Please give me a little slack if your State is different than mine. I guess there's a good chance that the sequence of obtaining the necessary business licenses could vary from State to State.
My business was registered in Utah, first as a sole proprietorship and later on as a Subchapter S Corporation.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a lawyer and my experience in this realm is limited to just one State. I will tell you what I did. You may find things are done a little differently where you register your business.
I began my license quest at the county administrative office. That ended up being a mistake since they needed to have my DBA and State business registration information before they could process my application.
So my advice to you is to begin at the State business registration office. If that's not the place to begin your license odyssey, they will tell you.
The good news is: many States allow you to register and pay for their service online. So you may not have to leave the comfort of your home to handle this step.
You have the option of registering your business name as a "dba" - or "doing business as."
Sometimes called the "fictitious name," this registration will allow you to use something besides John Doe for your business if you are a sole proprietor or in a partnership.
An example of a dba would be Mike Smith, sole proprietor, doing business as "Big Mike's Muffler and Malt Shoppe."
In Utah, no posting requirements were stipulated for the owner - but I understand that in some States the new owner is required to do a fictitious name posting for a length of time in the local newspaper to alert the public to the name and see if there are any that have a problem with it.
As I recall, registering a business name in the State of Utah is done with the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code and costs $22. The fee is well worth the protection the business name receives from others who would copy it, knowingly or not.
A corporation pays a $52.00 fee in Utah to file its Articles of Incorporation. There is an annual $12.00 renewal fee as well.
If your business is a non-profit, an LLC, a professional corporation, or if you run a health spa, a phone soliciting business, a school, or any of a number of other specialty businesses, the fees and licenses will be different.
Also, if you run an information business and you hold a particular occupational license of some type, you will be required to keep it up to date by paying an annual renewal.
Some professions like architects, attorneys, contractors, dietitians, insurance agents, mortgage brokers, plumbers, psychologists, real estate agents, and stock brokers are required to keep their registrations current with the State.
Your business will also need a State Tax registration which will give you a tax number that is to be used with your quarterly tax payments. Again, this step can usually be accomplished online although it will take some time for the paperwork to reach you via the postal service.
That's all I'm going to say about the State registrations as they will vary depending upon where you live.
Since there are a lot of small businesses being created every day of the year, there is a good chance that the business licensing procedure will be highlighted with a prominent link on the home page of your State's web site. If you don't know what the URL is, try this: www.yourstatename.gov
