{"id":21875,"date":"2026-08-10T08:50:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/?p=21875"},"modified":"2026-08-10T08:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:51:31","slug":"tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"TN Introduces Contractor Bond Option in Place of CPA Financial Statement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re a Tennessee-based contractor, <\/span><b>you can now file a surety bond instead of CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited financial statements<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (BLC) introduced this alternative on July 1, 2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep reading to learn:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A breakdown of the new rule<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How bond amounts are calculated<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to decide which option is best for your business<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why Were These Changes Introduced?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By offering a surety bond in lieu of an audited financial statement, the BLC aims to reduce financial burden and streamline licensing for smaller contractors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hiring a CPA can be expensive, especially when a contractor expects to fall short of the Board\u2019s financial requirements. This option can speed up the application process and cut upfront licensing costs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do I Need a Surety Bond?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>No, not every Tennessee contractor needs a surety bond<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If you don\u2019t meet the financial requirements, you have two options for meeting the Board&#8217;s licensing standards:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Option 1: Submit CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited financial statements.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If the Board determines your financial statements aren\u2019t sufficient, you&#8217;ll need to provide additional financial support, such as a supplemental guaranty, contractor license bond, line of credit, or other approved security.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Option 2: File a surety bond instead of financial statements.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Rather than submitting CPA-reviewed or audited financial statements, you can file a contractor license bond equal to 50% of your requested monetary limit.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For small and mid-sized contractors who expect they won&#8217;t meet the Board\u2019s financial requirements, filing a surety bond upfront may be the simpler and faster option.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Does the Board Review My Finances?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Board uses your <\/span><b>monetary limit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to determine what type of financial documentation you\u2019re required to submit. This is the maximum dollar value you&#8217;re allowed to have on a single project, calculated based on working capital and net worth:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Working Capital: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Current assets minus current liabilities<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Net Worth:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Total assets minus total liabilities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Board uses the lower of your working capital or net worth and generally multiplies it by 10 to determine your monetary limit. It also considers factors such as your experience and license classification.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, if your working capital is $75,000 and your net worth is $50,000, your monetary limit would generally be $500,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You cannot split a larger project into multiple smaller contracts to stay under your monetary limit.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Financial Statement Requirements<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The financial documentation you&#8217;ll need depends on your monetary limit and whether you&#8217;re applying for a new license or renewing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re applying for a new license or requesting a monetary limit increase:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Up to $3 million requested limit:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited financial statement or surety bond\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Over $3 million (unlimited): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CPA-audited financial statement or surety bond<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re renewing:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>$1.5 million or less: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your own balance sheet or surety bond<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Over $1.5 million: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CPA compilation or surety bond<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Do I Get a Tennessee Contractor Bond?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/edu\/is-a-surety-bond-right-for-me\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">surety bond is right for you<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, apply online to get a free quote within one business day. Your bond amount must be equal to 50% of your monetary limit.<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Requested Monetary Limit<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Bond Amount<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$500,000<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$250,000<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$1,500,000<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$750,000<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$3,000,000 or more<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$1,500,000<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SuretyBonds.com shops its nationwide provider network to find the best available rates. After payment, you\u2019ll receive your official bond form via email to sign and file with the BLC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These bonds expire annually. You must maintain an active bond throughout the duration of your license, unless you choose to submit financial statements at renewal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-21863\" src=\"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-300x169.png\" alt=\"Tennessee Contractor Bond Overview &amp; Guide Graphic. Purpose: To guarantee contractors will follow all laws and building codes Who Needs It: Contractors who don't meet the financial requirements and prefer not to submit a CPA-prepared financial statement Required Amount: Must equal 50% of your monetary limit, as determined by the Board\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-777x437.png 777w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-180x101.png 180w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-260x146.png 260w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-373x210.png 373w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog-120x67.png 120w, https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Contractor-Bond-Blog.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Much Will My Bond Cost?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tennessee contractor bonds require a soft credit check to determine your exact rate. Don\u2019t let the large bond amount discourage you \u2014 you\u2019ll never pay the full amount upfront.<\/span><b> Premiums start at just 1% of the bond amount for qualified applicants.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next Steps<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re applying for or renewing a contractor license, review your financial responsibility options to determine whether a surety bond can help simplify the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For any questions, refer to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/commerce\/regboards\/contractors.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or call 1 (800) 308-4358 to speak with one of our surety experts.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re a Tennessee-based contractor, you can now file a surety bond instead of CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited financial statements. The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (BLC) introduced this alternative on July 1, 2026.\u00a0 Keep reading&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":21864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Introduces-Contractor-Bond-Option-in-Place-of-CPA-Financial-Statement.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Allie Webb","author_link":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/author\/alliesuretybonds-com\/"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>TN Introduces Contractor Bond Option in Place of CPA Financial Statement | Surety Bond Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TN Introduces Contractor Bond Option in Place of CPA Financial Statement | Surety Bond Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019re a Tennessee-based contractor, you can now file a surety bond instead of CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited financial statements. The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (BLC) introduced this alternative on July 1, 2026.\u00a0 Keep reading...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Surety Bond Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/suretybond\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-10T13:50:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-10T13:51:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Introduces-Contractor-Bond-Option-in-Place-of-CPA-Financial-Statement.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"910\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Allie Webb\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@suretybonds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@suretybonds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Allie Webb\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TN Introduces Contractor Bond Option in Place of CPA Financial Statement | Surety Bond Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TN Introduces Contractor Bond Option in Place of CPA Financial Statement | Surety Bond Insider","og_description":"If you\u2019re a Tennessee-based contractor, you can now file a surety bond instead of CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited financial statements. The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (BLC) introduced this alternative on July 1, 2026.\u00a0 Keep reading...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/","og_site_name":"Surety Bond Insider","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/suretybond","article_published_time":"2026-08-10T13:50:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-10T13:51:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":910,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Introduces-Contractor-Bond-Option-in-Place-of-CPA-Financial-Statement.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Allie Webb","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@suretybonds","twitter_site":"@suretybonds","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Allie Webb","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/","url":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/","name":"TN Introduces Contractor Bond Option in Place of CPA Financial Statement | Surety Bond Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-10T13:50:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-10T13:51:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3a23b7ab885eecdc7784f742952d4ae7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/tn-introduces-contractor-bond-option-in-place-of-cpa-financial-statement\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bond Legislation Updates","item":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/category\/legislation-updates\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"TN Introduces Contractor Bond Option in Place of CPA Financial Statement"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/","name":"Surety Bond Insider","description":"News, Legislation and Updates for the Surety Industry","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3a23b7ab885eecdc7784f742952d4ae7","name":"Allie Webb","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/304330565fd9f7e5af2961619d444ee5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/304330565fd9f7e5af2961619d444ee5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Allie Webb"},"url":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/author\/alliesuretybonds-com\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TN-Introduces-Contractor-Bond-Option-in-Place-of-CPA-Financial-Statement.png","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21875"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21876,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21875\/revisions\/21876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretybonds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}