incFACTS v0.10.18

Analysis

Which states require a general business license

Most do not. 12 of 54 jurisdictions issue a general licence or registration every business must hold; in the other 42 licensing is occupation-specific and local, and the universal state-level step is registering with the revenue department. Each finding is cited to the agency's own pages - the negative as carefully as the positive.

Alaska - General state license requiredAK Alabama - General state license requiredAL Arkansas - No general state licenseAR Arizona - No general state licenseAZ California - No general state licenseCA Colorado - No general state licenseCO Connecticut - No general state licenseCT District of Columbia - General state license requiredDC Delaware - General state license requiredDE Florida - No general state licenseFL Georgia - No general state licenseGA Guam - General state license requiredGU Hawaii - General state license requiredHI Iowa - No general state licenseIA Idaho - No general state licenseID Illinois - No general state licenseIL Indiana - No general state licenseIN Kansas - No general state licenseKS Kentucky - No general state licenseKY Louisiana - No general state licenseLA Massachusetts - No general state licenseMA Maryland - No general state licenseMD Maine - No general state licenseME Michigan - No general state licenseMI Minnesota - No general state licenseMN Missouri - No general state licenseMO Mississippi - No general state licenseMS Montana - No general state licenseMT North Carolina - No general state licenseNC North Dakota - No general state licenseND Nebraska - No general state licenseNE New Hampshire - No general state licenseNH New Jersey - No general state licenseNJ New Mexico - No general state licenseNM Nevada - General state license requiredNV New York - No general state licenseNY Ohio - No general state licenseOH Oklahoma - No general state licenseOK Oregon - No general state licenseOR Pennsylvania - No general state licensePA Puerto Rico - General state license requiredPR Rhode Island - No general state licenseRI South Carolina - No general state licenseSC South Dakota - No general state licenseSD Tennessee - General state license requiredTN Texas - No general state licenseTX Utah - No general state licenseUT Virginia - No general state licenseVA US Virgin Islands - General state license requiredVI Vermont - No general state licenseVT Washington - General state license requiredWA Wisconsin - No general state licenseWI West Virginia - General state license requiredWV Wyoming - No general state licenseWY
General state license required 12No general state license 42Not yet established 0
Which jurisdictions require a general state business license, 54 jurisdictions.

The 12 with a general license

General state business licenses
JurisdictionLicenseInitial feeCadencePenaltyLocal layer
AlaskaAlaska Business License$50see the due-date ruleCivil fine of up to $300 for knowingly engaging in business without a current license (AS 43.70.020(e)). The general Title 43 criminal penalcity licenses
AlabamaState and County Business Privilege License (Alabama privilege license)noneannualDelinquent license (after November 1): penalty of 15 percent of the license amount plus interest at six percent from the date of delinquencycounty and city licenses
District of ColumbiaBasic Business License (BBL) - General Business category (General Sales and Services)$99biennialLapsed-license reinstatement penalties: $75 if renewed within 30 days after lapse; $150 if lapsed more than 30 days but less than 6 months; no local general license
DelawareDelaware business license (State of Delaware business license; general service license for activities not otherwise enumerated)$75annualCarrying on a licensable business without a license: liable for the license fees and a fine of not more than $3,000, or imprisonment of not county and city licenses
GuamGuam Business License (DRT Form BL-01 'New Business License Application'; commercial license for sale/manufacture of tangible property under 11 GCA ch. 72, service license under ch. 76)noneannualLate renewal: $1.00 per calendar day delinquent added to the renewal fee; failure to renew within 30 days after the due date requires the buno local general license
HawaiiGeneral Excise Tax (GET) License (Hawaii Tax Identification Number), issued on Form BB-1 State of Hawaii Basic Business Application$20one-timeEngaging in business without the license: fine of not more than $500; a cash-based business may be fined not less than $500 and not more thacounty licenses
NevadaState Business License$500 corporation organized under NRS chapter ; $200 all other entity types (LLCs, LPs, LLPs,annual$100 penalty in addition to the annual license fee for each year without a license or for late renewal (NRS 76.110(1), 76.130(4)); a Title 7county and city licenses
Puerto RicoCertificado de Registro de Comerciantes (Departamento de Hacienda, via SURI); separately, the OGPe Permiso Único operating permitnonebiennialFailure to register as required by Sec. 4060.01(a): penalty of up to $10,000 (Sec. 6043.03(a)); transferring a certificate $5,000; false infcity licenses
TennesseeTennessee business tax license (standard business license / minimal activity license)$15annualBusiness may not operate until the license is obtained and posted at the business location; standard-license holders must register, file andcounty and city licenses
US Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin Islands Business License (DLCA 'Application for U.S. Virgin Islands Business License')noneStatutory penalty for operating unlicensed not loaded (27 V.I.C. § 301 et seq. text unavailable on an official host). DLCA states failure tono local general license
WashingtonWashington State Business License (Business License Application, BLS 700 028; issued with a Unified Business Identifier)$50annualLate renewal: business license delinquency fee equal to the lesser of $150 or 50 percent of the renewal fee base (RCW 19.02.085(1)). Operaticounty and city licenses
West VirginiaWest Virginia Business Registration Certificate$30one-timeEngaging in business without a required certificate: penalty of $50 for each month or fraction thereof in default of the business registraticity licenses

The 42 without one

Each links to the state's record, where the revenue-department registration, the occupational licensing hub and the local layer are set out.

Cite this page

Cite the page for the compilation and its verification record; for the underlying fact, cite the official source shown on its row. Formats:

incFACTS, "Which states require a general business license," FACTS repository v0.10.18 (data as of 2026-10-25), https://www.incfacts.com/analysis/state-business-license/ (accessed 2026-10-25).
incFACTS, Which states require a general business license, https://www.incfacts.com/analysis/state-business-license/ (last visited 2026-10-25).
@misc{incfacts_analysis_state_business_license_2026,
  author = {incFACTS (FACTS repository)},
  title = {Which states require a general business license},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.incfacts.com/analysis/state-business-license/},
  note = {v0.10.18, data as of 2026-10-25, accessed 2026-10-25}
}
{{cite web |title=Which states require a general business license |website=incFACTS |publisher=FACTS repository |url=https://www.incfacts.com/analysis/state-business-license/ |version=v0.10.18 |date=2026-10-25 |access-date=2026-10-25 |quote= }}

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