Licenses and permits in Indiana

The Secretary of State filing is not a license to do the work. Indiana does not have one license that covers every business¹. What you need depends on the activity and the city or county.

What’s different in Indiana

• No single statewide business license. The business owner’s guide says so in one sentence, then sends you to the agencies for the work you do.
• Among construction trades, the state guide names plumbers as the state license. Other contractor licensing is left to the city or county.
• Some food made at home is outside the food-establishment permit. The food cannot need time and temperature control to stay safe, and it cannot be shipped out of Indiana.
• Alcohol is a permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission¹. Check the fee on the application for your kind of permit.

Do this

1. Ask the city or county where you will actually work. Indiana does not have one license that covers every business¹. The guide says zoning and signs are almost always local, and that rules differ from place to place. It does not name one 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. A retail business also has a state sales tax certificate, which is not the same thing: A Registered Retail Merchant Certificate is not a vendor's license. The vendor's license comes from the county clerk⁹. Get your tax IDs has the state certificate.
2. Get a state license if the trade has one. Plumbers are the only construction contractors licensed by the state. Contractor licensing other than plumbing is a local choice¹. Read the Plumbing Commission application instructions for the correct license type, eligibility, examination, and current application fee before paying. For any other trade, ask the city and the state board that regulates that work.
3. Selling food from home? Read the home-based vendor statute and the health department handbook. A home-based vendor who follows the chapter is exempt from the food-establishment rules. The product has to be food made, grown, or raised at the person's primary residence that is not a time-and-temperature-control-for-safety food, sold to the end consumer and not resold. It cannot be shipped or delivered to an end consumer outside Indiana. Packaged food needs a label, including the statement that it is home produced, the production area was not inspected, and it is not for resale. A home-based vendor must get a food handler certificate from an issuer accredited by the American National Standards Institute and give a copy to the local health department in the county where they live⁴. A restaurant, a food that needs refrigeration to stay safe, and a sale to a store that will resell it are outside this exemption. Ask the local health department before you assume a product qualifies. A city can still require its own license. The statute does not print that local fee.
4. Selling alcohol? Get the permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission¹. The Alcohol and Tobacco Commission permit applications page links to new facility permits, renewals, employee permits, and paper application forms where applicable. Select the permit for the kind of sale you will make and confirm the fee there. The business owner’s guide gives background agency contact details but does not supply the application. A city may have its own license on top of the state permit. Ask the city. After the permit, alcohol excise tax is a separate filing with the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue’s small-business handbook says that tax is filed electronically.
5. A qualifying independent contractor seeking a workers’ compensation exemption needs a certificate. Apply through the Workers’ Compensation Board’s independent-contractor page, which links the online application, or read the Department of Revenue’s clearance instructions first. The workers’ compensation statute lists $15⁸ for filing the certificate with the Board, but the Department of Revenue lists $20⁷ for its nonrefundable WCE-1 clearance application; the older business guide also says $20¹ for each certificate. These sources do not explain whether the charges are separate or inclusive.* Confirm the total through the current application before you pay. Clearance from the Department of Revenue is required before the certificate is issued.
6. Selling taxable goods? Register for the retail certificate: Get your tax IDs. The certificate is not a business license.

What you get back

A local permit where the city or county requires one, a state license if the trade needs it, a home-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 business entity report, every other year, is a separate calendar.