Permit checklist

Read 2026-09-18: "You never have to pay a fee for an EIN", and the online application issues the number immediately (the session expires after 15 minutes of inactivity). The IRS names hiring employees, operating a partnership or corporation, and paying sales and excise taxes among the reasons one is needed. Does not expire, so no renewal is recorded. Every downstream Tennessee and Knox County application asks for it: the Knox County business tax application has a Federal Employer Identification Number field, and the City of Knoxville transient vendor application asks for it on line 2.

Read again off the Secretary of State's own Business Forms & Fees table on 2026-10-28: Articles of Organization Limited Liability Company (form SS-4270) $300, flagged on that table as "*Additional Fees May Apply". The amount per member above that and its maximum were not read (the copy of the statute that would state them sat behind a bot check), so they are not recorded and the ceiling is left open. A corporation files a Charter For-Profit Corporation (form SS-4417, $100) instead; that filing is not this row. Filing is online through the Tennessee Comprehensive Business Application (https://tncab.tnsos.gov/portal) or on paper. The Secretary of State's questions and answers (https://sos.tn.gov/businesses/faqs, read 2026-10-28) say the LLC annual report is $300 for up to six members plus $50 for each member beyond six, at most $3,000; that a registered agent is required at all times; and that a company that does not file its annual report can be administratively dissolved. The report's due date was not read, so no renewal is recorded. The lead time is an estimate, not a published processing time. Knox County's business tax application asks for the Tennessee Secretary of State ID number, so this rung comes before the county licence.

Read 2026-09-18: "If you are subject to the business tax, you must register to pay the tax. This application can be submitted electronically using the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point (TNTAP)", and "It takes up to 10 business days for the Department of Revenue to register your business" — the lead time on this row is that published figure. The same page states "A separate $15 business license registration fee must be paid to the county and/or municipal clerk for each new business": that fee is recorded on the Knox County and City of Knoxville licence rows, not here, so it is not double-counted. The gross-receipts thresholds decide WHICH licence the clerk issues: $3,000-$99,999 in in-state receipts is a minimal activity licence, $100,000 or more is a standard business licence (the $100,000 threshold changed for tax years ending on or after 31 December 2023 under Public Chapter 377, 2023). No state-level fee is recorded because none was published on that page. The renewal cadence was not stated there. The department's new-business filing page (read 2026-10-28) says the return is due on the 15th day of the fourth month following the end of the fiscal year: April 15 for a calendar year.

Read 2026-10-28 off the Department of Revenue's franchise and excise overview: "If you are a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, or business trust chartered, qualified, or registered in Tennessee or doing business in this state, then you must register for and pay franchise and excise taxes." and "The minimum franchise tax is $100 and is payable if you are incorporated, domesticated, qualified, or otherwise registered through the Secretary of State to do business in Tennessee, regardless of whether the company is active or inactive." That $100 is a tax owed every year, not a registration fee, so no fee is recorded on this row. The department's registration link leads straight to the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point (TNTAP). Due dates, read the same day off the department's new-business filing page: the annual return is due on the 15th day of the fourth month after the books close (April 15 for a calendar year), a 7-month extension is available, and quarterly estimated payments apply only at a combined liability of $5,000 or more in both the prior and current years. Some entity types are exempt, among them a Family Owned Non-corporate Entity (FONCE); the FONCE criteria, and whether a single-member LLC owned by a person is treated differently, were not read. No processing time was published, so no lead time is recorded.