Tennessee General Contractor License Requirements (2026)
By Ilan Sender, Independent Researcher — not a lawyer, not a licensing official · Last verified 2026-06-17
I am not a lawyer and not a licensing official. Everything here is independent research traced to official sources, but rules and fees change — always verify with the official board before acting. Official board for this page: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Dept. of Commerce & Insurance). How we verify.
Yes — a state contractor's license is required BEFORE bidding, offering to engage, or negotiating a price on any project of $25,000 or more, whether acting as a prime (general) contractor or construction manager (T.C.A. § 62-6-102, § 62-6-119, § 62-6-120). The license must carry the correct classification and a sufficient monetary limit before you bid.[src] Tennessee is unusual in two ways: it sets a per-project monetary limit from your CPA financials instead of fixed tiers, and it requires no CE for commercial general contractors (CE is residential-only). Everything below is cited to T.C.A. § 62-6, the Board's official application package, and Rule 0680-09.
[src] links to the official source (.gov / licensing board) each fact was verified against; [src†] marks facts corroborated by multiple non-official sources. An unverified badge marks a detail we could not confirm against an official source — confirm it with the state board before relying on it. Hover any marker for the last-verified date. See our methodology.
The monetary limit: 10× the lesser of working capital and net worth
Tennessee does not publish fixed Limited/Intermediate/Unlimited tiers. Instead the Board sets a per-project dollar limit from your CPA financial statement (plus experience), with a 10% bid tolerance:
| Tier | Contract limit / scope | Financial requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Building (BC-B / BC) — general contractor Tennessee assigns a per-project monetary limit rather than fixed Limited/Unlimited tiers. There is a 10% bid tolerance above the limit. | Monetary limit = 10 × the lesser of the entity's working capital and net worth (and supported by experience). A $150,000 limit, for example, requires at least $15,000 in both working capital and net worth.[src] | CPA-Reviewed financial statement for a monetary limit of $3,000,000 or less; CPA-Audited statement for limits above $3,000,001 up to Unlimited (Rule 0680-01-.32 financial-statement requirements were revised effective Nov 18, 2025 — confirm the current rule text).[src] |
| Unlimited monetary limit Small Commercial (BC-b(sm)) cannot exceed a $1,500,000 limit; Unlimited is the route above $3,000,000. | No per-project dollar cap. An Unlimited license is any monetary limit in excess of $3,000,000.[src] | Must show at least $300,000 in BOTH working capital and net worth, plus a CPA-Audited financial statement and supporting experience.[src] |
License threshold: $25,000 or more per project for general contractors and construction managers (T.C.A. § 62-6-102). Some subcontracted trades (electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing) require a license at $25,000+; masonry at $100,000+.[src].
Initial requirements
The application fee is consolidated in what it costs below.
Exams and reciprocity
| Exam | Testing vendor | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Business & Law exam (+ Trade exam for most classifications) The Tennessee Business & Law exam is required for all applicants; many classifications also need a Trade exam. The Board has trade-exam-only reciprocity (waiver) agreements with several bordering states. Exam fees are set by PSI and may change — confirm at registration. | PSI[src] | $57 per exam[src] |
Financial statement drives the whole application
The CPA financial statement is not paperwork — it sets your monetary limit (10× the lesser of working capital and net worth). A Reviewed statement covers limits up to $3,000,000; an Audited statement is required above $3,000,001 to Unlimited. The financial-statement rule (0680-01-.32) changed on November 18, 2025 — confirm the current text before filing.
Experience
Experience is required and is weighed alongside the financial statement when the Board sets the monetary limit. There is no single statewide year-count; the Board evaluates demonstrated project experience for the classification and limit requested.[src]
Insurance
| Coverage | Requirement |
|---|---|
| General liability (minimum, tiered by monetary limit) | $100,000 for a monetary limit up to $500,000; $500,000 for limits of $501,001–$1,500,000; $1,000,000 for limits above $1,500,001 to Unlimited[src] |
| Workers' compensation | Required for all contractors, unless the contractor has no employees and the owner has met the criteria to be exempt (or registered as a Construction Services Provider with the Secretary of State)[src] |
- Bonding is not required to obtain the state license, but may be required to bid work or to pull local government permits.
- The license is issued in the exact entity name on the CPA financial statement (Sole Proprietor, Corporation, Partnership, or LLC).
- Financial-statement requirements (Rule 0680-01-.32) were modified effective November 18, 2025 — confirm the current rule before relying on the thresholds above.
What a Tennessee general contractor license costs
The fees we could verify against an official Tennessee source, in one place. We do not print a single “total”: exam fees are set by the testing vendor and insurance is a premium that depends on your business, so any all-in number would be a guess dressed up as a fact.
Application fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee (license issued for two years) | $250[src] |
Renewal
Deadline: Every two years (the license is issued for a two-year term). A license cannot be renewed once it has been expired more than 12 months — after that you must reinstate through a new application.[src]
| Renewal type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Renewal fee | $200 (two-year term)[src] |
Late fee of $20 per month. A license expired more than 12 months cannot be renewed and must be reinstated through a new application.[src]
Renewal also requires a current Certificate of Insurance (GL + workers' comp) and a financial statement supporting the monetary limit; renewals submitted without them will not be processed.
Contractors with a monetary limit of $1,500,000 or less may submit a self-prepared financial statement at renewal; above $1,500,000 a CPA-Compiled statement is required (a Reviewed or Audited statement is acceptable but not required) — per the Board's renewal form (IN-0438, Rev. 10/2025).
How to get your Tennessee general contractor license
The path in order. The specifics — amounts, exams, and deadlines — are in the sourced sections above, each traced to its official source.
- Confirm a state license applies to your project — check the requirement and dollar threshold above before you bid.
- Document the experience the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Dept. of Commerce & Insurance) requires for the classification you want.
- Show the financial capacity your license tier requires — net worth, working capital, a credit benchmark, or a surety-bond alternative, depending on the state.
- Pass the required exam(s) for your classification.
- Arrange any insurance and bonding your classification requires.
- Submit your application to the board with the required fee and supporting documents.
- Keep the license current — track your renewal deadline and any continuing-education hours your classification owes.
Continuing education: residential-only
Commercial general contractors (e.g. BC / BC-B classifications): no continuing-education requirement. Continuing education applies only to RESIDENTIAL classifications — see the cycle and notes below.[src†]
Residential cycle: Residential classifications (BC-A, BC-A/r, BC-A,b(sm)) first licensed on or after January 1, 2009: 8 hours of Board-approved Residential Continuing Education (RCE) during the two-year period before each renewal (biennial). No carryover between renewal periods (Rule 0680-09-.02; T.C.A. § 62-6-112(g)).[src]
Commercial GCs owe zero CE — don't let a vendor sell you hours you don't need
Tennessee's 8-hour biennial Residential Continuing Education (RCE) requirement applies only to residential classifications (BC-A, BC-A/r, BC-A,b(sm)) first licensed on or after January 1, 2009. Commercial general contractors have no state CE requirement. Check which classification you actually hold before buying a course.
How the 8 residential hours can be earned
- 8 hours of Board-approved RCE relevant to the residential construction industry
- Active membership in a Board-approved professional trade association counts for 4 hours of RCE per active year
- A semester/quarter-length TCAT, college or university course relevant to residential construction can satisfy the 8 hours for that year
- Residential contractors licensed BEFORE January 1, 2009 are exempt from RCE (Rule 0680-09-.02(1)(b)).
- Only one Qualifying Agent on the license needs to complete the RCE hours.
- No carryover of RCE hours from one renewal period to the next (Rule 0680-09-.02(11)).
- Because commercial general contractors have no state CE requirement, Tennessee's monetizable continuing-education audience here is the residential classifications, not commercial GCs — confirm which classification you hold before buying a course.
Board-approved RCE providers are listed on the Board's RCE page.
Disclosure: some links to course providers on this page may become affiliate links — if you purchase through them, we may earn a commission. This never influences our comparisons: providers with no affiliate program are listed on equal footing, and every price shows its source. How we stay neutral.
Hold a residential classification and need the RCE hours? Compare the providers we track: RocketCert.
CE and exam-prep providers compared
Disclosure: some links to course providers on this page may become affiliate links — if you purchase through them, we may earn a commission. This never influences our comparisons: providers with no affiliate program are listed on equal footing, and every price shows its source. How we stay neutral.
Neutral comparison — including vendors with no affiliate program:
| Provider | What they sell | Verified pricing | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
RocketCert GC exam prep across FL/GA/NC plus NC CE; sells book bundles for open-book exams. | Exam prep + Continuing education | Not yet price-verified — see site | Visit site |
Prices were verified on provider sites on the date shown (hover a price's source marker) and can change — confirm on the provider's checkout page. Inclusion is not an endorsement.
Statutes and rules cited
What changed recently (2026)
- Financial-statement rule revised (Nov 18, 2025). The Board's financial-statement requirements (Rule 0680-01-.32) were modified effective November 18, 2025. Applicants and renewing contractors should confirm the current CPA Reviewed/Audited thresholds and net-worth/working-capital rules against the live rule text before filing. Source
- Continuing education stays residential-only. Tennessee continues to require continuing education (8 hours biennial RCE) only for residential classifications (BC-A, BC-A/r, BC-A,b(sm)) licensed on or after January 1, 2009. Commercial general contractors have no CE requirement — a frequent point of confusion when CE vendors market 'Tennessee contractor CE'. Source
Primary sources
Beyond the statutes and rules cited above, each fact links to the official form, board page, or filing it was verified against:
Compare across states
Frequently asked questions
- When do I need a contractor license in Tennessee?
- Before bidding, offering to engage, or negotiating a price on any project of $25,000 or more, as a prime (general) contractor or construction manager (T.C.A. § 62-6-102). The license must already carry the right classification and a high enough monetary limit before you bid.
- How is the Tennessee monetary limit calculated?
- The monetary limit is 10 times the lesser of your working capital and net worth (supported by experience). A $150,000 limit, for example, requires at least $15,000 in both. An Unlimited license requires at least $300,000 in both working capital and net worth.
- Does a Tennessee general contractor need continuing education?
- Commercial general contractors have no continuing-education requirement. CE applies only to residential classifications (BC-A, BC-A/r, BC-A,b(sm)) first licensed on or after January 1, 2009 — 8 hours of Board-approved Residential CE every two years, with no carryover (Rule 0680-09; T.C.A. § 62-6-112(g)).
- What does a Tennessee contractor license cost and how long does it last?
- The application fee is $250 and the license is issued for two years. Renewal is $200 with a $20-per-month late fee; a license expired more than 12 months cannot be renewed and must be reinstated through a new application.
- What exams does Tennessee require, and who administers them?
- The Tennessee Business & Law exam is required for all applicants, and most classifications also require a Trade exam. PSI administers the exams; the Board's application package lists each exam at $57 (fees are set by PSI and may change). Several bordering states have trade-exam reciprocity (waiver) agreements.