Business licenses and permits in Texas

Texas issues no general state business license. Your certificate of formation or assumed name certificate stands in for the general license other states require. What’s left: a sales tax permit if you sell, a state license for your kind of work, and whatever your city and county ask for.

What’s different in Texas

• There is no general state business license. The registration you already made with the Secretary of State or the county clerk covers what a general license covers elsewhere. The Comptroller’s sales tax permit is separate and depends on what you sell; Get your tax IDs has it.
• One state guide, one office to ask. The Business Permit Office publishes the Texas Business Licenses & Permits Guide, which lists state licenses and permits by activity, and answers questions about them. It doesn’t issue licenses itself; each agency does.
• General contractors need no state license. Specialty trades do: the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) licenses air conditioning contractors, electricians, barbers and cosmetologists, among many others. A city or county may still set rules for general contractors.

Do this

1. Get your sales tax permit from the Comptroller if you’ll be selling or leasing goods, or selling taxable services, in Texas. Get your tax IDs walks through it.
2. Look up your activity in the Texas Business Licenses & Permits Guide from the Business Permit Office. For a list built around your answers, use the Governor's Small Business Resource Portal.
3. Check with your city and county. They set their own permits, and the state guide doesn’t list them. Start with your city’s permitting office, or the county’s offices if you’re outside city limits; the Business Permit Office can point you to the right one.
4. Check zoning before you sign a lease. Home or rented space, ask the city’s planning office whether your activity is allowed at that address. Outside city limits, ask the county.
5. Get any state license your work needs. Trades and many occupations license with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Anyone selling or serving alcohol applies to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) through its Alcohol Industry Management System (AIMS). Other professions have their own boards, listed in the state guide. General contractors need no state license, but check the city or county.
6. Ask for help if the list gets long. The Business Permit Office answers permitting questions. The SBA’s Texas district offices, in Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso, Harlingen, Houston, Lubbock and San Antonio, offer free counseling; the SBA’s local assistance finder shows the nearest one.

What you get back

No general license: your formation or assumed name certificate is the proof other states’ licenses provide. Beyond that, a sales tax permit if you sell, one license or permit per state agency that regulates your work, and any city or county permits. Each renews on its own schedule, so note the dates as they arrive.