Business licenses and permits in Florida

Florida has no general state business license. Most businesses pay a local business tax to their county, and to their city as well when they have a location inside city limits, and get a receipt back. State agencies license specific professions and trades on top of that, and the county asks to see that license before it issues the receipt.

What’s different in Florida

• The license is local, and it’s called a tax. A local business tax is levied by the county, by ordinance, and by the city as well, if you have a location inside its limits. You buy the local business tax receipt from the county tax collector, and it renews by September 30 every year.
• Your fictitious name and any state license come first. Before a county or city issues the receipt, it asks for a copy of the registration, or a written statement of why none is required, and for an active state license, certificate or registration, or a copy of it, for any profession or business a state agency regulates. Register your business covers the fictitious name.
• Three state agencies license most regulated work. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) covers most trades, from contractors and restaurants to alcohol sales. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) covers food stores, pest control and other consumer services. The Florida Department of Health, Division of Medical Quality Assurance covers health care professions.

Do this

1. Register your fictitious name first if you’ll use a name other than your own or your entity’s registered name. Counties and cities ask for a copy before they issue a business tax receipt, and so do most banks. Register your business has the steps.
2. Find out whether your work needs a state license, and get it before the receipt. The county asks to see it. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) covers most trades. Its What Services Require a DBPR License? page lists them, including alcohol and tobacco sales, construction contracting, cosmetology, hotels and other lodging, and real estate. Restaurants, cafés, bars and other places that prepare and serve food to the public license with the DBPR as well. Contractors license through the Construction Industry Licensing Board (DBPR), and alcohol and tobacco sellers through the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (DBPR). The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) licenses pest control, motor vehicle repair, moving companies, health studios, sellers of travel, telemarketing and private security. Food businesses such as grocery and convenience stores, coffee shops, bakeries, meat and seafood markets, juice bars, food processors and mobile units that sell only prepackaged food need its food establishment permit. Health care professions license with the Florida Department of Health, Division of Medical Quality Assurance. The DBPR license search shows who already holds a DBPR license.
3. Check zoning before you sign a lease, or before you run the business from home. Ask the city or county planning office whether your activity is allowed at that address and whether a home occupation permit applies.
4. Get your local business tax receipt from your county tax collector, and a second one from your city if your location is inside city limits. The Department of Revenue’s page links to each county tax collector’s website. The tax collector asks for your fictitious name registration, if you have one, and your state license, if your work needs one. The tax is due by September 30 each year, and a receipt bought during the year expires on the following September 30. Each county and city sets its own rates by ordinance. Opening without a receipt where one is required adds a 25% penalty to the tax due.
5. Register for sales tax if you sell taxable goods or services. Florida has no separate seller’s permit; the sales tax registration with the Department of Revenue is the equivalent, and Get your tax IDs covers it.
6. Nonprofits that ask for donations register first. Anyone who solicits contributions from a location in Florida or from people in Florida registers with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and renews every year.
7. Ask for help if the list gets long. The SBA’s South Florida and North Florida district offices offer counseling and connect you to partner organizations. The Florida SBDC Network has more than 40 offices across the state with no-cost, confidential consulting.

What you get back

A local business tax receipt from the county, another from the city if it levies the tax, and one license or permit per state agency that regulates your work. Business tax receipts expire September 30 and renew every year; state licenses renew on their own schedules, so note each date.