Business License in Florida: Who Issues It, Cost & Steps
Business License rules in Florida are written by cities and counties, not by the state legislature — which is exactly why generic advice is useless here. Below: how to identify your issuing office, then the general US process.
Florida has no single 'business license'-you register for specific taxes instead.
If you're selling taxable goods or services in Florida, you must register with the Department of Revenue to collect and remit sales tax before you open. You may also need to register for other taxes depending on your business type. The Division of Corporations handles business entity formation (LLC, corporation, etc.), which is separate from tax registration.
- You must register with the Department of Revenue to collect sales tax before you start selling taxable goods or services in Florida.
“If your business will sell taxable goods or services, you must register as a sales and use tax dealer to collect, report, and remit sales and use tax before you begin conducting business in Florida.”
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx - Out-of-state sellers with no physical presence in Florida must register and collect sales tax if they made more than $100,000 in taxable remote sales into Florida in the previous year.
“Effective July 1, 2021, Florida law requires out-of-state retailers with no physical presence in Florida to collect, report, and remit sales and use tax, including any applicable discretionary sales surtax, on remote sales into the state if the retailer has made taxable remote Florida sales in excess of $100,000 over the previous calendar year.”
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx - You can register online using an interactive wizard that determines your tax registration requirements, or you can submit a paper Form DR-1.
“The Department's online Florida Business Tax Application uses an interactive wizard to determine tax registration requirements. The electronic submission has many advantages, including visibility and retention of application submission, autocompletion of certain fields, and easy retrieval of your registration certificate number. You can also register by completing and submitting a paper Florida Business Tax Application ( Form DR-1 ) .”
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx - Beyond sales tax, Florida requires registration for various other taxes and fees including communications services tax, documentary stamp tax, gross receipts tax on utilities, and rental car surcharge.
“You may register for the following taxes and fees using the Florida Business Tax Application: Communications Services Tax New Tire Fee Documentary Stamp Tax Prepaid Wireless Fee Gross Receipts Tax on Dry-Cleaning Reemployment (Unemployment) Tax Gross Receipts Tax on Utility Services Rental Car Surcharge Lead-Acid Battery Fee Sales and Use Tax Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Fees Severance Taxes”
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx - You must notify the Department of Revenue when your business becomes active and will sell or rent taxable property or services.
“You must notify the Florida Department of Revenue if you: Change your business name; Change your mailing address; Change your location address within the same county; Close or sell your business; or Your business becomes active and you will sell or rent taxable property or services.”
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx - After you register and receive your certificate number, the Department will mail you a welcome package including your Certificate of Registration and an Annual Resale Certificate within three business days.
“After your registration application is processed and you receive your approved certificate number, you will be mailed a welcome package containing your Certificate of Registration, an Annual Resale Certificate, and a helpful brochure, New Dealer Guide to Working with the Florida Department of Revenue ( GT-800054 ).”
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx - Marketplace providers must register to collect and remit sales tax on taxable Florida retail sales made through their marketplace if they have made or facilitated over $100,000 in taxable remote sales in the previous calendar year.
“Marketplace providers having a physical presence in Florida, or that have made or facilitated any number of taxable remote Florida sales in the previous calendar year in which the sum of the sales prices exceeded $100,000, are required to register online to collect and must electronically report and remit Florida sales tax and discretionary sales surtax on taxable Florida retail sales made through the marketplace.”
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx - If you move your business from one Florida county to another, change your legal entity, or change ownership, you must submit a new tax registration application.
“You must submit a new registration using the online registration system or complete a paper Florida Business Tax Application ( Form DR-1 ) if you: Move your business location from one Florida county to another; Add another location; Change your legal entity; or Change the ownership of your business.”
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx
Sources (each one opened and read on 2026-09-15)
- Florida Department of Revenue - Registration: https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx
Who issues a Business License in Florida
This is a local permit. It is issued by your city or county, not by the state of Florida. The state office listed underneath handles a related filing — it does not issue this permit.
- Florida — the state revenue or taxation department (handles state tax registration and permits)
https://floridarevenue.com
Finding your local office
Start with the city your address sits in — the relevant department is usually called Planning, Building, Community Development, or Business Licensing. If your address is unincorporated, the county performs that role instead. Calling the main switchboard and asking who handles this is usually faster than searching.
Starting point for anything else in Florida: the state business portal, https://dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz. It is a starting point, not the issuer of this permit.
The general US process
This sequence is the shape the process takes across the US. It is not a list of Florida requirements, and no step here should be read as one — the issuing office named above sets the actual requirements.
- Step 1: Work out which government actually licenses you. In most of the country this is the city; unincorporated addresses are usually licensed by the county; a few states also run a statewide business licence.
- Step 2: Check the zoning for your address before paying anything — a licence does not override zoning.
- Step 3: Apply through that office. Larger cities almost all have an online portal; smaller ones may still be paper.
- Step 4: Expect the fee to be flat, or scaled to gross receipts or headcount, depending on the jurisdiction.
- Step 5: Display the licence if the issuing office asks you to.
- Step 6: Put the renewal date in a calendar. Renewal notices are not guaranteed.
What varies: whether a licence is required at all, who issues it, how the fee is calculated, and whether the state has its own layer on top.
Documents usually asked for
A typical list, not a Florida checklist.
- EIN or SSN
- Business name/DBA filing
- Physical address
- Description of business activities
Related permits in Florida
Business License in states bordering Florida
Rules stop at the state line — same permit, each state bordering Florida:
See Business License in all 50 states & DC →
Frequently asked questions
Who issues a business license in Florida?
Your city or county — not the state.
How much does a business license cost in Florida?
We don't publish a Florida figure we haven't verified. The typical US range is $25–$500. The office named above has the real number for your address.
How long does it take to get a business license in Florida?
Typical US processing is 3–30 days, and expedited handling is often available for a fee. The issuing office publishes its own turnaround, and that is the number to trust.
What is Florida-specific on this page: the issuing office, 8 Florida facts, each quoted off the government page beside it. Everything else — the numbered process, the document list, the cost and timeline — is the general US pattern, not a Florida rule, and is labelled that way above. Requirements, fees and deadlines are set by the issuing office; confirm with it before you file or pay.