Those shares are lower than Seattle's 82.6% for electrical firms. One reason is the law: below $25,000 no state contractor license is needed, so a lot of legitimate small work is done by firms with no state record to match.
Which license does the contractor need in Tennessee?
The Board for Licensing Contractors' rule: a license "is required BEFORE bidding or offering a price, for projects $25,000 and up" (Who is Required to be Licensed). The license carries a classification and a monetary limit (Contractor):
| Work | Classification on the record |
|---|---|
| New home, addition, remodel $25,000+ | BC-A Residential (or BC, BC-A,b(sm) for projects under $750,000) |
| Electrical $25,000+ | CE Electrical |
| HVAC $25,000+ | CMC-C HVAC, or CMC Full Mechanical |
| Plumbing $25,000+ | CMC-A Plumbing |
| Fire sprinkler | CMC-D |
| Masonry $100,000+ | LMC Licensed Masonry Contractor |
Two more things to know. Home improvement license: in nine counties, Davidson (Nashville) among them, a separate license is required for residential projects "in excess of $3,000 to less than $25,000" (county list). So in Nashville, a $10,000 bathroom needs a home improvement license, and a $30,000 one needs a contractor's license. Subcontractors: electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing subs must hold their own license when their portion is $25,000 or more, at every tier.
The monetary limit is the cap on any one job: "10 times the lesser of working capital or net worth", and an unlimited license needs "$300,000 in both working capital and net worth". Limits carry a 10% tolerance.
How to look a contractor up, step by step
- Ask for the license number. Tennessee contractors must have one before they even bid at $25,000.
- Open verify.tn.gov. Search by the license number, or by the business name on the quote; try the first word if the full name fails.
- Pick the right license type in the results. The same search covers every Commerce & Insurance license, so a name can return a cosmetologist and a contractor.
- Open the contractor record. Read status, expiry, classification and monetary limit.
- Compare the monetary limit with your quote. A $400,000 build on a $300,000 limit is outside the license, even with the 10% tolerance.
- For a $3,000–$24,999 job in Nashville, search for the home improvement license instead; it is a different license type in the same search.
- Save the page, and check again before you sign.
What "active", "expired" and "revoked" mean in the Tennessee file
The board does not define its status words on the pages we read. In the license data we hold from the board, the statuses that appear are Active, Expired, Expired-Grace, Retired, Closed and Revoked.
- Active: current and able to bid at or above $25,000 within its classification and limit.
- Expired-Grace: past the expiry date but inside the renewal grace period. Legal to renew; ask when they will.
- Expired: not renewed. The contractor cannot legally bid a $25,000+ job.
- Retired or Closed: the licensee gave it up or the business ended.
- Revoked: the board took it. Walk away.
Penalties for unlicensed contracting in Tennessee
The board's Violation of Law Penalties page: contracting or offering to contract without the required license is "in violation of T.C.A. 62-6-120", a Class A misdemeanor; the contractor faces civil penalties, is barred from licensure for six months, and "may not be entitled to full payment of their contract": recovery may be limited to documented costs, with proof (the page points to T.C.A. 62-6-103).
What the license does not tell you
Whether the firm's permits were pulled, inspected and closed. That is Metro Nashville's record, and we read it: 50,235 electrical permits, 29,714 HVAC and 26,809 plumbing permits in the window, with 89.5%, 75.6% and 89.7% finished. New homes: 10,208 permits from 2,252 builders. Each Nashville firm page shows the matched Tennessee license status next to the permit record, and links to verify.tn.gov so you can confirm it is current today.
Red flags on a Tennessee license record
- Status Expired, Retired, Closed or Revoked, or Expired-Grace with no renewal date promised.
- A monetary limit below your quote.
- A classification that does not match the work (a BC-A builder quoting a $40,000 HVAC replacement).
- A home improvement license offered for a $25,000+ job, or no home improvement license on a $3,000–$24,999 Nashville job.
- A license number that returns a different business name.
- A contractor who wants to split one job into several "under $25,000" contracts.
- No license at all on a $25,000+ bid, which was already a violation when they bid.
How we know this
License status comes from the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors' license file, matched to contractor names on Metro Nashville permits by business name. A firm we could not match is shown as unmatched, not as unlicensed: name matching misses some, and work under $25,000 needs no state contractor license. "Finished" is the share of permits with a recorded final. Thresholds, classifications and penalties are quoted from the Department of Commerce & Insurance's pages, fetched 20 October 2026.
Numbers come from Metro Nashville (Davidson County) building and trade permits, data through September 21, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
See every Nashville electrician by their permit record →
Questions
- Where is the Tennessee contractor license lookup?
verify.tn.gov, which forwards to search.cloud.commerce.tn.gov. It is the Department of Commerce & Insurance's search for every license it issues, contractors included, and it is free.
- When does a Tennessee job need a licensed contractor?
At $25,000 and up, "BEFORE bidding or offering a price" (Board for Licensing Contractors). In Davidson County and eight other counties, jobs over $3,000 and under $25,000 need a home improvement license.
- Do subcontractors need a Tennessee license?
Electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing subs do when their part is $25,000 or more; masonry at $100,000. Flooring, landscaping, fencing and concrete subs generally do not unless they contract directly with you.
- What is the penalty for unlicensed contracting in Tennessee?
A Class A misdemeanor under T.C.A. 62-6-120, civil penalties, and a six-month bar from licensure. An unlicensed contractor "may not be entitled to full payment of their contract"; recovery may be limited to documented costs (board page, citing T.C.A. 62-6-103).
- What does "monetary limit" mean on a Tennessee license?
The biggest job the license allows. It is set at ten times the lesser of the firm's working capital or net worth; an unlimited license needs $300,000 of each.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Verify a License — Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (2026-10-20)
- verify.tn.gov (forwards to the license search) (2026-10-20)
- Tennessee license search (2026-10-20)
- Contractor — Board for Licensing Contractors (2026-10-20)
- Subcontractors / Who is Required to be Licensed — Board for Licensing Contractors (2026-10-20)
- County Information Adopting the Home Improvement Law — Tennessee Commerce & Insurance (2026-10-20)
- Violation of Law Penalties — Board for Licensing Contractors (2026-10-20)