Who licenses contractors in Tennessee
The credential is the contractor’s license, issued by the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, which sits within the Department of Commerce and Insurance. The Board licenses contractors in residential, commercial and industrial classifications, and it separately licenses home improvement contractors in the counties that adopted that law [1] [2].
The two credentials start at different dollar points. The contractor’s license is required before contracting on projects of $25,000 or more [1], and contracting here includes bidding, offering to engage, or negotiating a price. That line applies to work as a prime contractor, certain subcontractor, or construction manager or consultant. Below it, the home improvement license reaches residential remodeling projects from $3,000 to $24,999 [2], and only in the adopting counties, which the Board currently names as Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby.
Classifications and what applicants file
The residential, commercial and industrial classifications (BC-A, BC-B and BC-C) appear on the Board's list of trade exams for contractors. Contractor applicants sit for the Tennessee Business and Law exam, and a trade exam is added for certain classifications [1].
One residential route works differently. The Restricted Residential Limited License (BC-A/r) is for residential contractors who wish to perform work costing less than $125,000, based on a financial statement [1]. In place of the BC-A Residential Trade Exam and the Business & Law Exam, they may complete a Limited License course through a Tennessee community college or vocational school. Only the examination requirement is waived for this route; every other application requirement still applies.
The financial requirement turns on a monetary limit, calculated as 10 times the lesser of working capital or net worth, plus required experience [1]. A reviewed financial statement is required for limits of $3,000,000 or less, and an audited one is required above $3,000,000 [1]. Beginning July 1, 2026, a Contractors’ Surety Bond of at least 50% of the monetary limit requested can stand in for the CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited statement [1].
Insurance is part of the same file: general liability coverage is required based on the monetary limit, and workers' compensation is required unless proof of exemption is provided [1]. Each contractor application also carries a letter of reference from a past client or employer who can speak to the applicant's construction experience, or from a code official who has inspected the applicant's work.
Home improvement applicants file proof of general liability and workers' compensation insurance [2]. They also post a surety bond of $10,000 [2], or other financial responsibility in the form of a cash or property bond, or an irrevocable letter of credit.
Cost and renewal
The Board's fee schedule prices the contractor’s license and the home improvement license separately, each with a charge for an initial application, reinstatement or ownership change and a charge for renewal. As of October 4, 2026, the Contractor initial application, reinstatement or ownership change fee is $250 per application [3]. The remaining amounts, with their dates, are in the fee table above.
Renewal carries an education condition for some licensees. Contractors with a residential classification (BC-A, BC-A/r and BC-A,b(sm)) who were licensed after January 1, 2009, show proof of eight hours of Residential Continuing Education from a Board-approved provider to renew [4].
Looking up a Tennessee license
The Board publishes a license search, the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) license lookup.