Form a Tennessee LLC
From a name to an active limited liability company with a federal number, its Tennessee tax accounts, its county and city licences and the state's Certificate of Existence.
- Steps
- 13
- Filings
- 4
- Known fees
- $300.00
- Fees not on record
- 2
- Issued
- not tracking
Your business
The walk
Decide 1. Choose a name the state will accept
The name must be distinguishable from the names already on the Secretary of State's records, so search them before you file; the search takes a name or a control number. Reserving a name ahead of filing is optional and costs $20 (form SS-9425) on the Secretary of State's fee table. Which ending the name must carry was not read for this walk, so this page does not check it.
Doors
Decide 2. Name a registered agent
The registered agent accepts legal papers for the company, and the Secretary of State's answers say a Tennessee company must keep one at all times. Changing the agent later is filed as Articles of Amendment, $20 on the fee table. Who may serve and what kind of address the agent needs were not read for this walk.
Have in hand
- The agent's name and address
- The agent's agreement to serve
Doors
File 3. File the Articles of Organization
This is the filing that creates the company: Articles of Organization for a limited liability company (form SS-4270), filed online through the Tennessee Comprehensive Business Application (TNCaB) or on paper. The fee table lists $300 and marks it "Additional Fees May Apply"; the amount per member above that was not read for this walk. Once the filing is accepted the company has a Secretary of State control number, which certificate orders and later filings ask for.
Tennessee LLC Articles of Organization (form SS-4270)
- Issued by
- Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations
- Fee
- $300.00
- Confidence
- verified · read Wed 28 Oct 2026
- Renews
- none recorded
- Your record
- —
Have in hand
- The company name
- The registered agent's name and address
- A way to pay the filing fee
Doors
What the agency gives you
The filed Articles of Organization and the company's Secretary of State control number
Anyone can check it
The permit record keeps only the last four characters of its number; attach the agency's file to the record as a document.
File 4. Get the federal Employer Identification Number
Apply after the state has accepted the Articles: the IRS says to form the entity through the secretary of state before applying. The number is free and the online application issues it in the same session. The responsible party needs their own Social Security number or individual taxpayer number, and may apply for one number a day. The IRS never charges for one.
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Issued by
- Internal Revenue Service
- Fee
- $0.00
- Confidence
- verified · read Fri 18 Sep 2026
- Renews
- none recorded
- Your record
- —
Have in hand
- The company's legal name exactly as the state filed it
- The responsible party's SSN or ITIN (typed into the IRS site only, never here)
Doors
What the agency gives you
The EIN, issued at the end of the online application
No public page confirms this one; the agency's own document is the proof, so keep it.
The permit record keeps only the last four characters of its number; attach the agency's file to the record as a document.
Know 5. No beneficial ownership report to FinCEN
A company formed in the United States does not file a beneficial ownership report. FinCEN's page says: "U.S. companies are exempt from the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements and therefore, are no longer required to file BOI reports." Nothing is filed with FinCEN for a new Tennessee LLC and no fee is owed for it.
Doors
Your own paperwork 6. Write down how the company runs
An operating agreement says who owns what share, who may sign for the company and what happens when a member leaves. It is the members' own document and nothing is filed; banks commonly ask to see it. Tennessee's LLC law is Title 48, Chapter 249 of the Tennessee Code, which was not read for this walk.
File 7. Register for franchise and excise tax
The Department of Revenue says a limited liability company registered in Tennessee must register for and pay franchise and excise taxes, and that the minimum franchise tax is $100, owed whether the company is active or inactive. Registration is on the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point (TNTAP). The annual return is due on the 15th day of the fourth month after the books close: April 15 for a calendar year, with a 7-month extension available. Quarterly estimated payments start only at a combined liability of $5,000 or more in both the prior and current years. Some entities are exempt, among them one that qualifies as a Family Owned Non-corporate Entity (FONCE); the criteria were not read for this walk.
Tennessee franchise and excise tax registration (TNTAP)
- Issued by
- Tennessee Department of Revenue
- Fee
- unknown
- Confidence
- verified · read Wed 28 Oct 2026
- Renews
- none recorded
- Your record
- —
Have in hand
- The EIN
- The company's legal name exactly as the state filed it
Doors
File 8. Register for business tax
Tennessee's business tax is registered with the Department of Revenue on TNTAP, and the department says registration takes up to 10 business days. Which licence the county and city then issue depends on gross receipts in Tennessee: $3,000 to $99,999 is a minimal activity licence, $100,000 or more a standard one; each carries a separate $15 fee, on the local step below. The return is due on the 15th day of the fourth month after the fiscal year ends: April 15 for a calendar year.
Tennessee business tax registration (TNTAP)
- Issued by
- Tennessee Department of Revenue
- Fee
- unknown
- Confidence
- verified · read Fri 18 Sep 2026
- Renews
- none recorded
- Your record
- —
Have in hand
- The EIN
- The Secretary of State control number
Doors
Know 9. Check whether your trade needs a state licence
Many trades and professions are licensed separately from forming a company. The Department of Commerce and Insurance's Division of Regulatory Boards says it "issues professional licenses to more than 350,000 businesses and professionals operating in Tennessee." The Secretary of State's next steps for a new business point there. Which licence a given trade needs, and what it costs, was not read for this walk: the board for the trade says.
Doors
What the agency gives you
The licence the trade's board issues, under the licence holder's name
Anyone can check it
File locally 10. Get the county and city business licences
A Tennessee business also holds a business licence from the county clerk and, inside a city, from the city as well: a business inside Knoxville holds both. Tick the places the business operates in and the rows this catalog holds for them appear here. A place with no row has not been read yet: ask the county clerk.
No county or city row applies yet: tick a place above, or ask the county where the business operates.
Know 11. Get a Certificate of Existence when someone asks for proof
The Secretary of State's Certificate of Existence "certifies that an entity is active and in good standing": it is the state's own word that the company exists. It is requested, paid for and received online through TNCaB with the company's control number and legal name; the fee table lists certificates and certified copies (form SS-4461) at $20, marked "Additional Fees May Apply". The Secretary of State's answers say a tax clearance is needed to obtain one, so the franchise and excise account must be in order first.
Have in hand
- The Secretary of State control number
- The company's legal name
Doors
What the agency gives you
Certificate of Existence from the Tennessee Secretary of State
Anyone can check it
Know 12. Put the annual report on the calendar
Every year the company files an annual report with the Secretary of State to stay active. For an LLC it costs $300 for up to six members and $50 more for each member beyond six, at most $3,000. It is filed through a TNCaB account. A company that does not file can be administratively dissolved. The report's due date was not read for this walk.
Doors
On this runtime
Your own paperwork 13. Open the company's books
Keep the company's money apart from your own from the first day: a bank account in the company's name (banks commonly ask for the filed Articles and the EIN), a record of every sale and expense, and a plan for what the year will cost, the $100 minimum franchise tax among it.
On this runtime
Keep track
Agencies on this walk
| Agency | Doors | Pages read |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations | Search the state's records (business entity search) · Business forms and fees · Business services: questions and answers · File online (TNCaB) · Next steps for a new business · Order copies and certificates · Sign in to TNCaB (annual reports) | 7 of 7 |
| Internal Revenue Service | Get an EIN | 1 of 1 |
| Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) | Beneficial ownership reporting | 1 of 1 |
| Tennessee Department of Revenue | Franchise and excise tax · Register a business online (TNTAP) · Tax filing due dates · Business tax registration and licensing · For new businesses · Sales and use tax registration | 6 of 6 |
| Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development | Unemployment insurance tax · Employers | 2 of 2 |
| Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance | Regulatory boards · Verify a licence | 2 of 2 |
Left out
| Step | Why it is not on your walk |
|---|---|
| Register to collect sales tax | applies when (sells_goods or sells_food) |
| Register as an employer | applies when has_employees |
| Register the name you trade under | applies when uses_trade_name |
Scope
Operator checklist, not legal advice. Confirm every row with the issuing agency before acting on it.
A walk through one kind of registration, in the order a person does it. Every sentence about a fee, a date or a rule was read on the agency page named beside it on the date shown, or says that it was not. A step with requirement_id takes its fee, agency and confidence from the permit catalog row of that id, so the two cannot disagree. A door whose url holds {name} is filled with the name the reader typed. Nothing here files anything, and nothing here is legal or tax advice. Guide checked 2026-10-28.