A Tennessee charitable registration renewal is due on the last day of the sixth month after your organization’s fiscal year ends, and it must actually be received by the Secretary of State’s Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming by that date. Miss it and your registration lapses, late fees start stacking monthly, and continuing to solicit donations puts the organization in violation of the Tennessee Charitable Solicitations Act.
When the Renewal Is Due
Tennessee law calls the deadline your organization’s “anniversary date”: the last day of the sixth month after your fiscal year closes. Your registration expires on that date each year, and the renewal application must be received on or before it.1Justia. Tennessee Code 48-101-506 – Issuance of Registration – Renewal – Withdrawal of Registration
A calendar-year nonprofit (fiscal year ending December 31) has a June 30 deadline. A fiscal year ending March 31 produces a September 30 deadline. The schedule lines up roughly with IRS Form 990 timing, which lets you handle state and federal reporting in the same window.
The statute says “received,” not postmarked. If you mail a paper renewal, it has to arrive at the Division by the anniversary date. A postmark on the deadline does not save a late arrival.
Whether Your Organization Has to Renew
Not every nonprofit that operates in Tennessee has to register or renew. The Charitable Solicitations Act exempts several categories, including bona fide religious organizations, educational institutions, hospitals and nursing homes, volunteer fire departments and rescue squads, political parties and candidates, and congressionally chartered corporations that report annually to Congress through the Department of Defense.
The exemption that catches the most small nonprofits off guard is the revenue threshold: organizations that do not intend to solicit and do not actually receive more than $50,000 in gross public contributions during their fiscal year are exempt from registration.2Tennessee Secretary of State. What Charitable Organizations Are Exempt From Registration Being exempt is not the same as being off the hook, though. You still have to file an annual Exemption Request with the Secretary of State to confirm the exempt status. Skipping it can create problems later if anyone questions whether the organization was authorized to solicit.
What Goes Into the Renewal
An incomplete renewal will not be approved. Several components have to travel together.3Tennessee Secretary of State. Charitable Organization Renewal Registration Guide
The Renewal Application and Signatures
The form updates your legal name, contacts, leadership, and governance information. Two authorized officers must sign, and one of them has to be the chief fiscal officer. A single officer’s signature is not enough. If governance documents (articles of incorporation, bylaws) have been amended since the last filing, those amendments go in with the renewal.
Summary of Financial Activities
Tennessee requires its own financial summary in addition to whatever you file federally. Online filers complete it inside the renewal application. Paper filers download the separate Summary of Financial Activities form from the Charity Forms page and enclose it with the mailing. Catching up on prior years requires a separate paper summary for each overdue year, each signed by two officers.
IRS Form 990
Attach the public disclosure copy of your most recent Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N if the IRS requires you to file one. Leave out Schedule B, and do not upload a password-protected file. If the IRS has granted a filing extension, include proof of it.
Audited Financial Statement
If gross revenue exceeds $500,000, excluding grants from government agencies and 501(c)(3) private foundations, an audited financial statement prepared by an independent CPA is required. Organizations below that threshold still owe the Summary of Financial Activities but do not need an audit.
IRS Determination Letter
If the Division does not already have your IRS determination letter on file, include a copy. Organizations still waiting on their determination submit a record of the pending application. A revocation of 501(c)(3) status means the Tennessee registration cannot be renewed until the IRS reinstates the exemption.4Internal Revenue Service. Reinstatement of Tax-Exempt Status After Automatic Revocation
Professional Fundraiser Disclosures
If your organization uses a professional solicitor or fundraising consultant, disclose the relationship and submit copies of the contracts. Professional solicitors have their own registration, bonding, and reporting obligations with the Secretary of State, and a solicitor who is not properly registered creates a compliance problem for the charity that hired them.5Justia. Tennessee Code 48-101-507 – Professional Solicitor – Registration – Qualifications – Bond – Fee – Reports
What the Renewal Costs
The statutory renewal fee scales with gross revenue reported to the Secretary of State:
- $0 to $50,000: $80
- $50,000.01 to $99,999.99: $120
- $100,000 to $249,999.99: $160
- $250,000 to $499,999.99: $200
- $500,000 and above: $240
In practice, organizations under $50,000 in public contributions qualify for the registration exemption and pay nothing for the annual Exemption Request. For four consecutive years through at least mid-2025, the legislature reduced the renewal fee to a flat $10 for all organizations regardless of revenue.1Justia. Tennessee Code 48-101-506 – Issuance of Registration – Renewal – Withdrawal of Registration Whether that reduction still applies when you file depends on legislative action, so confirm the current amount in the Secretary of State’s renewal guide before writing the check.
How to File
The Tennessee Charitable Registration System handles online renewals through the Secretary of State’s website.6Tennessee Secretary of State. Register or Renew a Charity Online Online filing gives you immediate confirmation of receipt, catches common errors before submission, and processes faster than paper. The Summary of Financial Activities is built into the online form. The IRS Form 990 and audit (if required) upload as attachments.
Paper renewals go by mail to the Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming in Nashville. Because the deadline turns on receipt rather than postmark, a trackable shipping method is worth the small extra cost. Paper applications are processed in the order received and take longer.
If You Miss the Deadline
A missed anniversary date does not end the registration permanently, but the registration lapses on that date, and the organization is not authorized to solicit in Tennessee until the renewal is processed.
Late renewals carry a fee of $25 for each month or partial month overdue, on top of the regular renewal fee. Tennessee has temporarily reduced this late fee to $10 per month in recent fiscal years, so confirm the rate in effect when you file.1Justia. Tennessee Code 48-101-506 – Issuance of Registration – Renewal – Withdrawal of Registration At the standard rate, six months late means $150 in late fees before the renewal fee itself.
Catching up on multiple missed years means a separate paper Summary of Financial Activities for each year, signed by two officers, along with the corresponding Form 990 and any required audited statements. The online system handles the most recently completed year; back years have to be done on paper.3Tennessee Secretary of State. Charitable Organization Renewal Registration Guide
Penalties for Soliciting Without a Valid Registration
The most immediate consequence of a lapsed registration is the loss of legal authority to solicit donations in Tennessee. Events, direct mail, and online donation pages all count as solicitation for this purpose, and continuing any of them after a lapse violates the Charitable Solicitations Act.
The Secretary of State can impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation, and each instance of unauthorized solicitation can be treated as its own violation.7Tennessee Secretary of State. What Are the Penalties if an Organization Violates the Charitable Solicitations Act The Secretary also has authority to investigate, issue subpoenas, compel document production, sue to enjoin further solicitations, and freeze assets to prevent disposal of contributed funds during an investigation.
Willful and knowing violations of the Act, and false or incorrect information in filings, are a Class B misdemeanor. A second or subsequent offense is a Class E felony.7Tennessee Secretary of State. What Are the Penalties if an Organization Violates the Charitable Solicitations Act These criminal provisions target intentional fraud rather than accidental late filings, but the line depends on the facts.
Charitable Gaming Is a Separate Registration
Renewing your charitable solicitation registration does not cover fundraising events involving games of chance. Only 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) organizations may apply, the application window runs July 1 through January 31, and approved events are held in the following July-through-June cycle. A financial accounting and additional fee based on gross event revenue are due within 90 days of the event.8Tennessee Secretary of State. Apply for a Gaming Event9Tennessee Secretary of State. Charitable Gaming Event FAQs If your fundraising plan involves raffles or similar events, plan for that filing on its own timeline.