Barber Shop Permit Requirements in Nashville, TN

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC/corporation. Free from the IRS.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners - Barber Shop License

   Barber shops in Tennessee are licensed by the Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners within the Department of Commerce and Insurance; the form is the Initial Barber Shop Application. Shop requirements, including sanitation, equipment, and facility standards, come from Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 0200-03-.17 under the Board's rules rather than from a bare Title 62 chapter citation. Every new shop is inspected and approved before it opens.

   Official government source

   $150 for a new shop, relocated shop, or change of ownership; $75 to renew. A dual shop is $200 new and $100 to renew. Individual barber licenses are $60 initially and $60 to renew.·The Board makes the initial inspection within 10 days of receiving the online application, and advises applying at least 3 weeks before you intend to open. The application and fees are valid for 90 days.

   $150 for a new shop, relocated shop, or change of ownership; $75 to renew. A dual shop is $200 new and $100 to renew. Individual barber licenses are $60 initially and $60 to renew.

   The Board makes the initial inspection within 10 days of receiving the online application, and advises applying at least 3 weeks before you intend to open. The application and fees are valid for 90 days.

2. Individual Barber License (per barber)

   Every barber working in the shop must hold a valid Tennessee Master Barber license from the Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners. You must be at least 16 and complete 1,500 hours in a registered barber school — 300 hours of approved cosmetology-school training can count toward that total if you hold a valid Tennessee cosmetology license — then pass written and practical examinations. Apply at core.tn.gov. A barber technician license is available for a limited scope of practice.

   Official government source

   $60 initial application fee per barber; $60 to renew. Examination fees are charged separately by the Board's testing vendor.·No processing turnaround is published by the Board. Schedule your examinations with the testing vendor, then submit the initial application through core.tn.gov.

   $60 initial application fee per barber; $60 to renew. Examination fees are charged separately by the Board's testing vendor.

   No processing turnaround is published by the Board. Schedule your examinations with the testing vendor, then submit the initial application through core.tn.gov.

3. Tennessee Sales and Use Tax Registration (Barber Shops)

   Register with the Tennessee Department of Revenue through TNTAP if your shop sells retail products - pomades, clippers, beard oils, branded merchandise. The haircuts themselves are not taxable: Revenue's Sales and Use Tax Manual states that all services are exempt unless specifically enumerated as taxable by statute, and barbering is not on the enumerated list, which covers repair and installation of tangible personal property, lodging, short-term space rental to transient dealers, cleaning tangible personal property and animal bathing, parking and storing motor vehicles, telecommunications, television programming, ancillary services and uranium enrichment. The combined rate on taxable retail sales in Nashville and Davidson County is 9.25% - 7% state plus 2.25% local. Inventory bought for resale can be purchased tax-free with a Tennessee resale certificate, while supplies consumed in providing services are taxable to you at purchase.

   Official government source

   No fee. A sales and use tax certificate of registration through TNTAP costs nothing.·Not immediate. The Department of Revenue states it takes up to 10 business days to register your business.

   No fee. A sales and use tax certificate of registration through TNTAP costs nothing.

   Not immediate. The Department of Revenue states it takes up to 10 business days to register your business.

1. Metropolitan Nashville — Business License (Metro Business Tax)

   Businesses operating in Nashville-Davidson County obtain their license from the Davidson County Clerk's Business Services office, not the Finance Department. Tennessee gross receipts over $3,000 but under $100,000 call for a minimal activity license; $100,000 or more calls for a standard business license, and only at that level must you also register for and remit Tennessee's gross-receipts business tax to the Department of Revenue through TNTAP. Under $3,000 in receipts, no license is required. The license fee itself is flat and does not scale with receipts.

   Official government source

   $15/year flat outside Nashville city limits (General Service District) or $30/year flat within Nashville city limits (Urban Service District) — the same fee for a minimal activity license or a standard business license·Issued by the Davidson County Clerk when you apply and pay (online, in person, or by mail); standard (non-minimal-activity) licensees must first register for business tax with the TN Department of Revenue, which takes up to 10 business days.

   $15/year flat outside Nashville city limits (General Service District) or $30/year flat within Nashville city limits (Urban Service District) — the same fee for a minimal activity license or a standard business license

   Issued by the Davidson County Clerk when you apply and pay (online, in person, or by mail); standard (non-minimal-activity) licensees must first register for business tax with the TN Department of Revenue, which takes up to 10 business days.

2. Metro Nashville - Use and Occupancy Letter (Certificate of Occupancy)

   Metro Codes and Building Safety issues the Use and Occupancy Letter, Nashville's certificate of occupancy, and it is the last step of the building permit process before the barber shop can open. Apply once every required permit and inspection is complete: email [email protected] with the building permit number and your contact information, call the Building Division at 615-862-6550, or go to the Building Inspection Division on the third floor of the Metro Office Building. Permit and inspection status is visible at ePermits.Nashville.gov. Note that 615-862-6560 is the Electrical trade-permit line, not the letter line.

   Official government source

   No separate fee is published for the Use and Occupancy Letter itself; what you pay are the building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permit fees for the underlying work.·Issued once all required permits and inspections on the project are complete and approved; the letter is then emailed on request.

   No separate fee is published for the Use and Occupancy Letter itself; what you pay are the building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permit fees for the underlying work.

   Issued once all required permits and inspections on the project are complete and approved; the letter is then emailed on request.

Official Sources

• Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners
• Metro Nashville — Finance / Tax and License Administration
• Metro Nashville — Codes Administration
• Tennessee Department of Revenue — Sales Tax

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