Licenses and permits in Maine

The Secretary of State filing is not a license to do the work. The general license to operate is handled by the town or city. Start with Business Answers, a free assistant from the Department of Economic and Community Development that lists the licenses for the kind of business you describe, which is free¹, then the town clerk, then the agency that regulates your kind of work.

What’s different in Maine

• No single statewide business license. The company filing and the license to operate are different steps.
• Business Answers builds the list. You answer questions about the business. It returns the licenses, permits, and qualifications for that activity.
• Some home food is a state license, not a ban and not a free pass. The license is narrow, it costs $20² a year, and it starts with an inspection.
• Alcohol licenses come from the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations. The type depends on what you sell and where.

Do this

1. Run the activity through Business Answers. Business Answers, a free assistant from the Department of Economic and Community Development that lists the licenses for the kind of business you describe. It is free. Then ask the city or town where the business will be. The general license to operate is handled by the town or city¹. The state page does not print the town fee.* Use the figure the clerk gives you.
2. Keep the company filing separate. An LLC or corporation still registers with the Secretary of State: Register your business. That filing is not the town license, and the town license is not the company filing.
3. Selling shelf-stable food from home? Read the home food sheet. The license covers shelf-stable food made at home and sold from home or at retail stores. Food that must be refrigerated or frozen is not included. Sales are from home, at retail stores, or both. The fee is $20 a year. It takes one inspection before the license is issued. Later annual inspections are not required. A license is not required for selling only fresh produce, fresh eggs from a farm with fewer than 3,000 birds, or poultry under the fewer-than-1,000-bird exemption². Canned foods such as pickles, relishes, and sauces have to be reviewed by a process authority before the license. The sheet names the University of Maine Food Testing Services as one place that does that review. A restaurant that serves meals is a different license. The liquor page lists a health inspection license from the Department of Health and Human Services, for on-premises licensees and for licensees serving food or operating kitchens, and a food or beverage license from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, for off-premises retailers, manufacturers, and wholesalers³.
4. Selling alcohol? Apply in BELLS, the Bureau's Enterprise Liquor Licensing System. The license depends on the business. On-premises, retail, manufacturing, and wholesale are not the same application. An on-premises license, for a bar, restaurant, or hotel, must be approved by the town or city where the business will be, or by the county in an unorganized township. BELLS sends the application to the town by email. A retail or off-premises license does not need town or county approval. In an unorganized township, that applicant still pays the county a $10⁴ application fee. Separately, the Bureau lists town approvals from the clerk, code enforcement, or local licensing for most applicants, and those vary by town³. The licensing page does not print one fee that covers every license.* Use the license that matches what you will sell, and check that fee before you pay. You will also need the retailer certificate from Maine Revenue Services if you make retail sales: Get your tax IDs.
5. A licensed trade is a separate step from the company filing. Electrical work is licensed by the Electricians’ Examining Board. The license renews every two years from the first license date⁵. Each license class links its own renewal fees from that page. Check yours before you pay. Other professions are listed from the business licensing page under professional licensing. Business Answers is the list for the work you named. This page does not restate every board.
6. Selling taxable goods? Register with Maine Revenue Services. The rates and the registration are on Get your tax IDs.

What you get back

A town or city license where the ordinance requires one, a state license if the work needs it, a home food license or a health license if you sell food, and an alcohol license if you sell alcohol. Each one has its own renewal. Write the date down. For the town license, the clerk’s fee is the one that applies, because the state page does not print it.