What an Unlimited Contractor License Means for Big Jobs
If you are getting fence quotes in Knoxville or Knox County, there is one thing worth checking that most homeowners never think to ask about: the licence classification of whoever is bidding.
Tennessee Caps Most Contractors at a Project Size
Tennessee assigns licensed contractors a monetary limit — a ceiling on the dollar value of project they may legally bid. It is set by the state based on financial statements, references and experience, and it is reviewed when the licence is renewed.
An Unlimited classification carries no cap.
For a backyard privacy fence, the cap is irrelevant. Plenty of excellent contractors hold a limited classification and build beautiful residential fence. The distinction only matters when a project is large enough to exceed someone's limit — a commercial perimeter, an institutional site, or anything with prequalification requirements attached.
How to Check Any Contractor in About a Minute
You do not have to take anyone's word for this, including ours.
Ask for the licence number and search it at verify.tn.gov. The record is free and public, and it shows:
- Licence classification
- Monetary limit
- Status — active, expired or otherwise
- Expiration date
If a contractor cannot produce a licence number, or the record shows something different from what you were told, that is useful information regardless of who you end up hiring.
Our Classification
Loudon County Fence holds Tennessee Unlimited Contractor Licence #54371 — no cap on project size. Alongside it we carry $6M aggregate bonding capacity and $5M general liability, with workers' compensation in force, and we are SAM.gov registered as a federal contractor under CAGE code 37ZM1.
Bonding capacity is worth understanding separately, because unlike a marketing claim it is assessed by somebody with money at risk. A surety company examines financial statements, work history and management before extending it.
What That Has Let Us Work On
Our commercial and institutional record includes the U.S. Department of Energy, the TRISO-X nuclear fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Lenoir City Utilities Board, the University of Tennessee and Neyland Stadium.
Those projects carry prequalification requirements that go beyond licence classification — bonding, insurance limits, federal registration and safety programmes.
What to Ask Whoever You Hire
- What is your licence number and classification? Then check it at verify.tn.gov.
- What is your bonding capacity?
- Will your own crews install this, or a subcontractor?
- How deep are you setting posts, and does that change at gates and corners?
- Is the price firm, and what would change it?
Ten things worth checking on any fence contractor · Everything third parties say about us, and how to verify it
Get a Firm Price
We will walk the property, tell you which rules apply to your address, and put a firm written price in your hand at no charge.
Call (865) 988-9935 or request a free quote.
Veteran-owned and family-operated in Lenoir City since 1973. Serving Knox, Loudon, Blount, Anderson, Roane, Sevier, Monroe, McMinn, Meigs and Rhea counties.
