Tennessee · Roofing licensing · official-source guide
Tennessee licenses roofing through the Board for Licensing Contractors, part of the Department of Commerce and Insurance. A contractor license is required for projects of $25,000 or more, and roofing is classification BC-21. Residential work from $3,000 to $24,999 needs a Home Improvement license in nine listed counties. Public lookup is available online.
State-level license
Yes
Public lookup
Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-28. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Yes, with a dollar threshold. Tennessee licenses roofers through the Board for Licensing Contractors, which sits inside the Department of Commerce and Insurance and was established in 1931. The governing law is Tennessee Code Annotated Title 62, Chapter 6. There is no standalone roofing board and no separate roofing statute that replaces the general contractor scheme. Roofing is handled as a classification inside the contractor license. The Board's classification outline lists it as BC-21, Roofing over $25K, including gutters and vinyl siding. That single line tells you how Tennessee thinks about the trade. A roofer who contracts for a small job is outside the state contractor license. A roofer who contracts for a large job needs the license, and so does the general contractor above them. The Board lists four license programs on its main page: general contractors, home improvement contractors, limited licensed electricians and limited licensed plumbers. Roofers touch the first two. Because a license is tied to a monetary limit and a classification, the practical question for a Tennessee roofing company is never just whether it is licensed. It is whether the license class, the dollar limit and the county all match the job on the estimate. The rest of this page walks through each of those checks in order.
The Board states that a contractor license is required before contracting, and that includes bidding, offering to engage and negotiating a price, for projects of $25,000 or more. That applies to a prime contractor, which the Board defines as one who bids or contracts directly with the owner. Roofing subcontractors get their own sentence. Subcontractors must be licensed when contracting directly with a contractor, not the owner, to perform electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC or roofing work when that portion of the project is $25,000 or more, including materials, equipment and labor. Notice the wording: the trigger includes bidding and negotiating, not only signing. A roofer who quotes a $30,000 commercial re-roof without a license has already crossed the line on the Board's own description. Notice also that materials count toward the figure, so a shingle tear-off on a large home can reach the threshold faster than the labor price suggests. The Board adds that a project cannot be split into phases to get around the law. The classification outline repeats the point for roofing: a subcontractor license is not required for most building sub-categories, except roofing at $25K and above or masonry at $100K and above. Roofing is one of only two trades named as an exception.
Tennessee has a second license for smaller residential work, and roofing is named in it. The Board says a Home Improvement license is required for residential remodeling projects from $3,000 to $24,999, but only in counties that have adopted the law. The Board lists those counties as Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. Davidson includes Nashville, Knox includes Knoxville, Hamilton includes Chattanooga and Shelby includes Memphis. Home improvement is defined in T.C.A. 62-6-501(4)(A) and covers repair, replacement, remodeling, alterations or additions to land or a residential building. The Board's list of covered work includes driveways, swimming pools, porches, garages, landscaping, fences, roofing and painting. So a roof replacement priced between $3,000 and $24,999 on a house in one of those nine counties needs this license. The same job in a county that has not adopted the law falls under no state license requirement based on the Board's page. Requirements listed by the Board are a surety bond of $10,000 or equivalent financial responsibility, photo ID and Social Security number, general liability and workers compensation proof, Secretary of State registration for entities, and remodeling experience. The initial fee is $250.
A Tennessee contractor license carries two labels: a classification and a monetary limit. Classification defines the type of work you may bid and perform. The monetary limit caps the size of a single project. For roofers, the classification outline shows two routes. The first is the specialty building category BC-21, which the Board lists as Roofing over $25K, including gutters and vinyl siding. The outline says that for up to five building categories no trade exam is required, though the Business and Law exam and experience are still required. The second route is a building classification. BC-A covers residential work, BC-B commercial and BC-C industrial, and the Board offers combined exams such as Res/Com/Ind (BC). A roofing company that also frames additions, replaces decks or does siding may prefer BC-A because it covers whole residential projects. Commercial roofers working on large flat-roof and low-slope buildings should look at whether BC-B or the roofing category matches their contracts. The Board also lists roof decks as a separate category, BC-12, which matters if your crews build the deck under the membrane. Classification changes are done online through the licensee's CORE account with no fee, and exam scores or a reciprocity waiver must accompany the request. Pick the class to match the contracts you actually sign.
Every new contractor applicant must pass the Tennessee Business and Law exam, and a trade exam is required for certain classifications. The Board says exams are typically valid for two years and that the exam is open-book. Starting July 1, 2026, Prov became the Board's exam provider, replacing PSI for new scheduling, and PSI continues to administer exams already booked through September. The person who sits for the exams is the Qualifying Agent, or QA. The QA may be an owner, full-time employee or officer. A QA without ownership must complete a Power of Attorney form. The person taking the Business and Law exam does not have to be the person taking the trade exam, and up to two people may take each exam for the company. That matters for roofing firms where the owner runs sales and a foreman knows the trade. If a QA leaves, the law requires a replacement to be designated within three months, under T.C.A. 62-6-115 and Rule 0680-1-.23, or the classification becomes invalid until one is added. Exam preparation courses must come from Board-licensed providers, and the Board lists five. The Board's page names a Business and Law Reference Manual and a candidate information bulletin as study material. Exam passing scores and the exact question counts were not confirmed for this page.
The part of Tennessee licensing that surprises roofers most is the financial test. The Board requires a Reviewed or Audited financial statement prepared by a licensed independent accountant. It must be under 12 months old at the initial application and follow GAAP. Reviewed is required for limits of $3,000,000 or less, and Audited for limits above that. The monetary limit is calculated as 10 times the lesser of working capital or net worth, plus required experience. The Board's own example: a $150,000 limit requires $15,000 in both working capital and net worth, and if working capital is $10,000 with net worth of $200,000, the limit is $100,000. An unlimited limit requires $300,000 in both, plus required experience. The limit applies per project, with a 10 percent tolerance, and there is no cap on the number of projects. Beginning July 1, 2026, contractors may use a Contractors Surety Bond instead of the CPA-reviewed or audited statement, in an amount equal to at least 50 percent of the monetary limit requested. For a small residential roofer, there is also a restricted residential license, BC-A/r, for work under $125,000, which replaces the two exams with a community college course. It has no 10 percent tolerance and no joint ventures.
Tennessee requires proof of insurance to get or renew a contractor or home improvement license. The Board's insurance resource document says state law has required proof of general liability insurance since July 1, 2007. It sets minimum general liability amounts tied to your monetary limit: $100,000 for limits up to $500,000, $500,000 for limits from $500,001 to $1,500,000, and $1,000,000 for limits above $1,500,000. Under $25,000, the Home Improvement tier is also $100,000. That document carries a March 2011 revision date, so confirm current minimums with the Board before you buy a policy. Workers compensation is required unless an exemption applies. Owners, officers and members may register as a Construction Services Provider with the Secretary of State, or complete the exemption questionnaire in the application. The Board's document gives the example of a sole proprietor or partnership with no subs or employees working directly for a residential property owner as potentially exempt. The Board's insurance document sets no roofing-specific insurance rule. Home improvement licensees also post the $10,000 surety bond or an irrevocable letter of credit. Contractor license holders do not post a state bond unless they use the surety bond option or a guaranty indemnity in place of a deficient statement.
The Board's fee page lists the state charges. For a contractor license: $250 for initial, reinstatement or ownership change, $200 for renewal, and a $20 late fee per month for up to 12 months. A mode of operation change costs $100 and a duplicate license costs $25. For the Home Improvement license: $250 initial, $200 renewal, and a $10 late fee per month for up to three months. All fees are non-refundable. The Board's renewal page says the renewal option appears in your CORE account within 90 days of expiration, and that renewals should go in at least 30 days before expiration to avoid working on an expired license. Contractor licenses have a 12-month grace period. After 12 months expired, you file a new application. Home improvement licenses have a three-month grace period. BC-A and BC-A/r contractors must complete eight hours of continuing education with every bi-annual renewal and upload the certificate. Renewals above $1.5 million in limit need a compiled financial statement from a licensed CPA, and smaller ones may submit a self-prepared balance sheet. A license can be retired for $25 per year for up to seven years, then a $200 reset fee applies.
Tennessee does not honor another state's contractor license. The Board says plainly that you cannot operate in Tennessee with a license from another state. What it offers is a trade exam waiver. If you hold an active license in a participating state and the classification you want requires a trade exam, you may get the exam waived by having that state complete the License Verification form and return it with your application. The Board lists these states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia, each limited to certain license types. Arkansas is limited to commercial and residential building, for example, and Ohio to electrical, plumbing and HVAC, so an Ohio roofing registration would not qualify. Tennessee also accepts the NASCLA National Commercial exam. The waiver covers the trade exam only. The Business and Law exam, the financial statement, insurance and the rest of the application still apply, and the Board notes the waiver does not extend to Home Improvement, LLE or LLP licenses. This matters after a hailstorm. Crews from Texas, Oklahoma or Georgia arrive quickly, but a company bidding a $25,000 or larger Tennessee roof without a Tennessee license is bidding unlicensed on the Board's definition, because bidding and negotiating count.
Storm restoration is where roofing and insurance regulators overlap. Tennessee's Insurance Division licenses public adjusters and public adjuster business entities, according to the Division's producer licensing page, and its rules and laws page confirms it regulates public adjusters under Tennessee law and rules. Insurance statutes sit in Tenn. Code Ann. Title 56 and insurance rules in Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 0780-01. The consumer brochure published by the Department after disasters tells homeowners to file the claim quickly, document damage with photos or video, make only the repairs needed to prevent further damage, such as covering leaking roofs, and hold permanent repairs until the insurer has inspected and the cost is agreed. It warns against contractors selling door-to-door, high pressure tactics and large upfront payments, and suggests paying no more than one third upfront. A roofing company should read that as the consumer's checklist against you: bring a license number, written terms, and a payment schedule. Whether a roofing contractor may negotiate a claim, advertise to handle the claim, or waive a deductible is a matter for the statutes, and this page could not fetch those provisions from a primary source. Do not assume a roofing license lets you act as an adjuster.
The Board's public pages for applicants and licensees do not spell out an advertising rule, and this page could not retrieve the statute or the rule text that would. That gap matters, so here is what is confirmed. The Board issues each licensee a license, a certificate and an ID pocket card, and the renewal page says active licensees who retire must return all three. The Board also treats a licensed entity by its exact name and mode of operation: if you operate under a DBA, the full DBA name must appear on the Secretary of State certificate and all forms submitted with the application. Practical consequence: your marketing name should match the name on file. The Board's disaster brochure tells homeowners to verify a contractor's license at verify.tn.gov, which means customers are trained to look you up by license. Put your license number where a customer would check it, on your website, estimates and contracts, until you confirm the exact display rule and any penalty with the Board directly at (615) 741-8307, the number shown on the Department's brochure. Do not call yourself a licensed contractor in a classification you do not hold. A BC-21 roofing license does not cover HVAC or electrical work, and the Board lists separate classifications for each.
Tennessee maintains a public license lookup. The Board's help page describes a Verify Public Search tool that lets anyone look up a license, credential or registration for an individual or business, check its status, see expiration dates and view public disciplinary actions. The Board says results are updated daily. The lookup lives at search.cloud.commerce.tn.gov, and the Department's brochure directs homeowners to verify.tn.gov, which resolves to the same page. The Board also has a separate Verify a Qualifying Agent tool, which matters because a contractor classification is only valid while a QA is attached. The Board publishes formal disciplinary actions, listed by month, on its Regulatory Board Disciplinary Actions page, including suspensions, revocations and fines. For complaints, the Department of Commerce and Insurance accepts them when a consumer believes they were the victim of an unfair or deceptive business practice, witnessed unlicensed activity or saw suspected misconduct. The Board states that it cannot give legal advice or represent private individuals seeking refunds, and that its jurisdiction is limited to seeking discipline against a respondent's license. It points consumers to the Division of Consumer Affairs mediation program. For a roofer, the lesson is to expect the lookup before the first estimate and keep your classification, limit and QA current.
The state license is one layer. The Board's contractor page adds that an applicant must obtain a business tax license through the Department of Revenue and must hold one for each city or county where it plans to operate. Entities also register with the Secretary of State, whether a Tennessee corporation, an out-of-state corporation registering as a foreign entity, an LLC or a limited partnership, and any DBA must appear on the certificate. Building permits are a separate matter that this page could not confirm from a primary source. The Board's disaster brochure tells homeowners to ask contractors for proof of necessary licenses, building permits, insurance and bonding, so expect customers to ask. Roofers working in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga should check with the city or county codes office for permit requirements on re-roofs, and should remember that Davidson, Shelby, Knox and Hamilton counties are among the nine where the Home Improvement license applies to residential work from $3,000 to $24,999. A roofer with a $10,000 residential job in Memphis therefore needs a state license, while the same job in a non-adopting county may not. Budget for the Board's fees plus local tax registration in every jurisdiction you serve. Local permit fees and inspection rules were not verified here.
These are common details other guides publish about Tennessee, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
It depends on price and county. A contractor license is required for projects of $25,000 or more. Residential work from $3,000 to $24,999 needs a Home Improvement license in nine listed counties, including Davidson, Shelby, Knox and Hamilton. Check both numbers against your estimate.
The Board lists BC-21 as Roofing over $25K, including gutters and vinyl siding. Roofers can also hold a building classification such as BC-A for residential work. Roof decks have a separate category, BC-12.
Only under the dollar line. A subcontractor who contracts directly with a contractor for roofing work must be licensed when that portion is $25,000 or more, counting materials, equipment and labor. Roofing is one of two trades the Board names as an exception.
The Board lists Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. It covers residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999, and roofing is named in the covered work. Other counties are not listed.
The Board charges $250 for an initial contractor license and $200 to renew, with a $20 monthly late fee for up to 12 months. Home Improvement is $250 initial and $200 renewal. All fees are non-refundable.
Home Improvement licensees must post a $10,000 surety bond or equivalent financial responsibility. Contractor license applicants prove finances with a reviewed or audited statement, or, starting July 1, 2026, a surety bond of at least 50 percent of the monetary limit.
No license from another state is honored. The Board waives only the trade exam for holders of active licenses in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia, within listed license types. Georgia is not on the list.
General liability and workers compensation. The Board's document sets general liability minimums of $100,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000 depending on monetary limit. Workers compensation applies unless an exemption is registered. The document is dated 2011, so confirm current limits.
Renewals are bi-annual. BC-A and BC-A/r contractors complete eight hours of continuing education with each renewal. Contractor licenses have a 12-month grace period with a $20 monthly late fee, then a new application is needed.
Through the Board's Verify Public Search tool, which shows status, expiration and public discipline, updated daily. The Department's post-disaster brochure tells homeowners to check verify.tn.gov before hiring a contractor.
Tennessee's Insurance Division licenses public adjusters as a separate credential. This page could not confirm what the statutes allow a roofer to say or do about a claim, so do not negotiate claims without checking Title 56 or asking the Insurance Division.
File with the Department of Commerce and Insurance through the Board's complaint page. The Board can seek discipline against a license but cannot get refunds for you. It points consumers to the Division of Consumer Affairs mediation program.
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