Pet Sitting Service Permit Requirements in Memphis, TN

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC/corporation. Free from the IRS. Also recommended if you plan to open a dedicated business bank account.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

2. Pet Sitter / Pet Care Insurance

   While not federally required, pet sitting businesses should carry general liability insurance and pet care, custody, and control (CCC) insurance to cover injuries, escapes, or accidental deaths of animals in your care. Professional organizations like PSI (Pet Sitters International) and NAPPS offer member insurance programs. Most clients and professional standards bodies recommend at least $1 million in liability coverage.

   Official government source

   $200–$1,500/year depending on coverage and business size·Obtained before accepting clients

   $200–$1,500/year depending on coverage and business size

   Obtained before accepting clients

1. Tennessee — No State Pet Sitting or Dog Walking License

   Tennessee does not license pet sitters or dog walkers. The Department of Commerce and Insurance's Regulatory Boards Division publishes the complete list of the occupations it licenses and pet care is not among them, and the Department of Agriculture's animal health programme is confined to preventing and controlling disease in livestock and other domestic animals and to regulating interstate and intrastate animal movement - it does not license individual sitters. Commercial boarding kennels are a separate matter, handled through Shelby County and City of Memphis animal control ordinances. One tax point is easy to miss: Tennessee taxes only enumerated services, and 'cleaning tangible personal property and animal bathing' is enumerated, so sitting and walking are untaxed but bathing or grooming charges are taxable.

   Official government source

   No state licence fee. The mandatory cost is the business licence - $15 to the Shelby County Clerk, plus $15 to the City of Memphis if you operate inside the city limits.·No state licensing step. The county clerk issues the business licence at the counter; a Department of Revenue tax account takes up to 10 business days.

   No state licence fee. The mandatory cost is the business licence - $15 to the Shelby County Clerk, plus $15 to the City of Memphis if you operate inside the city limits.

   No state licensing step. The county clerk issues the business licence at the counter; a Department of Revenue tax account takes up to 10 business days.

2. Tennessee Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Registration (Pet Sitters)

   Pet sitting and dog walking are not among the services Tennessee enumerates as taxable, so those fees carry no sales tax. Two things can still pull a sitter into registration. First, selling pet products - food, leashes, toys, accessories - is a retail sale of tangible personal property and is taxable. Second, and more easily missed, 'cleaning tangible personal property and animal bathing' is on the statute's enumerated list of taxable services, so bathing or grooming charges are taxable even though sitting and walking are not. Rates differ by city: Knoxville is 7% state plus a 2.25% Knox County local rate, for 9.25%, while Memphis is 7% plus a 2.75% local rate, for 9.75% - the City of Memphis has been at the statutory 2.75% maximum since January 1, 2020, though unincorporated Shelby County remains 2.25%.

   Official government source

   No fee, if registration is needed at all. A sales and use tax certificate through TNTAP costs nothing.·Up to 10 business days for the Department of Revenue to register your business, per its published guidance.

   No fee, if registration is needed at all. A sales and use tax certificate through TNTAP costs nothing.

   Up to 10 business days for the Department of Revenue to register your business, per its published guidance.

1. Memphis and Shelby County Business License

   Pet sitting businesses operating in Memphis - including dog walking, in-home pet care, and pet transportation - need a business license from the Shelby County Clerk, plus a separate City of Memphis license if located inside the city. Tennessee has no "occupational tax certificate": businesses with $3,000-$99,999 in annual gross receipts get a minimal activity license, and those at $100,000 or more get a standard business license and file business tax with the Tennessee Department of Revenue. Home-based pet sitters who receive clients or their pets at home should confirm zoning with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development (develop901.com), not the county clerk.

   Official government source

   $15 flat fee to the Shelby County Clerk plus a $15 flat fee to the City of Memphis (both required inside the city, $30 total) - not a percentage of gross revenue. No license is required under $3,000 in gross receipts; $3,000-$99,999 is a minimal activity license; at $100,000+ you also owe Tennessee's separate, uncapped state business tax.·Neither the City of Memphis nor the Shelby County Clerk publishes a processing time. Licenses expire one year from the application date. Where a state business tax account is also required, the Department of Revenue states registration takes up to 10 business days.

   $15 flat fee to the Shelby County Clerk plus a $15 flat fee to the City of Memphis (both required inside the city, $30 total) - not a percentage of gross revenue. No license is required under $3,000 in gross receipts; $3,000-$99,999 is a minimal activity license; at $100,000+ you also owe Tennessee's separate, uncapped state business tax.

   Neither the City of Memphis nor the Shelby County Clerk publishes a processing time. Licenses expire one year from the application date. Where a state business tax account is also required, the Department of Revenue states registration takes up to 10 business days.

2. Memphis - Boarding and Kennel Requirements (confirm before boarding)

   Memphis and Shelby County publish no consolidated commercial pet boarding or kennel permit. What actually governs boarding clients' pets is zoning: the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development (develop901.com) decides whether a kennel or boarding use is allowed at your address and issues the certificate of occupancy for a commercial facility. Animal-specific requirements and any inspection are handled by Memphis Animal Services for city addresses and the Shelby County Health Department outside the city. Confirm your specific situation with both before accepting boarding clients; small-scale home boarding may fall outside a commercial classification, but that is a zoning determination, not something you can assume.

   Official government source

   No boarding or kennel permit fee is published by the City of Memphis or Shelby County. Zoning applications and building permits are filed through the Division of Planning and Development's citizen portal, where the fee depends on the application type.·No approval timeline is published, because no consolidated boarding permit is published. Allow time for a zoning determination and, for a commercial facility, a certificate of occupancy before you open.

   No boarding or kennel permit fee is published by the City of Memphis or Shelby County. Zoning applications and building permits are filed through the Division of Planning and Development's citizen portal, where the fee depends on the application type.

   No approval timeline is published, because no consolidated boarding permit is published. Allow time for a zoning determination and, for a commercial facility, a certificate of occupancy before you open.

Official Sources

• Memphis Business Licensing
• Tennessee Department of Revenue — Business Tax Registration
• Pet Sitters International (PSI)

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