State Business Requirements

United States

In the United States, each state has its own business registration and licensing requirements.

There are websites that are valuable resources for the small home based business owner to access.  By clicking on the http://www.business.gov/states/colorado/

and inserting your own state for Colorado, it links you to a wealth of information about what your particular states requirements are.

To take it one step further, the following website will zero in on what each states requires for licenses purposes.

http://www.business.gov/register/licenses-and-permits/
Another site for the office of Small Business Administration centers has a list of all states and a link to access what is required in each state.

http://www.sba.gov/hotlist/license.html

For tax considerations, the Internal Revenue Service also has a website with corresponding links as laws vary from state to state as to what is taxable and what is exempt.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99021,00.html

Another site that comes up with the same information for sole proprietorships is http://www.roninsoft.com/states/ks.htm (Kansas, but you can substitute initials for each state).

The information for sole proprietorship as regards to licensing and tax requirements repeats for each state with the exception of Nevada, Washington, Wyoming and South Dakota.

There are several for fee services offered online, one of which is:

http://www.businesslicenses.com/Licenses

which encompasses all of the states and then brings it down into the city or county you are opening your business in.

Alabama

http://www.alabamainteractive.org/alabamainteractive_shell/Welcome.do?url=http://ador.alabama.gov/salestax/menu.html

http://www.revenue.alabama.gov/taxpayerassist/Starting%20A%20New%20Business%208-07.pdf

http://www.revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/online/appinst.htm

http://www.ado.alabama.gov/content/ourservices/small_business/alabamaanswers.aspx

Alaska

http://www.state.ak.us/local/businessHome.html

http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/small_bus/small_bus_regulation.cfm

http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/smallbus/home.cfm

Arizona

http://www.azcommerce.com/BusAsst/SmallBiz/SBS/E1/HomeBased+Business.htm

http://www.azdor.gov/609/licensingguide.htm

Arkansas

http://asbdc.ualr.edu/faq/faq6.asp

http://www.arkansas.gov/business_res.php#Business%20Permits%20and%20Licenses

California

http://www.ca.gov/Employment/Licenses.html

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/filings.htm#SP

http://www.csac.counties.org/default.asp?id=7 (list of counties as may have separate requirements)

Colorado

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CO-Portal/CXP/1165693060265

http://www.colorado.gov/oed/industry-license/361IndDetail.html

Connecticut

http://www.ct-clic.com/#27519

Delaware

http://dedo.delaware.gov/publications/startup_guide/Delaware_Guide_for_Small_Business.shtml#lictax

dedo.delaware.gov/business/assistance.pdf – 2009-04-27

District of Columbia

http://www.dcsbdc.org/DocumentMaster.aspx?doc=1006

http://dcra.dc.gov/dcra/cwp/view%2Ca%2C1343%2Cq%2C641497.asp

Florida

http://www.stateofflorida.com/Portal/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=8#Licensing

Georgia

http://sos.georgia.gov/corporations/regforms.htm

http://sos.georgia.gov/FirstStop/faqs.htm

Hawaii

http://www.sba.gov/hotlist/license.html

Idaho

http://www.idahobizhelp.org/faqs_answers.htm

http://www.idahobizhelp.org/faqs_answers.htm

Illinois

http://www.siue.edu/business/sbdc/license.shtml

http://www.ehow.com/how_4929055_obtain-illinois-small-business-license.html

Indiana

http://www.sba.gov/hotlist/license.html

Iowa

http://www.iowa.gov/tax/business/newbus.html

http://www.iowalifechanging.com/business/blic.aspx

Kansas

http://www.kansas.gov/services/

http://www.kansas.gov/businesscenter/starting/

Kentucky

http://www.thinkkentucky.com/kyedc/pdfs/bicguide.PDF

Louisiana

http://www.sba.gov/hotlist/license.html

http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/98/Default.aspx

Maine

http://www.maine.gov/portal/business/licensing.html

http://www.maine.gov/portal/business/small_bus.html

http://www.mainesbdc.org/faq.cfm

Maryland

http://www.blis.state.md.us/

http://www.blis.state.md.us/BusinessStartup.aspx

Massachusetts

http://www.msbdc.org/pdf%20files/AR08_final1.pdf

Michigan

http://ref.michigan.org/medc/jumpstart/combo.asp?ContentId=66F80EF0-4B72-4A73-82A4-8C69D8D45232&QueueId=1&ContentTypeId=10022/jumpstart/combo.asp

http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Start-a-Business/Licenses-Permits/Default.aspx

Minnesota

http://www.sba.gov/localresources/district/mn/MN_FAQS.html

http://www.mnsbao.com/licenses/

Mississippi

http://www.mssbdc.org/

Missouri

http://www.missouribusiness.net/docs/license_registration_checklist.asp

http://www.missouribusiness.net/startup/

http://www.sos.mo.gov/business/sbac/starting_steps.asp

Montana

http://sbdc.mt.gov/License.asp

Nebraska

http://www.neded.org/content/view/89/162/

Nevada

http://tax.state.nv.us/documents/TPI%2001.03%20NV%20Business%20License.pdf

http://www.roninsoft.com/states/nv.htm#II(b)

http://www.nsbdc.org/how/start_business/

New Hampshire

http://www.nhsbdc.org/about/FAQs.htm

New Jersey

hhttp://www.nj.gov/njbusiness/starting/

New Mexico

http://www.edd.state.nm.us/businessAssistance/startBusiness/index.html

http://www.nmsbdc.org/index.html

http://www.tax.state.nm.us/pubs/FYI-102__INFORMATION_FOR_NEW_BUSINESSES.pdf.

New York

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/licenses/licenses.shtml

http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dca//html/licenses/applications.shtml (city of New York)

North Carolina

http://www.sba.gov/localresources/district/nc/index.html

http://www.nccommerce.com/en/BusinessServices/StartYourBusiness/FAQ/

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=100286,00.html

North Dakota

http://www.nd.gov/ndins/consumer/small-business-insurance-faqs/

http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/stategovernment/northdakota.html

Ohio

http://www.development.ohio.gov/Entrepreneurship/faq.htm

http://business.ohio.gov/

http://www.google.ca/search?q=small+business+license+in+ohio&hl=en&start=10&sa=N

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:x4CIp4UFTOMJ:www.terra.edu/PDFs/KERN/Business_Basics_Guide.pdf+small+business+license+in+ohio&cd=15&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

Oklahoma

http://www.okcommerce.gov/index.php?Itemid=41&id=17&option=content&task=view

http://www.okcommerce.gov/licensing%20

Oregon

http://licenseinfo.oregon.gov/

http://www.filinginoregon.com/business/index.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?Business-License-Requirements-For-In-Home-Based-Businesses-In-Oregon&id=398287

Pennsylvania

http://www.sbdc.psu.edu/about-us.htm

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:WRej3yF91D4J:www.sbaguides.com/pdf/english/pennsylvania-pittsburgh.pdf+small+business+license+in+Pennsylvania&cd=40&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

www.sbaguides.com/pdf/english/pennsylvania-pittsburgh.pdf

Rhode Island

http://www.ri.gov/business/

http://www.sec.state.ri.us/corps/businessinfo/bicfaq.html/

South Carolina

http://www.sctax.org/Publications/startbusns.htm

http://sc.gov/Portal/Category/SMALLBUSINESS

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/25/smbusiness/home_biz_license.fsb/index.htm

South Dakota

www.bhfreebusinesshelp.org/guide.pdf

www.sbaguides.com/pdf/english/southdakota.pdf

Tennessee

www.sbaguides.com/pdf/english/tennessee.pdf

http://www.orcc.org/sbdc/tax.html

Texas

http://governor.state.tx.us/ecodev/business_resources/sba/

http://www.ntsbdc.org/faq_tax.html

http://www.cdconline.org/texrequireforbusiness.htm

Utah

http://utah.bbb.org/SitePage.aspx?site=139&id=02f8aaf4-5e8b-423e-be9b-cff1245a050e

http://www.slcgov.com/ced/business/pages/geninfo.htm

Vermont

http://www.business.gov/states/vermont/local/montpelier.html (city requirements)

http://www.vermont.gov/portal/business/index.php?id=96

http://www.state.vt.us/tax/businessstarting.shtml

Virginia

http://www.dba.virginia.gov/

http://www.virginia.gov/cmsportal3/business_4096/frequently_asked_questions_faqs.html

http://www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/index.cfm/10473

Washington

http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/

http://www.mrsc.org/byndmrsc/cities.aspx

http://www.hud.gov/offices/osdbu/resource/guide/local/wash.cfm

West Virginia

http://www.sba.gov/localresources/district/wv/index.html

www.state.wv.us/taxrev/uploads/busapp.pdf

http://www.wv.gov/business/small-business-and-self-employment/Pages/default.aspx

Wisconsin

http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/byb/agencies.html

http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/byb/

http://www.business.gov/states/wisconsin/local/madison.html (city of Madison requirements)

www.scdc.com/docs/guide/businesslicenses.pdf

Wyoming

http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/sbdc/pages_media/permits/default.asp

http://www.wyomingbusiness.org/business/permitting.aspx