Licenses and permits in Vermont

Forming the company is not permission to do the work. Vermont does not issue one statewide license that covers every business. The Office of Professional Regulation licenses named professions, the Department of Health licenses food, the Division of Liquor Control licenses alcohol, and the town where you operate may have a permission of its own.

What’s different in Vermont

• There is no general state business license. The Office of Professional Regulation licenses the professions on its list. Plumbers and electricians are licensed by the Department of Fire Safety¹.
• Residential contracting near $10,000 can require OPR registration, insurance and a written contract. The statute’s line is more than that figure; OPR’s FAQ says that figure or more. See step 3. An individual pays $75. A business with employees pays $250².
• Home food splits into a license and an exemption. Cottage food receipts of $30,000 or less can be an exemption filed each year before January 15⁵. Above that, a home bakery license is $100⁶.
• Alcohol licenses are state and often town. A restaurant’s first-class fee is split, $115 to the division and the same amount to the town. The fee paid with the application is not refunded if the license is not issued⁷.
• A city license does not replace the state one. Each credential has its own office and its own date.

Do this

1. Ask the town clerk where you will operate. Local requirements and fees depend on the town; registering the company with the Secretary of State does not grant that permission.* Confirm the rules with the local clerk before opening.
2. If the work is a licensed profession, use the relevant board. The Office of Professional Regulation licenses the professions on its list. Plumbers and electricians are licensed by the Department of Fire Safety¹. Doctors are licensed by the Board of Medical Practice; lawyers by the Professional Responsibility Board. Fees vary by profession.* Check the board’s current application and fee before taking a client.
3. Apply for residential contractor registration through OPR if the work requires it. Under 26 V.S.A. § 5501, registration is required before contracting with a homeowner for residential construction of more than $10,000, including labor and materials³. The OPR FAQ says an estimated job of $10,000 or more. Review the statutory exemptions before assuming the registration is required. An individual with no employees pays $75. A business with employees pays $250, and those employees do not each register. You also need $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate and a written contract. A commercial contractor registers only when the job is residential and the estimate is $10,000 or more. A tradesperson licensed by the Department of Public Safety is exempt while working inside that license². The FAQ lists more exemptions, including an engineer or architect working inside that license, and a person delivering appliances. Read the list for the job you will actually do.
4. Selling food from home? A home bakery makes baked goods that do not need refrigeration, using a home kitchen. A home caterer makes prepared food for direct sale. Apply at least 30 days before you plan to open. The statute fee is $100 for a home bakery and $155⁶ for a home caterer. A cottage food operator with gross receipts of $30,000 or less can claim an exemption instead of that license. The exemption is not free of rules. You complete annual training, label the food with a label that says the food was made in a home kitchen the Department of Health does not inspect, and file each year before January 15. Food made under the exemption cannot be sold to a restaurant or another licensed food establishment. A separate exemption covers a non-bakery food processor that packages food for resale with sales under $10,000⁵. Foods that have to stay cold are not cottage foods. A business outside these rules needs the license for the kind of food it actually sells. This is not the sales-tax account. That registration is on Get your tax IDs.
5. Selling alcohol? Use the Division of Liquor Control fee page for the class that matches the sale. A first-class license lets a restaurant serve beer, wine, and similar drinks on the premises. The restaurant fee is $115 to the division and $115 to the town. A second-class retail license, for off-premises sales, is $70 to the division and the same amount to the town. A full-year third-class license, for spirits on the premises, is $1,095 to the division. The page lists half-year, manufacturer, and other fees that this guide does not restate. The fee paid with the application is not refunded if the license is not issued⁷. Call the licensing office before you pay if you are not sure the class fits the sale.
6. Keep each expiration on its own line. A town permission, a contractor registration, a food license, and a liquor license do not share a date with the Secretary of State annual report. That report follows your fiscal year. The details are on Stay compliant.

What you get back

A local permission if the town requires one, a professional license if your work is on a board’s list, a contractor registration if the job is covered, a food license or a cottage-food exemption if you sell food, and a liquor license if you sell alcohol. Each one stands on its own. None of them is the LLC filing.