5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Sumner County, Tennessee.
Verified from official government sources
In Tennessee, counties do zone unincorporated land. The Sumner County Zoning Resolution allows home occupations as an accessory use, while Gallatin, Hendersonville, Portland, and White House run their own zoning inside city limits.
Home occupations in Sumner County carry no outward sign of business. The county Zoning Resolution and the city ordinances in Gallatin, Hendersonville, Portland, and White House bar commercial signage and displays in residential areas.
A Sumner County home occupation must not draw traffic beyond what a normal household generates. County and city zoning cap client visits, limit nonresident employees, and bar walk-in retail in residential areas.
The Tennessee Food Freedom Act lets Sumner County residents sell most homemade foods direct to consumers with no license, no inspection, and no revenue cap. State law controls, and the county adds no cottage-food permit.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 53-1-118(a)
Notwithstanding part 2 of this chapter, or another law to the contrary, except as provided in this section, the production and sale of homemade food items under this chapter are exempt from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws of this state, except when the department of health is investigating a reported foodborne illness.
Caring for five or more unrelated children in your home requires a Tennessee DHS license, and Sumner County or city zoning also applies. A family child care home covers five to seven children.
1 cities in Sumner County have their own home business rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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Sumner County Ordinance Hub →