Florida Business License in 2026: Local Business Tax Receipts, DBPR Licenses and Sunbiz Filings

Search for "Florida business license" and you will quickly learn that the state does not issue one. That answer is true but incomplete, and it leaves new owners exposed to penalties. In practice almost every Florida business needs a local business tax receipt from its county and often its city, many need a state license for their trade, and every LLC or corporation must keep its Sunbiz record current. This guide explains each layer with real fees from Miami-Dade, Orange, Hillsborough and Duval counties, checked in October 2026.

Quick answer

Florida has no general statewide business license. Instead you get a local business tax receipt (BTR) from your county and, if your city levies one, from your city. Regulated trades also need a state license, usually from the DBPR, and LLCs and corporations register on Sunbiz and file an annual report.

• Receipts run October 1 – September 30 and must be renewed by September 30

• Fees vary: in Hillsborough a retail shop pays $30 a year, a restaurant $30 to $120

• Operating without a receipt adds a 25% of the tax due penalty

• LLCs file a $138.75 Sunbiz annual report between January 1 and May 1

• A 2026 bill to abolish local business taxes failed, so receipts are still required

Does Florida require a business license?

Florida does not have a single state business license that every company must hold, unlike Washington or Nevada. What it has instead is a local business tax, authorized by Chapter 205 of the Florida Statutes. Counties and cities may charge this tax for the privilege of doing business within their borders, and when you pay it you receive a business tax receipt. They were called occupational licenses until a 2006 law renamed them, which is why many people, landlords and banks still ask for a "business license" when they mean a receipt.

The local business tax is not a regulatory license. The statute is explicit that permits, registrations, examinations and inspections required by a board or agency are separate and come on top. That is why a Miami nail salon needs a business tax receipt from the county, another from the City of Miami, a salon license from the state, and a certificate of use from the city's zoning office.

Three layers apply to most businesses. The first is local: county and city business tax receipts, plus zoning approval or a certificate of use where the location requires one. The second is state regulatory: a license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) or another agency if your trade is regulated. The third is registration: forming your LLC or corporation, registering any trade name with the Division of Corporations on Sunbiz, and registering for sales tax with the Department of Revenue if you sell taxable goods or services.

Florida licensing in the order most businesses do it

Step 1

Sunbiz entity or fictitious name

Step 2

EIN from the IRS

Step 3

State license

if your trade is regulated

Step 4

Zoning / certificate of use

city or county

Step 5

City business tax receipt

Step 6

County business tax receipt

Step 7

Sales tax registration

if you sell taxable items

Local business tax receipts: how they work

Each county and city sets its own business tax classifications and rates by ordinance, usually by type of business and then by a measure of size such as employees, seats, rooms or machines. Receipts go on sale on July 1, are due by September 30, and expire on September 30 of the following year, whatever date you first bought yours. A county can provide for a partial-year receipt for businesses that start mid-year; Orange County, for example, charges a half-year fee to new businesses from April 1.

You generally need one receipt for each business location and, in many counties, one for each separate classification at that location. A barbershop that also sells retail products, or a restaurant that adds a bar, may need more than one classification. Most counties also require you to show any state license and the city receipt before they issue theirs.

Penalties are set by state law and are the same everywhere. A receipt not renewed by September 30 becomes delinquent and is charged 10% in October plus 5% a month, capped at 25% of the tax. A business that operates without first getting a required receipt owes a penalty of 25% of the tax due of the tax due, on top of any other penalty. If the tax is still unpaid 150 days after the first notice, the county can sue and add court costs, attorneys' fees and a penalty of up to $250.

Because the tax itself is often small, owners sometimes ignore it. The real costs come elsewhere: banks, landlords, insurers and payment processors frequently ask for a current receipt, government contracts require one, and a county code enforcement officer can close a shop that cannot show one.

Florida business tax receipts at a glance

Oct 1 – Sep 30

Tax year for every receipt

September 30

Renewal deadline

25%

Maximum late-renewal penalty

10% in October, then 5% a month

25% of the tax due

Penalty for operating with no receipt

County examples: Miami-Dade, Orange, Hillsborough and Duval

Each of Florida's 67 counties runs its own system, but the four largest metro counties show the patterns you will meet.

Miami-Dade County

The Miami-Dade Tax Collector requires a local business tax receipt for each place of business and for each separate classification at the same location. Businesses located inside one of the county's municipalities, such as Miami, Hialeah, Miami Beach or Doral, must get both a city receipt and a county receipt. The county assesses the tax by type of business, whether it is in a city or the unincorporated area, and by employees, seats, units or square footage. Applications and renewals are handled online through the Tax Collector's portal.

Miami-Dade now also asks every applicant to complete an online attestation that the business does not do business with Cuba in violation of federal law, citing section 205.0532 of the Florida Statutes, and warns that a receipt can take up to three business days to become printable after the attestation. The county offers separate exemption applications for nonprofits, for qualifying individuals, and for veterans, eligible service members, their spouses and low-income residents.

Orange County (Orlando)

Orange County's business tax is imposed by the Board of County Commissioners and applies to businesses throughout the county, including inside its cities. The cities of Apopka, Belle Isle, Eatonville, Edgewood, Maitland, Oakland, Ocoee, Orlando, Windermere, Winter Garden and Winter Park issue their own receipts, and you must get the city receipt first. Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista do not issue receipts, so businesses there go straight to the county.

When you apply online, the Tax Collector asks you to upload your city receipt, your Sunbiz registration, any state licenses, and your Social Security card or federal tax ID. Renewal penalties follow the state schedule: 10% on October 1, 15% on November 1, 20% on December 1 and 25% from January 1.

Hillsborough County (Tampa)

Hillsborough publishes a detailed fee schedule, which makes it a useful benchmark. Typical annual county fees include $30 per retail store, $30 per person practicing a profession, $30 to $120 for restaurants depending on seats, $22 to $150 for public service businesses depending on employees and $18 to $468.75 for contractors depending on employees. Professionals must show a current state license before a receipt is issued, and each office where a profession is practiced needs its own receipt. Businesses inside Tampa, Plant City or Temple Terrace check with their city as well.

Duval County (Jacksonville)

Jacksonville and Duval County are consolidated, so the Duval County Tax Collector issues one local business tax receipt for businesses in Jacksonville, including home-based and one-person businesses. Businesses in Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and the Town of Baldwin must also get a receipt from that municipality. Jacksonville's zoning office reviews business locations, and most non-home businesses in the city need a certificate of use before opening.

Worked cost examples for a new business

Numbers make the system concrete. These examples use published fees where they exist and label the parts that you must confirm locally.

A sole proprietor opening a gift shop in unincorporated Hillsborough County under the name "Bay Breeze Gifts" pays the county retail receipt of $30. Because the trade name is not her legal name, she registers it as a fictitious name on Sunbiz for $50. She then registers free with the Department of Revenue to collect sales tax. Her first-year government cost is about $80, plus any zoning or fire inspection fee the county charges for the premises.

A two-person LLC opening a 40-seat café in Tampa files articles of organization on Sunbiz for $125, then needs a City of Tampa receipt, a Hillsborough County restaurant receipt in the $30 to $120 range, and a food service license from DBPR's Division of Hotels and Restaurants. From the second year it also pays the $138.75 Sunbiz annual report and renews both receipts each September.

A licensed electrical contractor based in Orlando who works on jobs across Central Florida gets a City of Orlando receipt and an Orange County receipt for the office. Under section 205.065, a contractor regulated by DBPR who has paid business tax where its permanent office is located cannot be charged business tax again by other cities or counties for temporary jobs there. Permit fees for each job are separate and still apply.

Documents to have ready for a Florida business tax receipt

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• Sunbiz registration printout or fictitious name confirmation
• EIN letter or Social Security number
• Government photo ID for the owner or officer
• State license from DBPR or another agency, if regulated
• City business tax receipt if your location is inside a city
• Certificate of use, zoning approval or lease for commercial premises
• Exemption application and proof (veteran, low-income, 65+), if claiming one

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State professional licenses from DBPR and other agencies

If your work is regulated, the state license is usually the hardest and most expensive part of getting started, because it may require exams, experience, insurance or bonds. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation licenses a wide range of occupations and businesses, including construction and electrical contractors, cosmetologists, barbers and salons, real estate agents and brokers, certified public accountants, architects, engineers' firms, community association managers, restaurants and lodging through the Division of Hotels and Restaurants, and alcohol sellers through the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.

Other trades answer to different agencies. Pest control, telemarketing, sellers of travel, motor vehicle repair shops and some charities register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Health care professionals and facilities are licensed by the Department of Health and the Agency for Health Care Administration. Child care facilities are licensed by the Department of Children and Families or a local licensing agency, and insurance agents by the Department of Financial Services.

Get the state license before you apply for local receipts. Hillsborough, Orange and most other counties will not issue a receipt for a regulated profession until they see the state license, and starting work in a licensed trade without one is a separate offense with its own penalties. DBPR's online license search also lets customers verify you, so keep your license active and your address current.

Sunbiz registration and the annual report

The Division of Corporations, which runs the Sunbiz website, registers Florida LLCs, corporations, partnerships and nonprofits, and records fictitious names. Filing articles of organization for an LLC costs $125. If you trade under any name other than the legal name of your company or yourself, you must register it as a fictitious name, which costs $50 and lasts five years.

Every LLC and corporation must file an annual report on Sunbiz between January 1 and May 1 of every year after the year it was formed. The LLC fee is $138.75. Missing the May 1 deadline triggers a $400 late fee for corporations and LLCs, and a company that still does not file is administratively dissolved in the fall, which can cost more to reinstate. Ignore mailed "compliance" letters offering to file for you at a markup; the report takes ten minutes on Sunbiz.

None of these filings is a business license. A Sunbiz record proves your company exists. The business tax receipt shows you paid the local privilege tax. The state license shows you are qualified to do regulated work. You need each one that applies.

How to get licensed in Florida, step by step

1. 1

   Register your business on Sunbiz

   Form an LLC or corporation, or register a fictitious name if you trade under a name other than your own.

   How to form an LLC
2. 2

   Get an EIN

   Apply free on IRS.gov. Counties ask for it, or your Social Security number, on the receipt application.

   EIN guide
3. 3

   Get any state license your trade needs

   Check DBPR first, then agriculture, health or financial services agencies if your work falls under them.

   DBPR license portal
4. 4

   Clear zoning and get a certificate of use

   For commercial premises, confirm the use is allowed and get any certificate of use or inspection the city or county requires. Home-based businesses usually skip this step.

5. 5

   Apply for the city receipt, then the county receipt

   Apply online with each tax collector, uploading your Sunbiz record, state license and city receipt. Pay the fee and display the receipts.

   Tip: Renew every year by September 30 to avoid penalties.

6. 6

   Register for sales tax if you sell taxable goods

   Register free with the Florida Department of Revenue before your first taxable sale.

   Florida sales tax guide

Home-based businesses and exemptions

Florida gives home-based businesses stronger protection than most states. Under section 559.955, a business run wholly or partly from a residence can operate in a residential zone, and local governments may not license or regulate it more strictly than other businesses. It is subject only to the business tax of the county and city where the home is located. To qualify, the employees who work at the home must live there, except for up to 2 employees or contractors who do not; parking and the outward look of the home must fit the neighborhood; the business must stay secondary to the home's residential use; and retail transactions may not take place in a separate structure on the property. Condominium declarations and HOA covenants are not overridden. Remote employees who never come to the house do not count.

So a freelance graphic designer working from a spare bedroom in Kissimmee still needs Osceola County's receipt, and the city's if Kissimmee levies one for that classification, but cannot be forced into a commercial zone or charged a special home-business fee. An owner who is treated unfairly can challenge the local action in court and recover attorney fees if successful.

Several groups can get receipts without paying the tax. Under state law and county ordinances, honorably discharged veterans and their spouses or unremarried surviving spouses, spouses of active-duty service members who moved to Florida on military orders, and low-income residents can claim fee exemptions in counties such as Hillsborough and Miami-Dade. Section 205.162 also exempts disabled people unable to do manual labor, widows and widowers with minor dependents, and people aged 65 or older who work in their home county with no more than one helper and no more than $1,000 of their own capital. You still need the receipt, which is stamped as exempt.

Some activities need no receipt at all, such as farmers selling their own produce and nonprofits' occasional fundraising sales, under conditions that vary by county. Exemptions never cover the separate license fees for selling alcohol.

Did Florida abolish local business taxes in 2026?

No. In the 2026 session, the Florida House passed CS/HB 103, which would have repealed most of Chapter 205 and ended local business taxes for most businesses, by 82 votes to 26 on February 17, 2026. The bill died in the Senate Appropriations Committee when the session ended on March 13, 2026, and two Senate bills on the same subject, SB 122 and SB 650, also died in committee. Business tax receipts therefore remain due this year and next.

Similar bills have been filed before and may return in the 2027 session. Until a repeal actually becomes law, renew on time. Watch the Florida Senate's bill tracker each spring, and do not rely on news headlines from February that reported the House vote as if it were law.

Florida business tax year and the 2026 repeal attempt

Oct 7, 2025

HB 103 filed to repeal most local business taxes

Feb 17, 2026

House passes CS/HB 103, 82–26

Mar 13, 2026

Bill dies in Senate Appropriations; receipts stay in force

Jul 1 each year

Renewal receipts go on sale

Sep 30 each year

Receipts expire; renew by this date

Oct 1 each year

Unrenewed receipts delinquent; 10% penalty, then 5% a month to 25%

Common mistakes and how to fix them

The most common mistake is getting only the county receipt when your business is inside a city, or the reverse. Check your parcel on the county property appraiser's website; if a city name appears in the municipality field, you need that city's receipt too, and in Orange County you need it first.

The second is choosing the wrong classification. A home-based bookkeeper who registers as "consultant" when she is a licensed CPA, or a food truck registered as a retail store, may pay the wrong rate and fail an inspection later. Read your county's category list, pick the closest match, and call the tax collector if unsure.

The third is assuming the receipt does not expire. Every receipt ends on September 30. Renewal notices are only courtesy reminders, and Miami-Dade says plainly that the holder is responsible for renewing. Put July 1 in your calendar as the day renewals open.

The fourth is moving or changing names without telling the tax collector. A change of location, ownership or trade name must be reported, often in person, and a small transfer fee applies. Unreported changes can leave the receipt invalid.

If you have already been operating without a receipt, apply now. The 25% of the tax due penalty applies to the tax due, which for many small businesses means only a few dollars more, and it is far cheaper than a code enforcement case.

Official Florida links

• Chapter 205 — Local Business TaxesDue dates and penalties
• Miami-Dade Tax Collector — Local Business Tax Receipt
• Orange County Tax Collector — New Business Tax Receipt
• Hillsborough County Tax Collector — Business Tax
• Duval County Tax Collector — Local Business Tax
• DBPR — licensing portalApply for or verify a state license
• Sunbiz — Division of CorporationsEntities, fictitious names, annual reports

What to do next

Start with your structure: compare LLC registration and DBA filing, then get your EIN. Check whether your trade needs a DBPR license, apply for your city and county receipts, and if you sell goods or taxable services, read our Florida sales tax guide before your first sale. Budget for licenses, deposits and equipment with the startup cost calculator, and check your name with the LLC name checker.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

Does Florida require a business license?

Florida has no general statewide business license. Instead, most counties and many cities charge a local business tax and issue a business tax receipt, which is what people usually mean by a Florida business license. On top of that, regulated trades and professions need a state license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or another agency, and LLCs and corporations register with Sunbiz.

How much does a business tax receipt cost in Florida?

It depends on the county, the city and your type of business. In Hillsborough County, for example, a retail store pays $30 per store, professionals pay $30 per person, restaurants pay $30 to $120 by seat count and contractors $18 to $468.75 by number of employees. If you are inside a city that has its own tax, add the city receipt.

Do I need both a city and a county business tax receipt?

Usually, yes, if your business is inside a city that levies its own business tax. Miami-Dade County states that businesses within a municipality must get both a city receipt and a county receipt. In Orange County, cities such as Orlando, Winter Park and Apopka require their own receipt, which you must get before the county issues its receipt.

When do Florida business tax receipts expire?

Every receipt runs from October 1 to September 30 and must be renewed by September 30 each year. Late renewals pay 10% in October plus 5% a month, capped at 25%. Operating without a required receipt carries a penalty of 25% of the tax due, plus up to $250 if it stays unpaid 150 days after notice.

Do I need a business license to run a business from home in Florida?

You still need the county and city business tax receipts where your home is located, but state law limits what local governments can do. Under section 559.955, a qualifying home-based business can operate in a residential zone and cannot be licensed or regulated more strictly than other businesses. It may have up to 2 employees or contractors who work at the home but live elsewhere.

Is a Sunbiz registration a business license?

No. Filing articles of organization or incorporation with the Division of Corporations on Sunbiz creates your LLC or corporation, and a fictitious name registration records a trade name. Neither one is permission to operate. You still need local business tax receipts and any state professional license your work requires.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 8 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Chapter 205, Florida Statutes — Local Business Taxes (s. 205.022 definitions) — The Florida Senate · accessed 8 October 2026
2. 2.Section 205.053, Florida Statutes — due dates and penalties — The Florida Senate · accessed 8 October 2026
3. 3.Section 205.162, Florida Statutes — exemption for disabled persons, the aged and widows — The Florida Senate · accessed 8 October 2026
4. 4.Section 205.065, Florida Statutes — DBPR-regulated nonresidents — The Florida Senate · accessed 8 October 2026
5. 5.Section 559.955, Florida Statutes — home-based businesses — The Florida Senate · accessed 8 October 2026
6. 6.Section 605.0212, Florida Statutes — LLC annual report — The Florida Senate · accessed 8 October 2026
7. 7.CS/HB 103 (2026) — Local Business Taxes — The Florida Senate · accessed 8 October 2026
8. 8.Local Business Tax Receipt — Miami-Dade County Office of the Tax Collector · accessed 8 October 2026
9. 9.Business Taxes and Obtaining a New Business Tax Receipt — Orange County Tax Collector · accessed 8 October 2026
10. 10.Business tax renewal information and fee schedule — Hillsborough County Tax Collector · accessed 8 October 2026
11. 11.Local Business Tax Receipt (LBTR) — Duval County Tax Collector · accessed 8 October 2026