Shelby County, TN Business License and Business Tax Guide

First, check whether your address is in a city or unincorporated Shelby County

Shelby County has seven incorporated municipalities: Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, Memphis, and Millington. The first licensing question is therefore not just “Am I in Shelby County?” It is “Which municipality, if any, contains my business address?”

A mailing address can be misleading. Use the Shelby County municipalities list, the county’s GIS/address resources, and the relevant city or planning office to confirm jurisdiction. For Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County, the Unified Development Code and Develop901 zoning tools are important. Other municipalities may use their own planning and permit systems.

Jurisdiction also changes some special permits. For example, Shelby County’s beer-permit page expressly applies to businesses outside any municipality. The county short-term-rental ordinance likewise applies to short-term rentals in the unincorporated parts of the county. Memphis uses its own beer-permit and short-term-rental processes.

What Shelby County, TN may handle

County business license and Tennessee business tax

The Shelby County Clerk Business Tax Division is the main county business-license office. Its page still carries broad language from the older 2010 business-tax framework saying all businesses must obtain a license and report receipts annually. For current receipt thresholds and filing duties, use the newer Department of Revenue guidance.

The Shelby County page tells new businesses to register with the Clerk within 20 days after starting. Revenue’s current licensing page also says a required license must be obtained and posted before operating. The safer practical sequence is to handle the required local license before opening rather than treating the county’s 20-day statement as permission to operate unlicensed.

County permits are activity-specific

The County Clerk has separate processes for certain activities. A business license does not replace them. Current examples include the county beer permit for beer businesses outside any municipality, the liquor-by-the-drink registration for establishments outside a municipality, and the transient vendor license and permit. The transient-vendor page currently lists a $162 Memphis-plus-county permit fee or $107 county-only fee and a 14-day permit period.

County health department layer

The Shelby County Health Department Environmental Health and Food Safety Program issues permits for food-service establishments including restaurants, mobile food units, temporary events, and farmers markets. Grocery stores, gas stations, and convenience-store food inspection questions are routed by the county page to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

For a mobile food unit, use the Health Department’s mobile food establishment page. The current checklist calls for items such as proposed plans and menu, proof of a business license or Department of Revenue registration, wastewater arrangements, a unit floor plan, and a commissary agreement where applicable.

What Memphis and other cities or towns may handle

Memphis business-license layer

If the location is inside Memphis and the business is subject to the local license rules, do not stop after the county license. The City of Memphis licenses and permits page says the local process includes both the $15 City of Memphis business license and the $15 Shelby County business license.

Memphis also has separate regulatory permits. The Memphis Permits Office handles city permits for activities such as beer, dance, special events, towing/wreckers, vehicle-for-hire activities, and other regulated operations. Its current permit administration site provides applications and account access for several city permits.

Other Shelby County municipalities

Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, and Millington are separate incorporated municipalities. The Shelby County Clerk page says a separate city business license is required when a business operates within a municipality. Use the Shelby County governments and directories page to reach the correct local government and verify its business-tax, zoning, occupancy, sign, and activity-permit path.

Do not copy a Memphis permit rule to another town. Planning and building jurisdiction is not identical across the county. Develop901 Construction Enforcement, for example, says it reviews plans, issues construction permits, and inspects projects in Memphis, Arlington, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington, and unincorporated Shelby County. Bartlett and Collierville are not on that service list, so businesses there should use those municipalities’ own building and planning routes.

State-level registrations to check

Local licenses do not form an entity, create tax accounts, satisfy employer filings, or authorize regulated work.

Tennessee business tax

Standard-license businesses register for Tennessee business tax through TNTAP. The annual return is generally due on the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the fiscal year. Minimal activity license holders do not register for or pay business tax merely because they hold that minimal license.

Sales and use tax

If you sell, lease, or rent taxable tangible personal property or provide a taxable service, check the Tennessee sales and use tax rules and use the current registration guidance. Sales-tax registration is separate from a local business license or business-tax registration.

Franchise and excise tax

Corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and other covered entities may also have Tennessee franchise and excise tax duties. Check that tax separately from local business-license and business-tax rules because exemptions can apply.

Entity filings and assumed names

LLCs, corporations, and other entities that must register with the state use the Tennessee Secretary of State’s TNCaB filing portal. You can also use the official Business Entity Search before choosing or using an entity name.

If you hire employees

Hiring creates a separate compliance path. Tennessee Labor and Workforce Development directs employers to Unemployment Employer e-Services to determine unemployment-insurance liability and register when required. Employers must also report newly hired or rehired employees within 20 days. Federal payroll rules are separate.

Professional, industry, and federal registrations

For regulated work, check the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance regulatory boards and, for health professions, the Tennessee Department of Health professional boards. For alcohol, use the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. If you need a federal employer identification number, use the IRS EIN page.

DBA, fictitious name, assumed name, and trade name layer

Tennessee’s official state term is assumed name. The Secretary of State says Tennessee does not recognize “DBA” or “fictitious name” as its filing terminology. An assumed name is a name other than the entity’s true name, and the state says an assumed-name registration is good for five years and may be renewed.

If you have an LLC, corporation, or another registered entity and want to use a different public name, start with the Secretary of State’s Business Forms and Fees and TNCaB filing portal. If you are a sole proprietor or general partnership, do not assume the state entity assumed-name form is your route. Ask the Shelby County Clerk and the applicable municipality what name must appear on the local license or tax record.

Zoning, home occupation, building, fire, health, and industry permits

Zoning and home-based businesses

The Unified Development Code is the zoning code and subdivision regulation for the City of Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County. Use the current UDC and Land Use and Development Services tools to confirm whether your use is allowed and whether a zoning action is needed. A home business is still a land use. Customer traffic, employees, storage, signs, noise, parking, and the type of work can change what is allowed.

If the home is in Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington, or Arlington, verify the municipality’s own rules rather than treating the Memphis/unincorporated UDC as countywide.

Building, occupancy, fire, and signs

Develop901 Construction Enforcement handles building-plan review, construction permits, and inspections in its listed service area. The Memphis license page also directs businesses to obtain or confirm a Certificate of Occupancy through Construction Enforcement and the Develop901 Citizen Portal. Confirm occupancy before opening or changing the use of a space.

For signs in the Memphis/unincorporated UDC area, the Signs and Zoning Enforcement page says constructed, relocated, expanded, or altered signs require a sign permit and that sign licenses are renewed annually. Use the current page before ordering or installing a sign.

Food and mobile food

Restaurants, caterers, food trucks, farmers-market sellers, and temporary food vendors should use the Shelby County Health Department permit path for the specific operation. Do not treat a county or city business license as the food permit. Cottage-food and retail-food operations may follow different state or local routes, so match the permit to the actual food activity.

Beer and liquor

For beer in unincorporated Shelby County, use the County Clerk’s beer-permit process. Inside a municipality, use the local beer-board or permit route. For liquor, wine, high-gravity beer, and other TABC-regulated products, use the state’s TABC licensing pages and its RLPS system. TABC specifically notes that a liquor-by-the-drink license does not itself authorize beer sales.

Short-term rentals

This is a place where jurisdiction matters. Shelby County Code Article XVIII says the county short-term-rental permit applies to units in the unincorporated parts of Shelby County. The county code currently lists a $100 initial application fee, a $50 renewal fee, and a 365-day permit term. Memphis has a separate Short-term Rental Registration program that requires a Memphis STR license to operate and advertise. If the property is in another municipality, use that municipality’s rules.

Transient vendors and environmental permits

Temporary sellers should review the Shelby County Clerk transient-vendor page instead of assuming a normal annual business license covers a short event. Businesses with emission sources, fuel-burning equipment, coating, printing, tanks, or similar processes should also check the Shelby County Health Department Air Pollution Control permit forms.