Business Licensing & Operations in Nashville, TN (2026)
6 verified business licensing & operations rules for Nashville, Tennessee, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Metro requires a board-issued license before any sexually oriented business opens, and zoning confines these uses to an adult entertainment overlay district set back 500 feet from schools, churches, day cares and parks.
Nashville Adult Entertainment Permit and Spacing
Significant RestrictionsMetropolitan Code of Laws § 17.36.260
B.Within the overlay district, no adult entertainment establishment shall be located within five hundred feet (measured property line to property line) of:1.A religious institution;2.A facility engaged primarily in community education;3.A day care center or day care home;4.A college or university; or5.A park.C.No adult entertainment establishment shall locate within an adopted redevelopment dis...
Tobacco Retail License
Metro's age-restricted-venue vaping ban carves out retail vapor product stores, shops that draw their largest sales category from vapor products and accessories, along with retail tobacco stores, cigar bars, hookah bars and vapor bars.
Nashville Vape Shops Exempt From Vaping Ban
Few RestrictionsMetropolitan Code of Laws § 10.19.020
A.Smoking and the use of vapor products is prohibited in all age-restricted venues.B.Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, the prohibition on smoking and the use of vapor products in age-restricted venues shall not apply to:1.retail tobacco stores;2.retail vapor product stores;3.cigar bars;4.hookah bars;5.vapor bars.
Secondhand Dealers
Metro Nashville requires pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers, and junk dealers to hold every item purchased for 15 days before resale, keep a police-inspectable register of each transaction, and secure a pawnbroker license before displaying pawn-shop signage.
Nashville Secondhand and Junk Dealer Rules
Some RestrictionsMetropolitan Code of Laws § 6.100.040
Pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers and junk dealers shall retain possession at their place of business, of all goods, wares or merchandise purchased by them for a period of fifteen days before a resale or exchange thereof; provided, that a resale or exchange may be allowed to be made before the expiration of the fifteen-day period upon obtaining a written permit from the chief of police. This sect...
Pawnbrokers
Metro Nashville requires a license before anyone can operate a pawnbroking business, plus a police-inspected register of every item taken in pawn and, in the urban services district, daily reports to the police chief.
Nashville Pawnbroker License Rules
Significant RestrictionsMetropolitan Code of Laws § 6.100.010
It is unlawful for any person engaged in the sale or exchange of secondhand articles or any other business, to display any sign, device or subterfuge in or about his premises where such business is conducted, resembling the ordinary sign commonly used by pawnbrokers, unless such person shall have first secured from the metropolitan government and has in his possession a license to engage in a g...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Metro Nashville's zoning code bars auto repair as a home occupation outright: repairing automobiles or other transportation equipment from your house is never a permitted home business, permit or not.
Nashville Home Auto Repair Ban
Heavy RestrictionsMetropolitan Code of Laws § 17.16.250.D.5.c
c. The following are not permitted as home occupations regardless of whether customer visits are allowed: i. The manufacture or repair of automobiles and other transportation equipment. ii. The repair of equipment that takes place outdoors.
Towing Companies
Private-property nonconsent towing in Nashville and Davidson County is capped at $155 for vehicles under 7,000 pounds, with storage limited to $40 per day and no fee for the first two hours.
Nashville Non-Consent Towing Rate Limits
Some RestrictionsMetropolitan Code of Laws § 6.80.550(H)
Rate Schedule for Non-consent Towing from Private Property. Any towing and storage firm engaged in the business of non-consent towing shall not charge the owner of any towed vehicle or personal property in excess of the following rates. 1. Towing: a. Vehicles under seven thousand pounds GVWR ..... $155.00 maximum ... 2. Storage. The maximum fee for storage of any vehicle removed from private pr...