Sparta · Upper Cumberland
Starting a business in White County.
Where to go, what it costs, and what is particular to White rather than true everywhere. The rules are Tennessee’s; the office, the hours and the number of licences are local.
Where you go
White County Clerk
Sasha Wilson
1 East Bockman Way, Room 115, Sparta, TN 38583
Open: Mon to Fri, 8am to 5pm
What it costs in White
$30inside those city limits
$15 to the county clerk, and another $15 to the city if you are inside Sparta. 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: Clerk hours come only from tn.gov; the county's own site does not publish them.
Town by town
Doyle
Call to check
We could not confirm from an official source whether Doyle charges its own licence, and we would rather say so than guess.
No town website and a municipal code last updated in 2003. Call the town before assuming either way.
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 White-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 White 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 Sparta; there is a person who will talk to you about Sparta.
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 If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.