Home Daycare 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)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

1. Tennessee DHS Family Child Care Home License

   The Tennessee Department of Human Services licenses a Family Child Care Home, which serves at least five but not more than seven unrelated children (plus up to five additional children related to the primary caregiver). A license is required once you provide care and supervision to five or more unrelated children for three or more hours per day and you do not meet a license-exempt category (Parent's Day Out, casual care, educational or recreational programs, camps, gym care, and others — several exempt categories must still register with TDHS). Care for fewer than five unrelated children, care lasting under three hours a day, and care in a child's own home do not require licensure. Operating above the threshold without a license or exemption is a Class A misdemeanor (T.C.A. 71-3-505). Licensing includes a capacity/hazard measuring visit, State Fire and environmental inspections, a Codes and Zoning clearance letter, background checks, and two walk-through visits.

   Official government source

   Not published online — after your inspections and clearance letters are complete, the TDHS Program Specialist tells you the fee amount and how to pay it (step 8 of the licensing procedure)·No published turnaround. TDHS runs a 10-step process: contact the Pre-Licensure Unit, create an eLicensing account, attend orientation, complete the Small Business Academy, file the application, take a measuring visit plus fire/environmental/Choose Safe Places reviews and a Codes and Zoning clearance letter, pay the fee, then two walk-through visits before a Provisional License is issued.

   Not published online — after your inspections and clearance letters are complete, the TDHS Program Specialist tells you the fee amount and how to pay it (step 8 of the licensing procedure)

   No published turnaround. TDHS runs a 10-step process: contact the Pre-Licensure Unit, create an eLicensing account, attend orientation, complete the Small Business Academy, file the application, take a measuring visit plus fire/environmental/Choose Safe Places reviews and a Codes and Zoning clearance letter, pay the fee, then two walk-through visits before a Provisional License is issued.

2. Tennessee Child Care Background Checks (residents and staff)

   The Tennessee Department of Human Services requires a criminal background check and Tennessee Child Abuse Registry check for anyone who owns or operates a child care agency, anyone applying to work in one as an employee, director, or manager, anyone providing substitute services for more than 36 hours in a calendar year, and any person 15 years of age or older who resides in the child care agency - a lower age than the commonly repeated '18 and older'. Fingerprinting is done through IdentoGO.

   Official government source

   TDHS does not publish a fee amount on its background check page; fingerprinting is priced by the vendor, IdentoGO. Confirm the current amount when you schedule your appointment.·TDHS does not publish how long background check results take. Start the checks early, since a family child care home license cannot be issued until every required person clears.

   TDHS does not publish a fee amount on its background check page; fingerprinting is priced by the vendor, IdentoGO. Confirm the current amount when you schedule your appointment.

   TDHS does not publish how long background check results take. Start the checks early, since a family child care home license cannot be issued until every required person clears.

3. First Aid and CPR Training (Tennessee Child Care Licensure Rules)

   Tennessee's Licensure Rules for Child Care Agencies (Chapter 1240-04-01) require all staff to obtain first aid training and CPR training within ninety (90) days of employment - not as a precondition to the license being issued. At least one staff member holding current first aid certification, and at least one holding current CPR certification, from a certifying organization recognized by the Department must be on site at all times. The certification must match the ages in care: infant/child first aid and CPR, plus adult first aid and CPR if children over twelve are present. During non-traditional hours, one staff person on duty at all times must hold current first aid certification. The rules also require a standard first aid kit accessible to all staff and first aid information posted in every area children use. Failure to hold the required certification is listed in the rules as a licensing violation.

   Official government source

   The Department of Human Services sets no fee. Courses are sold by private certifying organizations recognized by the Department, so the price is set by the provider, not the state.·Within 90 days of employment, per rule 1240-04-01. Certification must be kept current thereafter; the renewal interval is whatever the certifying organization sets, not a state-mandated two years.

   The Department of Human Services sets no fee. Courses are sold by private certifying organizations recognized by the Department, so the price is set by the provider, not the state.

   Within 90 days of employment, per rule 1240-04-01. Certification must be kept current thereafter; the renewal interval is whatever the certifying organization sets, not a state-mandated two years.

4. Tennessee Secretary of State Business Registration

   Required if you operate as an LLC, corporation, or limited partnership in Tennessee. Most home daycare providers operate as sole proprietors, which requires no Secretary of State filing - Tennessee does not recognize DBAs or fictitious names, so there is no trade-name registration for sole proprietors at the state or county level. Registering an entity provides liability protection; an existing registered entity may file an Assumed Name (form SS-4402, $20), good for five years and renewable.

   Official government source

   $100 for a for-profit Corporation Charter (form SS-4417). $300 minimum for LLC Articles of Organization (form SS-4270) - the LLC fee is $50 per member, with a $300 minimum and a $3,000 maximum. A $50 fee is never actually charged for forming either entity.·The Secretary of State publishes no processing time. File online through TNCaB at tncab.tnsos.gov rather than by mail. Registering afterward with the Tennessee Department of Revenue takes up to 10 business days.

   $100 for a for-profit Corporation Charter (form SS-4417). $300 minimum for LLC Articles of Organization (form SS-4270) - the LLC fee is $50 per member, with a $300 minimum and a $3,000 maximum. A $50 fee is never actually charged for forming either entity.

   The Secretary of State publishes no processing time. File online through TNCaB at tncab.tnsos.gov rather than by mail. Registering afterward with the Tennessee Department of Revenue takes up to 10 business days.

1. Metro Nashville Home Occupation Permit

   Required to run a business from a residence in Nashville-Davidson County. Issued by the Metro Codes and Building Safety Department's Zoning Examinations division, not the Planning Department. The property must be your primary residence and be owned by a natural person or a trust; you must be the owner, a relative of the owner, or a renter with at least a one-year lease, and you must notify adjacent property owners in writing. In single-family and two-family districts only one home occupation permit may be issued per lot. A home daycare is additionally licensed by the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and whether a day care home is an allowed use at your address is a separate zoning question for Codes.

   Official government source

   No permit fee is published by Metro Codes and Building Safety for a home occupation permit. If you need written confirmation that the use is allowed at your address, a zoning verification letter costs $50 (or $40 for a TABC letter), under the fee schedule effective April 7, 2026.·Metro Codes publishes no processing time for the home occupation permit itself; you email the Zoning Help Desk with the residential permit application, an affidavit, two proofs of primary residence, and proof that adjacent property owners were notified. A zoning verification letter for the address has a published 5-business-day turnaround.

   No permit fee is published by Metro Codes and Building Safety for a home occupation permit. If you need written confirmation that the use is allowed at your address, a zoning verification letter costs $50 (or $40 for a TABC letter), under the fee schedule effective April 7, 2026.

   Metro Codes publishes no processing time for the home occupation permit itself; you email the Zoning Help Desk with the residential permit application, an affidavit, two proofs of primary residence, and proof that adjacent property owners were notified. A zoning verification letter for the address has a published 5-business-day turnaround.

Official Sources

• Tennessee Department of Human Services - Child Care Services
• Metro Nashville Planning Department
• Tennessee Secretary of State - Business Services

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