Breeding Dogs in Tennessee: Commercial Breeder Act Status, Dealer Rules and Puppy Sales Tax

Start with what the Tennessee General Assembly's record shows. HB0386 in the 106th General Assembly became Public Chapter 591 on July 16, 2009. Its effective dates were July 8, 2009 for notice, staffing and rulemaking, and January 1, 2010 for other purposes.

The enacted material described a commercial breeder as someone keeping 20 or more adult female dogs or cats to sell the offspring as companion animals. It also covered a license, fees tied to animal numbers, premises inspection, a valid Tennessee sales-tax registration number, annual renewal, records and reports. The bill history shows amendments before passage that deleted a 75-animal licensing prohibition, moved some duties from Agriculture to Health, and removed specified fees. The enacted Public Chapter 591 still shows a 75-animal prohibition, so the two documents have to be read together. Treat all of it as a record of what the legislature wrote in 2009, not as a licensing manual.

Today's Title 44, Chapter 17 lists Part 1, "Dog and Cat Dealers," as sections 44-17-101 through 44-17-122. That part covers dealer definitions, dealer licenses, inspections, records, research-facility transactions, reports, violations and enforcement. Before you tell anyone you do or do not need a separate state breeder license, ask the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Animal Health office which former Commercial Breeder Act provisions, if any, remain in force. The Animal Health rules page is where the department lists its dog and cat rules.

No. They describe a proposal. Fiscal memorandum FM1269 from the 109th General Assembly describes a proposed Commercial Dog Breeder Registration Act. As amended, it would have covered a person keeping 16 or more fertile female dogs in Tennessee for the primary purpose of breeding or selling, or a person selling 40 or more dogs in a calendar year. It proposed a registration fee of $1,450 every two years, plus inspection, veterinary-care documentation, records and penalties.

The related HB2303 bill page lists Representative Swann and, for SB2175, Senator Haile. HB2303 was taken off notice in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee on March 15, 2016, and it did not become a public chapter. Later bills used other numbers. HB0265 in 2017 and 2018 proposed registration at 10 intact adult females and was taken off notice on February 21, 2018. SB2513 in 2023 and 2024 proposed a 10-dog threshold with fees and inspections, and went to a Senate subcommittee on March 12, 2024.

So, when an older article, a forum post or an AI answer tells you Tennessee requires registration at 16 females or 40 dogs sold, check it against the Department of Agriculture before you act on it. The same goes for the $1,450 fee.

The statute defines a dealer as a person who, for compensation or profit, does one of three things. They buy, sell, transport or deliver dogs or cats for transportation for research purposes. They buy or sell 25 or more dogs or cats in a calendar year for resale in Tennessee or transportation out of Tennessee. Or they buy from or sell to a private person at a flea market. "Person" is broad and includes individuals and business entities.

Read that carefully against how you sell. Counting dogs sold in the calendar year, noting whether any buyer is reselling or taking the dog out of state, and noting whether you ever sell at a flea market are the facts that matter. A breeder who sells a small number of home-raised puppies directly to families may not fit the definition, but I can't rule on your case. Animal Health can, and it can tell you how the Department of Agriculture's Dog and Cat Dealers rules, Chapter 0080-02-15, apply to you.

The Department of Agriculture lists two separate rule chapters under Animal Health Rules. Chapter 0080-02-12 is Dogs and Cats. Chapter 0080-02-15 is Dog and Cat Dealers. They are the department's own rules, written under the statute, and they are where inspection, transport and record questions get answered.

If you breed at home or in a kennel, call or email Animal Health with a short list of facts: how many breeding females you keep, how many dogs you expect to sell this year, how you sell them, and whether any leave the state. Ask these questions:

1. Does my operation fall under the dealer definition in 44-17-102?
2. Does Chapter 0080-02-12 or 0080-02-15 apply to my setup?
3. Is any commercial-breeder provision from the 2009 act in force?
4. What records and inspections come with a license, if I need one?

Write down the date, the person's name and the answer. If you later get a different answer from someone else, you will know what you were told and when.

USDA APHIS enforces the federal Animal Welfare Act, which is a separate system from Tennessee's. APHIS guidance gives examples that call for a federal license: wholesale sales of dogs, sales to pet stores, brokers or research facilities, and retail sales where the buyer, seller and dog are not physically together before the buyer takes custody. That last one is the sight-unseen sale, and it can reach a breeder who sells only online.

APHIS also lists exemptions. Retail sales where buyer, seller and dog are physically together are exempt. Keeping four or fewer breeding females and selling only their offspring born and raised on your premises as pets or for exhibition is exempt too. APHIS offers a Licensing and Registration Assistant that takes about 5 to 15 minutes.

A federal exemption does not answer Tennessee questions. Sales tax, business tax, the state dealer definition, zoning, animal control and transport rules all stay in place. Treat the federal and state questions as two separate checklists.

Yes, generally. Tennessee Revenue's SUT-135 says pets, including dogs and puppies, are tangible personal property and that sales of these animals are generally subject to the sales tax, citing T.C.A. § 67-6-301(b). The agency separates pets from exempt farm animals, so a puppy sold as a pet is on the taxable side. Ask the Department of Revenue how to register, collect, report and remit the tax for your sales, and use Tennessee Revenue's sales-tax registration page to start. For broader tax context, read our guide on Tennessee sales tax on pet services.

Business tax is a separate question. Tennessee Revenue says a business with gross receipts of more than $3,000 but less than $100,000 generally needs a minimal activity license, and a business at $100,000 or more generally needs a standard business license and business-tax registration. Local business-license registration carries a $15 fee. Your county or municipal clerk handles the local side. Our Tennessee dog business license guide walks through the order.

If you buy a dog from another state, or a buyer brings one in, the Department of Agriculture's import requirements say a certificate of veterinary inspection, or CVI, is required and is valid for 30 days when the dog is entering Tennessee for more than 15 days. Dogs at least three months old must have a current rabies vaccination.

Before a puppy moves, run through these:

1. Is the puppy coming from another state?
2. Is the stay in Tennessee longer than 15 days?
3. Is the puppy three months old or older, which brings in the rabies requirement?
4. Has an accredited veterinarian issued the CVI inside the 30-day window?
5. Does the other state add its own rules? The department says requirements vary by state, so ask the animal-health office in both states.

Keep copies with the puppy's file. For the state's rabies rules, see our Tennessee rabies law guide.

A state answer never settles your address. The dog-count limit for a home usually comes from your city or county, so ask them. These can all reach a home breeder:

• Zoning and permitted-use rules, and home-occupation rules.
• Kennel or animal-control limits on adult dogs, puppies or intact females.
• Noise, odor, waste and nuisance rules.
• Building, occupancy and fire requirements for kennel buildings, whelping rooms or barns.
• Local dog licensing and rabies rules.
• Subdivision, landlord or homeowners' association restrictions.

Ask in this order. Inside city limits, start with the city planning or zoning office. Outside them, start with the county zoning office. Then ask codes, animal control, the fire marshal or fire department, and the county or municipal clerk. Our guides on running a dog business from home in Tennessee and opening a dog boarding kennel in Tennessee cover the home-business and kennel sides.

Breed rules belong here too. Breed limits, where they exist, come from local ordinances, housing rules, insurance policies and animal-control codes. An older bill on municipal breed-based regulation and a proposed statewide restriction are history, not current law. Ask local animal control whether your exact property has breed-specific or dangerous-dog restrictions. If a dog ever bites, our Tennessee dog bite law guide explains where that liability comes from.

Records protect you when a buyer calls, when Revenue asks a question or when an inspector visits. For each puppy, keep:

• Sale date, price, deposit, buyer name and contact details, and payment record.
• Veterinary care and vaccination records, including rabies.
• The CVI and any transport documents when a puppy crosses a state line.
• Where the puppy was born and raised, and the dam's records.
• Any contract or written agreement you gave the buyer.

Also keep a running count of breeding females and a running count of dogs sold in the calendar year. Those two numbers decide most of the questions above. If a dealer license applies to you, the department's rules decide the record format, so ask Animal Health what it expects.

It depends on your operation. The dealer definition in T.C.A. § 44-17-102 starts at 25 dogs or cats a year for resale or out-of-state transport, and federal APHIS rules and local rules are separate. Ask Animal Health for a ruling on your facts.

Often, because the business-tax licenses follow gross receipts. Tennessee Revenue says more than $3,000 and less than $100,000 generally calls for a minimal activity license, and $100,000 or more calls for a standard business license. Your city or county clerk handles local registration.

Breeding alone is not what the dealer definition measures. Selling in the ways the statute lists, such as 25 or more dogs for resale or out-of-state transport, or buying and selling at a flea market, can make a person a dealer. Selling without a license that applies to you can bring enforcement, so confirm before you sell.

Backyard breeding is not a legal category on its own. Dealer law, sales tax, business tax, federal rules, zoning, animal control and fire rules can all apply to what you do at your address.

Local ordinances, landlords, homeowners' associations and insurers can set breed limits. Ask your city or county animal-control and codes offices, because that is where the answer for your property lives.

A permit question is usually a local one. Ask the planning or zoning office about permitted use and home occupation, and animal control about kennel or dog-count permits.

Public Chapter 591 was enacted in 2009, but the current dealer part of Title 44, Chapter 17 is what the code lists today. Ask the Department of Agriculture which provisions, if any, remain in force.

This first-week plan takes a few calls.

1. Count your breeding females and the dogs you expect to sell this calendar year.
2. Write down how you sell: direct to families, online, to a store or broker, or at a flea market.
3. Run the APHIS licensing assistant and save the result.
4. Contact Tennessee Animal Health about the dealer definition and Chapters 0080-02-12 and 0080-02-15.
5. Confirm sales-tax registration and your business-tax license level with the Department of Revenue.
6. Ask your city or county planning, animal-control and fire offices about your address.
7. Ask a Tennessee-licensed insurance professional whether liability, property or commercial coverage fits your operation.
8. Start the record file for each puppy before the first deposit.

If you also run grooming, boarding or training, the same file helps with those income lines. When you have your answers, the Tennessee storm and flood planning guide is a good next read for protecting animals and records at a home or kennel. When your litters are ready to place, you can add your breeding program to DogServ, and if you want a website that answers buyers' questions, contact me.

• aphis.usda.gov: APHIS guidance
• aphis.usda.gov: Licensing and Registration Assistant
• capitol.tn.gov: enacted Public Chapter 591
• capitol.tn.gov: FM1269
• law.justia.com: T.C.A. § 44-17-102
• revenue.support.tn.gov: SUT-135
• tn.gov: Animal Health rules page
• tn.gov: import requirements
• tn.gov: Tennessee Revenue's sales-tax registration page
• tn.gov: Tennessee Revenue
• wapp.capitol.tn.gov: HB0265
• wapp.capitol.tn.gov: HB0386
• wapp.capitol.tn.gov: HB2303 bill page
• wapp.capitol.tn.gov: municipal breed-based regulation
• wapp.capitol.tn.gov: proposed statewide restriction
• wapp.capitol.tn.gov: SB2513