Dog Walking / Pet Sitting business requirements — Tennessee

What it takes to legally operate in Tennessee. Add your city for local permits.

1 item below — add your city to check local permits, and we're still verifying. We show what we've confirmed and flag what we haven't rather than guess.

Formation & federal100% verified

Form an LLC (or operate as a sole proprietor)Depends on your situation

Tennessee LLC filing fee ~$300

$300From our reference data — confirm on the official siteOfficial source ↗
Employer Identification Number (EIN)Required

Get a free EIN from the IRS

FreeVerified against the official sourceOfficial source ↗
Ongoing entity reportRequired

Tennessee: annual report

$300 · annualFrom our reference data — confirm on the official siteOfficial source ↗

Tennessee taxes100% verified

Sales / use tax registrationDepends on your situation

Tennessee has a sales tax

From our reference data — confirm on the official siteOfficial source ↗
State income taxNot required

Tennessee: no personal income tax

From our reference data — confirm on the official siteOfficial source ↗

Licenses100% verified

Dog Walking / Pet Sitting occupational licenseRequired

Generally just a local business license. Pet-sitting insurance and bonding are expected by clients and required to list on care marketplaces. Boarding pets in your home adds local kennel/zoning rules.

Verified against the official source · Sep 2026

Local permits0% verified

Local permitsNot yet verified

Local permits (zoning, home occupation, signage, health) are set by your city/county — tell us your city for specifics.

Not yet verified — check the official source

Insurance0% verified

General liability insuranceRecommended

General liability insurance and a surety bond are expected for dog walking / pet sitting work.

Not yet verified — check the official source

Save this to your FirstBearing roadmap

Keep these requirements, track what you've done, get the filled-in paperwork and one next step every day. Free for 30 days — no card.

Save & build my roadmap

Official Tennessee agencies

AI-generated guidance is for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Disclosures · Trust center