Cookeville · Upper Cumberland
Starting a business in Putnam County.
Where to go, what it costs, and what is particular to Putnam rather than true everywhere. The rules are Tennessee’s; the office, the hours and the number of licences are local.
Where you go
Putnam County Clerk
Kerry Ledbetter
121 South Dixie Ave, Cookeville, TN 38501
Open: Mon to Fri, 8am to 4pm
What it costs in Putnam
$30inside those city limits
$15 to the county clerk, and another $15 to the city if you are inside Cookeville, Algood, Baxter, Monterey. Two licences, two offices, one business. Outside those limits it is just the county one.
The $15 is set by state law, so it is the same in every Tennessee county. You need it once you expect more than $3,000 a year.
Worth knowing: All four municipalities levy. Only Cookeville publishes its fee. The clerk also runs annexes in Monterey and Baxter with short opening hours.
Town by town
Cookeville
Own city licence needed
Also requires zoning verification and a business key holder form. The city says plainly that a business inside city limits needs both a city and a county licence.
The rest of it is the same everywhere
Choosing between a sole proprietorship and an LLC, registering with the Secretary of State, sales tax, and the order to do it all in are Tennessee-wide rather than Putnam-specific. The full guide covers them, including why an LLC costs $300 rather than the hundred or so most people expect.
Read the full guideWe serve Putnam County
The Biz Foundry is a non-profit in Cookeville and coaching is free across all fourteen Upper Cumberland counties, in person or over video. There is no office in Cookeville; there is a person who will talk to you about Cookeville.
Book a free session →Checked against official county and state sources on September 17, 2026. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.