Make sure you follow city and county rules.

When you're starting a small business, pay attention to your town, city, and county regulations. You can begin by asking city and county officials about license and permit requirements for your business.

Ask Your Bureaucrat

If your city does not have a centralized office that provides business start-up information (and only a few large ones do), there are bound to be many other offices with lots of helpful information for you:

• the city clerk and the county clerk
• the building and safety department
• the health department
• the planning or zoning department
• the tax office
• the fire department
• the police department, and
• the public works department.

The assessor or treasurer can tell you about local taxes on property, fixtures, equipment, inventory, and income or gross receipts. The health department can advise you about permits and regulations if your business involves food preparation. It also needs to test your water if you work in an area where water comes from wells or goes into septic systems.

The police, fire or building and safety departments can help you with issues of crowd control and safe exit from your premises. The fire department will also be concerned about combustible materials used or stored on your business premises.

Unofficial but often extremely helpful sources of information include: the local chamber of commerce, trade associations, contractors who remodel commercial space, other people with businesses like yours, and lawyers who advise small businesses.

Business Licenses, a.k.a. Tax Registration Certificates

In most locations, every business needs a basic business license, sometimes called a tax registration certificate. You usually get the business license from your city or county. However, you may need other permits and licenses as well. No single business license ensures compliance with the numerous licenses, permits and regulatory requirements that apply to small businesses.