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Beer Permitting Red Tape – Are Businesses Seeing More or Less?
Published: Sep 30, 2026
Chattanooga Cuts Red Tape for Beer Permits
The City of Chattanooga recently approved an ordinance eliminating the requirement to annually renew beer permits.
Previously, Chattanooga Beer laws required permit holders to file annual renewals. If the permit was not renewed within 30 days of December 31, the business was required to file a new beer permit application.
All this talk about red tape reminds us of Taylor Swift’s Paper Rings:
I want to drive away with you
I want your complications too
I want your dreary Mondays
Wrap your arms around me, baby boy
Chattanooga law used to require:
Sec. 5-48. - Renewal of the beer permit
Each beer permit is required to be renewed each year. If a permit is not renewed within thirty (30) days of expiration of the permit, then a permittee shall have to submit another application through the regulatory unit.
The Chattanooga beer code now provides:
Sec. 5-48. Expiration of beer permits shall be in accordance with T.C.A. § 57-5-103.
There is no renewal process required by state law; neither in T.C.A. § 57-5-103 nor any other section of the beer laws. Essentially, Chattanooga eliminated the renewal requirement.
Beer permit holders are still required to pay the $100 annual privilege imposed under T.C.A. § 57-5-104(b)(1).
Meanwhile, Nashville Rolls Out More Red Tape.
While Chattanooga is busy making processes easier for businesses, Nashville is taking the opposite approach. The Metro Nashville beer board has always required proof of Use & Occupancy for beer permit applications. Recently, many applicants are being required to obtain new Use & Occupancy approval.
If a new tenant takes over an existing space, the Metro Codes Department is requiring a Commercial Permit Application, even if there is no new construction. Copies of the Commercial Permit Application and permitting FAQ are here.
This new process basically requires the new tenant to obtain all of the approvals required for a building permit, without the benefit of having an experienced contractor handle the process for the business. Floor plans with dimensions are required. The application is subject to a detailed review process. Then, the space has to pass several inspections before a new U&O letter can be issued.
The process can take several weeks, adding time and money to businesses otherwise ready to open their doors to customers.
The objective seems reasonable: making sure that spaces are safe to occupy. However, the process punishes all new businesses in Nashville, instead of stopping a few bad actors. More red tape for businesses trying to operate in Music City.
