Licenses and permits in Arkansas

The Secretary of State filing is not a license to do the work. Obtain the state and local licenses and permits the work needs¹. What you need depends on the activity and the city or county.

What’s different in Arkansas

• No single statewide business license. The formation handbook sends you to state and local licenses. It does not name one application that covers every business.
• Contractor licenses depend on the building and the dollar size. A commercial job and a house are different licenses, at different amounts.
• Some homemade food needs no health department permit. The exemption is for food that does not need refrigeration, sold to the person who will use it. It does not cover a restaurant.
• Alcohol is regulated by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement Division⁴. The page that describes that duty does not list the permit fees.

Do this

1. Ask the city or county where you will actually work. The Secretary of State does not issue a general business license. A sole proprietor is told to obtain state and local licenses, and the handbook does not name the city form or its fee.* Start with the clerk or the business office of the city, and the county if you are outside a city.
2. Get a contractor license if the job size requires one. The Contractors Licensing Board sorts the applications. A commercial license is for work of 50,000 dollars or more, including labor and materials, on a project that is not a single-family residence. Any project that is not a single-family residence is a commercial project. A home improvement license is for more than 2,000 dollars, including labor and material, for specialty work on a single-family residence. That license does not let you build or remodel a home. A residential remodeler is for more than 2,000 dollars for a major structural change or an addition to a single-family residence. A residential builder is for more than 2,000 dollars to build a single-family residence, unless an exception applies². A builders license also covers remodeling. The page says to mail the application with a non-refundable fee, and it does not print the fee.* Read the fee on the application before you pay. Some applicants can ask to have the initial fee waived. The qualifications are on that same page.
3. Selling food from home? Read the homemade food guide. Food that qualifies is food or drink that does not need refrigeration to stay safe, made in the producer's private residence. Those products are exempt from Arkansas Department of Health permitting and inspection. Sales can be direct to the person who will use it, in person, by phone or online, from the place it was made or through a third-party seller, inside Arkansas or in another state if federal law is followed. They cannot be sold to a restaurant, for the restaurant to use³. The guide says to contact the other state before you sell across a state line. Food that needs refrigeration, meat, and a restaurant meal are outside this exemption. The guide tells you to ask the local health unit if you are not sure a product qualifies. A city or county can still require its own license for a home food business. The guide does not print that local fee.
4. Selling alcohol? The Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement Division⁴ regulates the manufacture, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages. To apply, the applications page says to contact the ABC office at (501) 682-1105, because in-state retail permit applications are not available online⁵. It says the permit type depends on where the business is (a wet or dry area), the kind of business and its food service. Neither page prints the permit fees.* Ask the fee when you request the application. A city may have its own license on top of the state permit. Ask the city.
5. A licensed profession is a separate step from the company filing. The LLC certificate says a professional service must use a professional name. It does not list the professions. Register your business has the name rule. The license comes from the board that regulates that work.
6. Selling taxable goods? Register for a sales tax permit: Get your tax IDs. The permit is not a business license.

What you get back

A local license where the city or county requires one, a state contractor or professional license if the work needs it, a food exemption or a health permit, and an alcohol permit if you sell alcohol. Each one has its own renewal. Write the date down. The Secretary of State franchise tax, due May 1⁶, is a separate calendar.