Does Tennessee require an operating agreement?
No. Tennessee's LLC law doesn't require an LLC to have one: all the members of an LLC may enter into an operating agreement to regulate its affairs and the conduct of its business and to govern relations among the members, managers and the company, before, after or when the articles are filed; the older Tennessee Limited Liability Company Act (chapters 201-248) requires a board-managed LLC to have a written operating agreement (§ 48-206-101(a)) (Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-203(a)). It's still worth having. Without one, the Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act decides how profits are shared, who can act for the LLC and what happens when a member leaves, and banks often ask to see a signed agreement before opening an account for an LLC.
The Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act lets the agreement be oral or implied as well as written (Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-203(a)). A signed, written agreement is still the only kind a bank, a court or a new member can read.
Tennessee's LLC law and this template
Tennessee LLCs are governed by the Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 48, Chapter 249) (Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-101 et seq.). Where your agreement is silent, the act's default rules apply. Where the act lets an operating agreement change one of its rules, your agreement controls.
Choose Tennessee in the form and the agreement names the State of Tennessee as the LLC's home and governing law, refers to the Articles of Organization filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State, and defines “the Act” as the Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act. Everything else adapts to your answers: one member or several, run by the members or by managers, with or without a buyout when a member dies.
What the Tennessee agreement covers
The agreement follows the order most operating agreements use: formation, name, principal office, registered agent, purpose and term; each member's contribution and, with several members, capital accounts and percentage interests; how profits, losses and cash are shared; management by the members or by managers, with the major decisions that need every member's consent; taxes, books, records and a separate bank account; transfers, new members, withdrawal and what happens when a member dies; and dissolution. Schedule A lists each member's contribution and share.
Forming and keeping a Tennessee LLC
The operating agreement stays with the LLC's records; these are the filings that go to the state. Check that the name is free first with our Tennessee LLC name search.
| Tennessee | |
|---|---|
| Forming the LLC | Articles of Organization, $300 minimum ($50 per member, up to $3,000), filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State |
| Name must end with | “Limited Liability Company”, “LLC”, “L.L.C.” |
| Recurring report | $300 minimum each year ($50 per member, up to $3,000), due by the 1st day of the 4th month after the fiscal year ends |
| State tax or fee | Franchise and excise taxes (minimum franchise tax $100) |
| Newspaper notice | Not required |
| Name reservation | $20, 120 days |
| Good standing certificate | Certificate of Existence, $20 (unconfirmed) |
How to finish your Tennessee agreement
- Type the LLC's name exactly as it appears on its Articles of Organization, ending included.
- Fill in or strike out anything left as a blank line, and make Schedule A's percentages add up to 100%.
- Have every member read and sign it. Electronic signatures count, and members can sign separate copies.
- Keep the signed agreement with the LLC's records; don't send it to the Tennessee Secretary of State. Give each member a copy.
For an LLC with one owner, see the single-member operating agreement; with partners, the multi-member version explains shares, voting and buyouts.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-08 against the state's own pages:
- https://advance.lexis.com/container?config=014CJAA5ZGVhZjA3NS02MmMzLTRlZWQtOGJjNC00YzQ1MmZlNzc2YWYKAFBvZENhdGFsb2e9zYpNUjTRaIWVfyrur9ud
- https://tncab.tnsos.gov/
- https://sos.tn.gov/businesses/faqs
- https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/ss-4270.pdf
- https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/franchise---excise-tax.html
Common questions
Does Tennessee require an LLC operating agreement?
No. Tennessee's LLC law doesn't require one, but it's worth having: without it, the Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act's default rules decide how profits are shared and who can act for the LLC.
Do I file the operating agreement with the Tennessee Secretary of State?
No. The Tennessee Secretary of State receives the Articles of Organization; the operating agreement is an internal document that stays with the LLC's records.
Is this Tennessee operating agreement template free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and no email address, and the agreement is built in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us.