Business License: State-by-State Guide
Business License applies to any business operating in a city or county that requires local licensing. Who issues it is the first thing that changes at the state line — sometimes a state agency, often a city or county. Each state page below names the office we verified for that state, or says plainly that we could not.
Typical cost (US range)
$25–$500
Typical timeline
3–30 days
Renewal
Usually annual, set by the issuing city or county.
Who issues this across the US
51 jurisdictions issue this locally.
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.
Choose your state
46 of the 51 jurisdictions have been read in full. The middle column is the short answer for that state — whether it issues this at all and who you actually file with — and every sentence behind it on the state's own page is printed next to the government sentence it was taken from. The remaining states say "not researched yet" rather than guess.
Every figure below was located on that state's own government page by machine, and the page it came from is linked on the state's page along with the date it was checked. "Not verified" means exactly that — no government page we hold has been shown to state it, so we publish nothing. It does not mean the fee is zero.
| State | What the state actually does | Verified state fee | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama has no statewide business license requirement-you register by business type with either the Secretary of State or Department of Revenue. | not verified | not verified |
| Alaska | not researched yet | $50 | not verified |
| Arizona | Arizona requires a separate business license from both the state and your city, and both cost money. | $12 | not verified |
| Arkansas | Arkansas businesses need to register for a sales tax account through the Department of Finance and Administration. The process involves submitting... | $50 | not verified |
| California | not researched yet | not verified | not verified |
| Colorado | Colorado doesn't issue a general 'business license'-you register your business structure with the Secretary of State instead. | $16 | $16 |
| Connecticut | Connecticut requires a $100 Sales and Use Tax Permit even for one-day sales at craft shows or flea markets. | $100 | not verified |
| Delaware | not researched yet | $75 | $75 |
| Florida | Florida has no single 'business license'-you register for specific taxes instead. | not verified | not verified |
| Georgia | not researched yet | not verified | not verified |
| Hawaii | Hawaii's Department of Taxation handles business tax registration, not a separate business license agency. | $20 | not verified |
| Idaho | Idaho does not have a state business licence - and the state says so in those words. | not verified | not verified |
| Illinois | Illinois requires business registration with the Department of Revenue before you make any sales or hire employees. | not verified | not verified |
| Indiana | Indiana uses a single online portal (INBiz) to handle business registration, tax setup, and compliance across three state agencies. | $25 | not verified |
| Iowa | Iowa has two separate agencies handling business registration-the Secretary of State for entity formation and the Department of Revenue for tax per... | not verified | not verified |
| Kansas | Kansas splits business licensing between two agencies depending on your business structure. | not verified | not verified |
| Kentucky | Kentucky doesn't have a statewide business license that applies to all businesses. | not verified | not verified |
| Louisiana | Louisiana's Department of Revenue handles business registration and tax filing, but the official business license process is not detailed on their... | not verified | not verified |
| Maine | Maine has no statewide business license requirement-what you need depends entirely on your business type and location. | not verified | not verified |
| Maryland | Maryland is one of the few states that really does issue a business licence at state level. | $15 | not verified |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts requires all new businesses to register with the Department of Revenue through MassTaxConnect, not a separate licensing agency. | not verified | not verified |
| Michigan | Michigan business licensing is split between LARA and Treasury, and you must identify which agency handles your specific business type. | not verified | not verified |
| Minnesota | not researched yet | not verified | not verified |
| Mississippi | Mississippi has no separate 'business license' - you register for taxes and file business formation documents instead. | not verified | not verified |
| Missouri | Missouri has two separate online filing systems: one for business registration and one for UCC filings. | not verified | not verified |
| Montana | Montana splits business licensing between local governments and the state-there's no single state business license. | not verified | not verified |
| Nebraska | Nebraska doesn't require you to renew your sales tax permit, even if you stay in business for decades. | not verified | not verified |
| Nevada | Nevada requires a state business license from the Secretary of State, not local government, and the fee depends on your business structure. | $200 | $200 |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire does not require a separate business license; instead, you register your business structure and handle tax licensing through specific... | not verified | not verified |
| New Jersey | New Jersey doesn't require most businesses to get a 'business license' - only those contracting with the government or casinos need to register. | not verified | not verified |
| New Mexico | Registration is free-there is no fee to obtain a Business Tax Identification Number. | not verified | not verified |
| New York | New York requires a Sales Tax Certificate of Authority to collect sales tax, not a general 'business license.' | not verified | not verified |
| North Carolina | North Carolina doesn't issue a single business license that covers all requirements. | not verified | not verified |
| North Dakota | North Dakota doesn't issue a separate 'Business License'-you need a Sales and Use Tax Permit if you sell taxable goods. | not verified | not verified |
| Ohio | If you make retail sales subject to Ohio sales tax, you need a vendor's license before you start. The license is obtained from your county auditor... | $50 | not verified |
| Oklahoma | If you're selling tangible goods or services in Oklahoma, you need a written permit from the Oklahoma Tax Commission. The permit is required by law... | $20 | $20 |
| Oregon | Oregon doesn't issue a general business license-your business registration serves that purpose instead. | not verified | not verified |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania has no general business licence at all. | not verified | not verified |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island requires a sales tax permit for retail businesses, but there is no fee to apply or renew. | not verified | not verified |
| South Carolina | South Carolina's 'business license' is actually a tax registration-what you probably need is a Retail License from the Department of Revenue, not a... | $50 | not verified |
| South Dakota | South Dakota has no single 'business license' - you register your business structure with the Secretary of State, then handle taxes separately with... | not verified | not verified |
| Tennessee | Tennessee licences by how much you sell, and the number to know is $100,000. | not verified | not verified |
| Texas | Texas has a sales tax permit, not a general 'business license,' and it's free to get. | not verified | not verified |
| Utah | Utah business licenses are handled by two separate agencies depending on what you're registering. | not verified | not verified |
| Vermont | Vermont requires a free business license to collect sales tax, but only if you're selling tangible goods. | not verified | not verified |
| Virginia | Virginia doesn't issue business licenses-you get them from your city or county instead. | not verified | not verified |
| Washington | Washington charges $50 to open a business license but only $5 to renew it annually. | $50 | $5 |
| West Virginia | West Virginia requires nearly all businesses to register with the Tax Division before starting operations, with specific filing rules and a $30 fee. | $30 | not verified |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin's Department of Financial Institutions handles business licensing through multiple specialized services, not a single 'business license'... | $20 | $10 |
| Wyoming | Wyoming has no dedicated business license-you register your business entity type with the Secretary of State instead. | $60 | not verified |
| District of Columbia | District of Columbia issues business licenses through DLCP, with fees ranging from $49 to $198 depending on license term. | $99 | $99 |
Related filings
Most businesses that need a business license end up needing at least one of these too.