Transient Vendor Application – Rutherford County, TN

The Transient Vendor Application is the Rutherford County Clerk's form for requesting a Rutherford County transient vendor permit, which covers a sale of merchandise to the public at temporary premises in the county.

The form defines its terms. A "transient vendor" is any person who brings into temporary premises and exhibits stocks of merchandise to the public in order to sell or offer to sell it. "Merchandise" means any consumer item that is, or is represented to be, new or not previously owned by a consumer. "Temporary premises" means any public or quasi-public place, including a hotel, rooming house, storeroom, building, tent, vacant lot, railroad car or motor vehicle. Premises are not temporary if the same person has conducted business there for more than six (6) consecutive months, or has lived there as a permanent residence for more than six (6) months.

The application asks for the vendor's name, the products, the Rutherford County sale location, the permanent business location, the beginning date, the owner or representative and a mailing address. A separate block covers sales conducted outdoors from a vehicle. The permit is issued on receipt of the fee, and the form refers questions to the Business Tax Department at 615-898-7800.

A person who brings merchandise into temporary premises in Rutherford County, Tennessee, and exhibits it to the public to sell or offer it for sale is a transient vendor and applies with this form. The owner of the business or a representative of it completes the application: the form has a line for the name of the owner or representative.

If the sale will be held outdoors rather than at one specific location in the county, the vendor also completes the vehicle block: type or model, year, license tag number, state of registration and, if the vehicle belongs to someone else, that owner's name and address.

The form's definition excludes two kinds of sales:

• selling goods by sample, brochure or sales catalog for future delivery;
• sales that result from a prior invitation to the seller by the owner or occupant of a residence.

It also does not treat a place as temporary premises if the same person has conducted business there for more than six (6) consecutive months, or has occupied it as a permanent residence for more than six (6) months.

Apply before the sale begins, because the permit is tied to the beginning date you enter on the form. The form states that the license expires 14 days from the beginning date shown, so a sale planned for a longer period is not covered by one permit beyond that term. The form prints no separate filing deadline and no processing time. It says the permit will be issued upon receipt of the fee, so the practical trigger is the day the Clerk's office receives your application and payment. For questions about timing, call the Business Tax Department at 615-898-7800.

The form prints no mailing address or portal for returning the application. Its letterhead identifies the office that issues it, and the permit is issued once the fee is received.

• Office on the form: Rutherford County Clerk, 319 North Maple Street, Suite 121, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130. Office phone 615-898-7800; fax 615-217-6597.
• Fee: a permit fee applies. Make the check payable to RUTHERFORD COUNTY CLERK. The form states the amount; confirm the current amount with the Business Tax Department at 615-898-7800.
• Other Clerk offices: the County Clerk's page lists offices in Murfreesboro (319 N Maple St., Suite 121), Blackman (3906 Blaze Dr., Suite A), Smyrna (205 I St.) and Eagleville (Eagleville City Hall, 108 S. Main St), with their hours and phone numbers. Call before you go to confirm that the office handles transient vendor permits.

FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the Clerk's channels above.