Permits
Coffee and cart permits in Tennessee
To sell coffee in Tennessee, you work with your county health department for food and mobile vending permits, then add a business license and state tax registration. Pick your county below for the department that handles your area and the steps to open.
95 counties in Tennessee. 14 have a detailed permit page below. For any other county, check your ZIP and we will point you to the right health department.
Statewide rules in Tennessee
In Tennessee, retail food and mobile food unit permits are issued directly by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) Consumer and Industry Services division.
- Food & vending permits
- TDA, retail food establishment permitTDA, mobile food establishment permit
- Sales tax permit
- Sales and use tax registration via TNTAP, TN Dept. of Revenue
- Sales tax rate
- 7% state base rateTypical combined range: 7%-9.75%Counties, cities, and special or transit districts add local sales tax on top, so your combined rate depends on your exact address.Tennessee Revenue sales/use tax
- Food safety cards
- A Certified Food Protection Manager at every retail food establishment; nationally accredited certifications accepted.
Typical license fees
Tennessee sets food service permit fees in state law under TN Code Section 68-14-713, effective January 1, 2024. County health departments issue the permits and may separately charge their own plan review fees.
- Most food businesses
- About $210 a year
- Brick and mortar cafe with seats
- About $210 to $360 a year based on seating
- Pop-up or farmers market vendor
- $30 for a single event, or about $300 a year for a recurring farmers market unit
Plan review fees are set locally by each county health department and are not uniform statewide. The farmers market food unit permit requires an initial compliance inspection before the fee is collected. A penalty equal to half the permit fee applies if the fee is more than 30 days overdue. State sales tax registration is free.
Fee schedule, last verified July 14, 2026.
Official links, last verified July 14, 2026. Requirements vary by city and change over time.
Confirm the current steps and fees before you apply.