HomiCrew

Your rights

Tennessee

Tennessee · home improvement

Your rights in Tennessee

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

If you buy at home or away from their business ($25+)

Cancel for any reason: mail the seller's cancel form, postmarked before midnight of the third business day.

Some sales are excepted, such as emergency work you ask for in a signed waiver.

The exception, in the rule's words
  • An emergency: if you ask the seller to provide the goods or services without delay because of an emergency and agree in writing that you are waiving your right to cancel because of the emergency, you may lose the right to cancel.
Read the full rule

When it applies

Sales of goods or services of more than $25 made at your home, from the back of a truck, or anywhere other than the seller's established place of business (Tennessee Home Solicitation Sales Act of 1974, T.C.A. 47-18-701 et seq.).

If you buy goods or services for more than $25 at your home, from the back of a truck or anywhere other than the seller's place of business, you can cancel for any reason and get a full refund. Cancel in writing: sign and mail the cancellation form the seller must give you, postmarked before midnight of the third business day after the sale.

Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors · read on tn.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

License number

On the contract, ads and permits

A state license is needed for jobs of $25,000 or more. In nine counties, remodeling from $3,000 needs a home improvement license.

Read the full rule

Tennessee requires a state contractor license for any job of $25,000 or more. In Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby counties, home remodeling jobs from $3,000 to $24,999 also need a state Home Improvement license. Below those amounts there is no state general license, though electricians and plumbers may need a state or local trade license. Check any license at verify.tn.gov before you sign.

Who needs one: Statewide, a contractor license is required before bidding, offering or negotiating a price on a project of $25,000 or more (labor and materials) as a prime contractor; electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing subcontractors need one when their portion is $25,000 or more, and masonry subcontractors at $100,000. A separate Home Improvement license is required for residential remodeling jobs of $3,000 to $24,999 on one- to four-unit homes in Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby counties.

Who doesn't

  • Property owners building or improving on their own property for their own use, not for sale, lease or rent.
  • Home Improvement license only: people who work for a contractor for wages or salary, and employees of a licensed home improvement contractor.
  • Home Improvement license only: plumbers, electricians and other trades licensed under state or local law, working within that license (installing central heating or air conditioning counts).
  • Home Improvement license only: holders of a state contractor license working within its terms, and interior designers.
  • Contractor license only: subcontractors other than electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing and masonry (for example flooring, landscaping, fencing and concrete) when they work under another contractor instead of bidding directly to the owner.

Where the number must appear

  • the home improvement contract
  • home improvement advertising
  • building permits for home improvement work

Issued by: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance)

Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors · read on tn.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: TN law

Most of these apply only in nine counties, to home improvement jobs over $3,000.

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 9 in writing before you sign.

  • Complete written agreementIn the covered counties, over $3,000: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Be in legible writing and contain the complete agreement between you and the contractor.

  • Names, addresses & license #: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Show the full names and addresses of all parties, the contractor's home improvement license number and the date it was signed.

  • Work & goods describedWhat work and materials are included: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Describe the work to be done and the goods to be used.

  • "Do not sign if blank" noticeJust above your signature: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Have no blank spaces to be filled in after you sign, clearly describe any other documents that are part of it, and carry this notice just above your signature: "NOTICE TO OWNER: Do not sign this contract if blank. You are entitled to a copy of the contract at the time you sign."

  • Dates & agreed price: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Give the approximate dates the work will begin and be substantially completed, and state the agreed price.

  • Board licensing noticeQuestions go to the Board: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include a notice that all home improvement contractors must be licensed by the Board for Licensing Contractors and that questions about a contractor should go to the Board.

  • No confession of judgmentNo power of attorney to confess it: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Not contain a power of attorney to confess judgment.

  • In their licensed nameAnywhere in Tennessee: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Anywhere in Tennessee: a contractor licensed by the state Board must make its contracts in the name in which it is licensed.

  • 3-day cancel notice & formIf sold away from their office: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Anywhere in Tennessee: if the sale of more than $25 was made at your home or anywhere other than the seller's place of business, the seller must tell you about your three-day right to cancel and give you a cancellation form.

On signing day

  • No blank spaces
  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources18 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • Where things were read: the license thresholds and the nine-county list come from the Board for Licensing Contractors pages and TDCI's help center (support.commerce.tn.gov). The rules come from the Board's rule chapters 0680-01 and 0680-07 on publications.tnsosfiles.com. The home improvement statute (T.C.A. 62-6-501 to 62-6-521) was read in the official 2007 session law that enacted it (Public Chapter 460). The cancellation right comes from the Attorney General's Consumer Laws page and the AG/Consumer Affairs home-repair guide. An independent verifier opened every source listed here on 2026-10-04. All loaded, though the Board's Home Improvement page had to be downloaded directly because the fetch tool's connection kept resetting.
  • The official consolidated Tennessee Code is hosted on LexisNexis (the Board's Laws page links to it). It needs JavaScript and could not be read by automated fetch, so the statute text here comes from the 2007 session law. Later amendments renumbered the definitions: the Board cites 62-6-501(4)(A), but the 2007 act has (5)(A). An unofficial commercial code mirror (2024 edition), used only to look for amendments and not cited, showed the home improvement definition and its exclusions, 62-6-508, 62-6-510(11)-(12) and 62-6-516(b) with the same substance as the 2007 act. Amendments after that edition were not checked. A person should confirm the current text on the Lexis Tennessee Code.
  • Deposit: T.C.A. 62-6-510(12) bars a home improvement contractor from taking, at or before signing, a deposit of more than one-third of the contract price unless (A) the contract lets the contractor furnish a performance and payment or lien and completion bond covering the whole job and the bond is furnished, or (B) after being told in writing of the right to withhold final payment, the owner chooses to pay before completion, or the parties agree on a schedule of payments before, during and after completion. 62-6-510(11) also bars demanding or taking any payment before the home improvement contract is signed.
  • depositCap is null because this is not a general cap. It sits in the home improvement part, which the Board applies only in nine counties and to jobs over $3,000, and exception (B) lets the parties agree to a different payment schedule. The app must not compute a Tennessee deposit limit. In the nine counties it may say that a deposit of more than one-third at signing is allowed only with a bond or an agreed payment schedule, so it is a reason to ask a question.
  • Official advice, not law: the TDCI/Consumer Affairs brochure (revised April 2018) says never pay more than one-third down. The AG/Consumer Affairs home-repair guide (June 2011) says a down payment, if one is needed, should not exceed 10% to 25% of the price. Neither is a legal limit.
  • Scope of the home improvement part: 62-6-516(b) in the 2007 act lets a county that was excluded on July 1, 2007 'elect to make the provisions of this part applicable' by a two-thirds vote (Board rule 0680-07-.14). That supports treating the contract-content and deposit rules as applying only in covered counties, as this entry does. But 62-6-502(a) says no person 'whether subject to licensing by any law or otherwise' may commit an act the part prohibits, so the question is not fully settled. Counties can opt in, so the nine-county list can grow; check with the Board.
  • Home Improvement threshold: the statute excludes jobs with a contract price of $3,000 or less (so it covers jobs over $3,000). The 2018 brochure says 'above $3,000', while the Board's page says $3,000 to $24,999. The app should say 'about $3,000'. Under 62-6-508(c), a contract that misses the required items is not invalid for that reason alone.
  • Cancellation: the AG page says 'more than $25', does not define 'business day' and gives no refund deadline, so refundWithinDays is null. The statute text (47-18-701 to -708) was not read on an official site. The unofficial mirror, not cited, suggests the statute differs from the AG summary in several ways. 'Business day' excludes only Sunday and listed holidays (47-18-702). The seller must return payments within 10 days of cancellation (47-18-705). A buyer has 30 days to cancel if the seller hid that they were selling (47-18-707). The definition covers personal solicitation at a residence and excludes cash sales under $25 and sales made after prior negotiations (47-18-702(4)). An emergency waiver also requires that the seller has made a substantial start on the work and that any goods cannot be returned in as good condition (47-18-703(5)). None of this is used in the fields until it is confirmed on Lexis. For the same reason the emergency exception says 'may lose' rather than the AG's 'will not be able to cancel'. The AG's 'back of a truck, anywhere but the seller's established place of business' wording resembles the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429), which also applies. The app should not say whether Saturday counts as a business day.
  • generalCredential is 'licensed' because the state licenses contractors of every trade statewide, but only for projects of $25,000 or more; the Home Improvement license below that amount covers nine counties only. Local governments may still license plumbing, electrical and gas or mechanical work (62-6-503(a)) but may not add their own home improvement license. Below $25,000, the state LLE and LLP licenses apply only in municipalities that use the state Division of Fire Prevention for permits or inspections, and the Board says to check with the local government.
  • Verifier removed hvac and roofing from statewideCredentialedTrades. Their only statewide credential is the contractor license at $25,000 or more (CMC-C for HVAC, BC-21 for roofing), the same threshold every prime contractor of any trade faces. Below $25,000 there is no state HVAC or roofing credential: the 2018 brochure says 'HVAC - See Electrician or Contractor', and roofing has only the nine-county Home Improvement license. Listing them would let the app say Tennessee licenses HVAC or roofing contractors, which is wrong for most residential jobs. Both are covered by generalCredential and its $25,000 threshold, so they are left out of both lists.
  • Trades left out of both lists: hvac and roofing (see the note above); masonry-concrete (a masonry license is needed only when the masonry portion is $100,000 or more, and concrete has no separate state license); water-treatment (TDEC licenses water treatment installers for well systems only); smart-home (the state has an Alarm Systems Contractors board, but its scope was not compared with this slug); locksmith (no locksmith board is listed among TDCI regulatory boards, but this was not confirmed); cleaning, junk-removal, handyman and the rest (not determined).
  • Sources not on a .gov/.us/legislature domain were cited alongside the official ones: https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/105/pub/pc0460.pdf; https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/0680/0680-01.20251118.pdf; https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/0680/0680-07.20251118.pdf

General information from official Tennessee sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

Check a quote