Licenses and permits in Michigan

LARA’s Corporations Division does not license businesses. What you need depends on what you do and where you do it. Start with the state’s license search, then your city or county, then the agency that regulates your kind of work.

What’s different in Michigan

• No license from the business registry. LARA’s Corporations Division does not license businesses, and licensing depends on the type of business and its activities.
• Liquor needs local approval and fits a quota. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) issues the license, but the local legislative body approves an on-premises one (except in a city of 600,000 or more), and the number of on-premises licenses is capped by population.
• Food splits three ways. Retail food goes through the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), restaurants and food trucks through the local health department, and small home food sellers may need nothing.

Do this

1. Run the State License Search. Describe your work and see which state licenses and permits apply. Then confirm a license with LARA's Find / Verify a Licensed Professional or Business search.
2. Check your city or county. Ask the city or county what your activity needs at your address before you sign a lease. Cities can add their own licenses or registrations. We could not confirm what Detroit requires or which office issues it.* Check with the city.
3. Get any professional license your work needs from the Bureau of Professional Licensing, Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), which licenses over 700,000 individuals. A licensed profession may also mean a professional service LLC or corporation: Register your business has the list.
4. Building something? Michigan requires a residential builder or residential maintenance and alteration contractor license for residential work done for pay. LARA’s Licensing Section says processing may take up to 3 to 5 weeks, and a 60-hour prelicensure course is part of it. Without it, an unlicensed residential builder or maintenance contractor cannot sue in a Michigan court to collect payment for work that requires a license.
5. Selling food? See MDARD’s food licensing page and the cottage food FAQ. Retail food is licensed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). Serving food to be eaten right away is licensed by the local health department. Cottage food has no license, registration or application, up to $50,000 in gross sales a year, with a higher limit of $75,000 for higher-priced products (the FAQ gives the per-unit price). Sales must be directly from the cottage food operation to the consumer, never wholesale or on consignment; internet, mail order and third-party delivery are allowed if the consumer can interact directly with the operation before the sale.
6. Selling alcohol? The Michigan Liquor Control Commission’s guide lists the license types. For a bar or restaurant, the choice is a Class C license (beer, wine, mixed spirit drinks and spirits) or Tavern license (no spirits). For sales to go, the licenses are Specially Designated Merchant (SDM) for beer and wine, Specially Designated Distributor (SDD) for spirits. Local approval: the local legislative body where the business is located must approve an on-premises license, except in a city of 600,000 or more. The quota is one on-premises public license per 1,500 residents, with exceptions. Server training: supervisory staff trained in a server training program, shown to the commission before a new on-premises license. License fees are set by statute: a Class C license is $600, a Tavern license $250, an SDM license $100 per location, and an SDD license $150 a year, plus $3 for each $1,000 of spirits bought from the commission above $25,000 in the previous calendar year. A full-year license expires April 30, and renewal costs the same annual fee as the license, and fees are not prorated. Whether a given city is large enough to skip local approval depends on its official population count.* Ask the commission.
7. Selling taxable goods or services? Register with Treasury before your first sale, at no charge: Get your tax IDs.
8. Ask for help if the list gets long. The SBA’s Michigan District Office offers counseling. It is based in Detroit, with a Grand Rapids office by appointment only.

What you get back

One license or permit from each agency that regulates your work, each on its own renewal schedule, plus any local permits. Write down the renewal date on each one. A liquor license, for example, expires April 30.