Licenses and permits in North Dakota

The Secretary of State filing is not a license to do the work. You may need more licenses depending on the work¹. Start with the license list on the register page, then the city and county, then the board that regulates your kind of work.

What’s different in North Dakota

• No single statewide business license. The Secretary of State issues licenses and registrations for charitable solicitation, contractor, home inspector, notary public, and professional fundraiser¹.
• Construction over $4,000² needs a contractor license from that same office. The class follows the size of the job.
• Cottage food is a statutory exemption, not a permit you buy. There is no license or inspection fee for the foods the Cottage Foods Act covers³.
• Alcohol is two licenses. The local one comes first. The state one is from the Attorney General.

Do this

1. Read the license list on the register a business page. The Secretary of State issues licenses and registrations for charitable solicitation, contractor, home inspector, notary public, and professional fundraiser. You may need more licenses depending on the work. The page points you at city, county, and state licensing or permit requirements¹. Start with the city or county where you will work. A city can require its own license even when the state list does not name your work.
2. Get a contractor license if the job is over $4,000. That includes subcontractors and contractors from outside the state. Apply in FirstStop. The new-license classes are Class A, over $500,000 a job, $450, Class B, up to $500,000 a job, $300, Class C, up to $300,000 a job, $225, and Class D, up to $100,000 a job, $100. You also send a liability insurance certificate that names the Secretary of State, and proof from Workforce Safety & Insurance: a certificate of payment if you have employees living in North Dakota, or in most other cases a letter of good standing. Electrical, plumbing, asbestos, and transient merchant licenses are separate².
3. Renew a contractor license by March 1. The renewal fees are $90 for Class A, $60 for Class B, $45 for Class C, and $30 for Class D. There is a late filing fee if the renewal misses the deadline². The contractor page does not print the amount.* Check it on the renewal screen.
4. Selling food from home? Read the cottage food page and chapter 23-09.5. A state agency or a city or county may not require a license, permit, or inspection for a cottage food sale covered by the statute. There is no license or inspection fee for the foods the Cottage Foods Act covers³. The sale must be sold directly to the person who will eat it at home. The sale cannot include uninspected meat, with a narrow poultry exception in the statute. Cottage food cannot be sold or used in a food establishment, food processing plant, or food store, except whole unprocessed fruit and vegetables⁴. The customer has to be told the food was made in a home kitchen that was not inspected. A restaurant that serves meals on site is not this exemption.
5. Selling alcohol? Anyone selling alcoholic beverages at retail needs a license from the Attorney General. Submit the application at least four to six weeks before you want to sell. Include a copy of the local city, county, or tribal beer or liquor license in the applicant's name. Renew by December 31. After that, a license is expired, and not renewable, if it is not submitted by the close of business on the last working day in February⁵. On the application, a renewal in a city over 500 people is $100 for beer only and $200 for beer, liquor, or wine. In a smaller city, a county, or a tribal location, beer only is $50 and beer, liquor, or wine is $100. A new license pays the fee listed for the month sales will begin, based on the location and the type of alcohol the local license allows⁶.
6. Selling taxable goods? Register with the Tax Commissioner: Get your tax IDs. A professional license is also separate from the company filing. Register your business has the professional LLC rules.

What you get back

A contractor license if the job size requires it, a cottage-food sale if the food fits the statute, and a state alcohol license after the local license is in hand. Each one renews on its own date. The Secretary of State filing you already made is not any of these.