Tutoring 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 useful for opening a business bank account.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Tennessee — No State Tutoring License Required

   Tutoring is not a licensed occupation in Tennessee. The Department of Commerce and Insurance's Regulatory Boards Division publishes the full list of the professions it licenses - accountancy, alarm contractors, architects and engineers, auctioneers, contractors and home improvement, cosmetology and barber, court reporters, funeral directors, geologists, home inspectors, the Motor Vehicle Commission, private investigation, private protective services, real estate appraisers, the Real Estate Commission, scrap metals and the rest - and tutoring is not among them. No teaching certificate is required to tutor privately, and tutoring is not an enumerated taxable service. What a Memphis tutor does need is a business license from the Shelby County Clerk, plus a City of Memphis license if the business is inside the city limits: a minimal activity license covers annual gross receipts from $3,000 to under $100,000, and a standard business license with Tennessee business tax filings applies at $100,000 or more.

   Official government source

   No state license and no state fee. The business license is $15 per clerk - $15 to the Shelby County Clerk, plus $15 to the City of Memphis if you are inside the city limits.·No state licensing step. The county clerk issues the business license at the counter; the Department of Revenue states it takes up to 10 business days to register a business for state taxes.

   No state license and no state fee. The business license is $15 per clerk - $15 to the Shelby County Clerk, plus $15 to the City of Memphis if you are inside the city limits.

   No state licensing step. The county clerk issues the business license at the counter; the Department of Revenue states it takes up to 10 business days to register a business for state taxes.

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

   Tutoring is not one of the services Tennessee enumerates as taxable, so tutoring fees are not subject to sales tax. Registration with the Department of Revenue through TNTAP is required only if you also sell tangible goods to students - workbooks, printed materials, test-prep books, supplies - which are taxable as tangible personal property. Note that a workbook, defined as a printed booklet in which a student writes answers directly, is treated as a taxable printed item. The rate differs 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

   Tutoring businesses in Memphis - whether run from a commercial tutoring center, a rented classroom, or a home office - 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': $3,000-$99,999 in annual gross receipts means a minimal activity license, and $100,000 or more means a standard business license plus business tax filed with the Tennessee Department of Revenue. If you receive students at your home, confirm zoning with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development (develop901.com), which handles zoning and certificates of occupancy - 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 - Home-Based Business Zoning Compliance (if tutoring from home)

   Tutoring students at your Memphis home is a zoning question, not a business-licensing one. Home occupations are governed by the Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code, which serves as the zoning code for the City of Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County, and is administered by the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development (Land Use and Development Services). Zoning applications are filed through the Develop 901 portal. Standards typically limit client traffic, parking, signage, and hours. A business license is still required separately: a business inside Memphis city limits needs both a City of Memphis license and a Shelby County license from the Shelby County Clerk.

   Official government source

   No flat home-occupation permit fee is published. Land use and zoning application fees are set in the Division of Planning and Development's fee schedule at develop901.com/fee-information. The separate business license is $15 to the City of Memphis plus $15 to Shelby County.·Not published. Check your address with the Division of Planning and Development before you start receiving students at home.

   No flat home-occupation permit fee is published. Land use and zoning application fees are set in the Division of Planning and Development's fee schedule at develop901.com/fee-information. The separate business license is $15 to the City of Memphis plus $15 to Shelby County.

   Not published. Check your address with the Division of Planning and Development before you start receiving students at home.

Official Sources

• Memphis Business Licensing
• Tennessee Department of Revenue — Business Tax Registration

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