year; renewal application due 30 days before expiry. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, salons and barbers, veterinary clinics, childcare centres and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the childcare centres page.
The other 10 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Williamson County Tn, TN; what each one involves is set out on the Williamson 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 auto repair shop compare with other businesses in Williamson County Tn?
The closest match is a childcare centre, which shares 2 of these permits. A auto repair shop also needs Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Tennessee Position. A childcare centre needs Child Care Agency License, which a auto repair shop does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a auto repair shop | Only a auto repair shop needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare centres | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Veterinary clinics | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Fitness studios | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Salons and barbers | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Coffee shops | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Restaurants | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Contractors and trades | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Food trucks | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Retail stores | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
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 childcare centres page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Williamson County Tn permits page and the TN state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Special Use Permit Review Fee — fee justificationWilliamson County Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Williamson County Zoning OrdinanceWilliamson County Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance — the complete list of regulatory boards and licensed programmesTennessee 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.