Do you need a license to be a property manager in Tennessee?

In Tennessee, managing or renting property for others for pay is real estate work that needs a license: the affiliate broker license, issued by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. The exact wording, with any exceptions, is below.

Managing property for others"(4)(A) "Broker" means any person who, for a fee, commission . . . or any other valuable consideration or wi th the int ent or expectation of receiving . . . valuable consideration from another, solicits, negotiates or attempts to solicit or negotiate the listing, sale, purchase, exchange, lease or option to buy, sell, rent or exchange for any real estate or of the improvements on the real estate or any time- share interval as defined in the Tennessee Time- Share Act, compiled in title 66, chapter 32, part 1, collects rents or attempts to collect rents, auctions or offers to auction or who advertises or holds out as engaged in any of the foregoing;" official source
On-site and employee exemptions"The owner exemption in subsection (a)(1)(A) provides that the Act does not apply to "[a]n owner of real estate with respect to property owned or leased by such person." ... But the owner exemption in subsection (a)(1)(A), unlike the corporate exemption in subsection (a)(1)(F), exempts only the owner itself, not the owner's agents, officers, or employees." official source
Leasing agents"The Tennessee Real Estate Commission was created in 1951 to regulate real estate brokers and affiliate brokers, real estate firms, rental location agents," official source
Licensing agencyTennessee Real Estate Commission (Department of Commerce and Insurance) official source
CredentialAffiliate broker license (entry level; broker and principal broker above) official source

Checked against official Tennessee sources on Oct 27, 2026. This is not legal advice: rules change and exemptions depend on who employs you, so confirm with the licensing agency. This page lists only what we could confirm on an official page.

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