Tennessee: business records and regulators
Where to look a business up in Tennessee, where to search the UCC filings against it, and the offices that regulate banks, lenders and securities there.
Each link opens the state's own site in a new tab, so what you type there goes to that site, not to us. Some state searches charge a fee or ask you to make an account. Privacy
Tennessee records and regulators
Business search
Look a business up in the state's register of businesses.
UCC search
Find the UCC filings against a business: the financing statements lenders file to record a lien on its assets, such as a blanket lien.
Tennessee Secretary of State: UCC Database Search (Unofficial) (opens in a new tab)
It searches by debtor name or document number; the Division of Business Services says its results may differ from an official search under the state's UCC rules.
Banking and lending regulator
Oversees the banks the state charters. Check its site for the lender and broker licenses the state requires.
Securities regulator
The state office for securities offerings, brokers and investment advisers.
Find a lender in Tennessee
Official lists of the lenders that work in Tennessee. Each opens on its own site, filtered to Tennessee where the list allows it.
SBA 504 lenders (Certified Development Companies) (opens in a new tab)
The nonprofit lenders that make SBA 504 loans for property and big equipment, from the SBA's own list, filtered to the state.
SBA microloan lenders (opens in a new tab)
Nonprofit lenders that make SBA microloans of up to $50,000, from the SBA's own list, filtered to the state.
SBA Lender Match (opens in a new tab)
The SBA's own matching tool: you answer a few questions about your business on its site, and two business days later it gives you a list of the lenders interested; some may contact you. It is not a loan application. What you type goes to the SBA and those lenders, not to us.
Certified CDFIs (community lenders) (opens in a new tab)
The CDFI Fund's list of every certified community development financial institution (CDFI): loan funds, banks and credit unions. Download the list and sort it by the State column.
The FDIC's BankFind: search for the banks with offices in the state.
Credit unions (opens in a new tab)
The NCUA's credit union locator. Credit unions lend to their members, so check who can join.
Before you sign with any lender, check it is licensed: see the banking and lending regulator above, and Check a lender or platform. A few national lenders and platforms are named, with how they were chosen, in the provider directory.
State rules for Tennessee on our route pages
- Business line of credit: Tennessee caps interest on a written loan at the applicable formula rate: 4 percentage points above the Federal Reserve's average prime rate, and never more than 24% a year. The Department of Financial Institutions announces it each week. Without a written contract the limit is 10%, and where another law sets a rate for a kind of lender, that rate applies. Collecting usury on purpose is a misdemeanor. A lender registered with the Department as an industrial loan and thrift company can charge up to 24% a year on an open-end credit line, plus limited loan charges, and it needs that registration to lend at those rates, whatever the money is for. Banks, savings associations, credit unions, insurers, pawnbrokers and other lenders supervised by a state or federal agency are left out of that registration. (Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions: rates of interest (the maximum effective formula rate, announced each week); Tennessee Code Unannotated, free public access (LexisNexis), current through the 2026 regular session: sections 47-14-102, 47-14-103, 47-14-112, 45-5-102, 45-5-103, 45-5-104 and 45-5-301)
- Equipment loans and finance agreements: Tennessee caps interest on a written loan at the applicable formula rate: 4 percentage points above the Federal Reserve's average prime rate, and never more than 24% a year. The Department of Financial Institutions announces it each week. Without a written contract the limit is 10%, and where another law sets a rate for a kind of lender, that rate applies. Collecting usury on purpose is a misdemeanor. A lender registered with the Department as an industrial loan and thrift company can charge up to 36% a year on loans of $100 or more, plus limited loan charges, and it needs that registration to lend at those rates, whatever the loan is for. Banks, savings associations, credit unions, insurers, pawnbrokers and other lenders supervised by a state or federal agency are left out of that registration. (Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions: rates of interest (the maximum effective formula rate, announced each week); Tennessee Code Unannotated, free public access (LexisNexis), current through the 2026 regular session: sections 47-14-102, 47-14-103, 47-14-112, 45-5-102, 45-5-103, 45-5-104 and 45-5-301)
- Invoice factoring: When one business sells its invoices or other accounts to another at a discount or for a fee, Tennessee law says the discount or fee is not interest, even if the seller has to buy back invoices that go unpaid, so the state's interest ceilings do not apply to it. (Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions: rates of interest (the maximum effective formula rate, announced each week); Tennessee Code Unannotated, free public access (LexisNexis), current through the 2026 regular session: section 47-14-102(1) and (8))
- Online business loans: Tennessee caps interest on a written loan at the applicable formula rate: 4 percentage points above the Federal Reserve's average prime rate, and never more than 24% a year. The Department of Financial Institutions announces it each week. Without a written contract the limit is 10%, and where another law sets a rate for a kind of lender, that rate applies. Collecting usury on purpose is a misdemeanor. A lender registered with the Department as an industrial loan and thrift company can charge up to 36% a year on loans of $100 or more, plus limited loan charges, and it needs that registration to lend at those rates, whatever the loan is for. Banks, savings associations, credit unions, insurers, pawnbrokers and other lenders supervised by a state or federal agency are left out of that registration. (Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions: rates of interest (the maximum effective formula rate, announced each week); Tennessee Code Unannotated, free public access (LexisNexis), current through the 2026 regular session: sections 47-14-102, 47-14-103, 47-14-112, 45-5-102, 45-5-103, 45-5-104 and 45-5-301)
- Spot factoring (single invoices): When one business sells its invoices or other accounts to another at a discount or for a fee, Tennessee law says the discount or fee is not interest, even if the seller has to buy back invoices that go unpaid, so the state's interest ceilings do not apply to it. (Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions: rates of interest (the maximum effective formula rate, announced each week); Tennessee Code Unannotated, free public access (LexisNexis), current through the 2026 regular session: section 47-14-102(1) and (8))
Sources
- Tennessee Secretary of State: Business Entity Search · checked October 20, 2026
- Tennessee Secretary of State: Searches (UCC Database Search, Unofficial) · checked November 1, 2026
- Tennessee Secretary of State: UCC Debtor Search · checked November 1, 2026
- Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions (TDFI): home page · checked October 20, 2026
- Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance: The Tennessee Securities Division · checked October 20, 2026