Minnesota Business License in 2026: Tax ID, Assumed Names, State Licences and Minneapolis Rules

Searching for a Minnesota business license usually means you are about to open something, whether that is a shop in Stillwater, a food truck in Minneapolis, a remodeling company or an online store run from home, and you want to know what paperwork stands between you and your first sale. The short version is that Minnesota has no single general business licence. What it does have is a short list of registrations almost everyone needs, a long list of activity licences that only some businesses need, and city rules that vary a lot. This guide walks through each layer with the 2026 fees, checked in October 2026.

Quick answer

Minnesota has no general state business license. Most businesses register with the Secretary of State (an LLC costs $155 online), get a free Minnesota tax ID and sales tax account from the Department of Revenue before their first taxable sale, and file a certificate of assumed name if they trade under another name. Regulated trades need a state licence, and cities such as Minneapolis license only listed activities.

• State sales tax 6.875%; 9.025% combined in Minneapolis

• Assumed name: $50 online plus two newspaper notices

• Residential contractors: $180 licence fee plus recovery fund fee

• Small remodelers under $15,000 a year can get a certificate of exemption

Does Minnesota have a state business license?

No. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) puts it plainly: many kinds of business operate in Minnesota with no special permission at all, while others are closely regulated and need one or more business, occupational or environmental licences or permits. There is no catch-all state licence that a consultant, a photographer or an Etsy seller has to buy just to exist.

That does not mean there is nothing to do. A new Minnesota business normally deals with four layers. The Secretary of State registers LLCs and corporations and records assumed names. The Department of Revenue issues the Minnesota tax ID number and opens your sales tax and withholding accounts. State licensing agencies, such as the Department of Labor and Industry, the health and agriculture departments and dozens of professional boards, license regulated work. And cities and counties decide zoning and license particular activities.

DEED's Small Business Assistance Office publishes A Guide to Starting a Business in Minnesota every year, and its Directory of Licenses and Permits lists every state licence with the agency that issues it. If you are unsure whether your activity is regulated, that directory and the state's Minnesota ELicensing portal are the official places to check, and the office answers licensing questions by phone for free.

What most Minnesota businesses actually need

DEED's own five-step checklist for new owners runs in this order: choose a structure, register with the Secretary of State after confirming your name, get state and federal tax ID numbers, then secure licences, permits and insurance. For most small businesses that adds up to three or four filings, and only one of them is a licence in the strict sense.

An entity filing, if you want one. Sole proprietors do not file anything with the state to exist. An LLC files articles of organization for $155 online or in person, or $135 by mail, and then files a free annual renewal by December 31. Our Minnesota LLC guide covers the registered office rule and what happens if a renewal is missed.

A Minnesota tax ID and sales tax account. If you sell taxable goods or services, you must register for a Minnesota tax ID number and open a sales and use tax account before you make taxable sales. The Department of Revenue handles this online through Business Tax Registration, or by phone, and there is no application fee. The same registration covers withholding if you hire.

A certificate of assumed name, if you trade under another name. This is mandatory in Minnesota, unlike in several neighbouring states, and is explained below.

An activity licence, if your work is regulated. This is the part people usually mean by "business license", and it applies to a minority of businesses: contractors and trades, food and lodging, alcohol and tobacco, health and personal care, child care, financial services and the licensed professions.

The Minnesota tax ID and sales tax account

Minnesota does not call it a seller's permit, but the tax ID registration does the same job. Once registered you charge the 6.875% state rate plus any local taxes. In Minneapolis the general combined rate is 9.025%, in St. Paul it is 9.875%, and the rate changes from city to city, so a business that delivers needs to charge the rate where the customer receives the goods. Restaurants in downtown Minneapolis add a 3% restaurant tax, for 12.025% in total.

When you register you will be asked for your expected filing frequency, your accounting method and any local taxes that apply to you. Returns are due by the 20th of the following month, and most new accounts start monthly or quarterly. If you already owe the department money from an earlier business, it can refuse to open a new sales tax account until that balance is cleared.

Two Minnesota quirks catch new sellers. Clothing and most groceries are exempt, so a boutique may collect less tax than it expects. And retailers making taxable deliveries of $100 or more owe the 50 cents retail delivery fee unless they are under the small-retailer threshold. Out-of-state sellers must register once they make 200 or more retail sales or more than $100,000 in sales into Minnesota in 12 months. Our Minnesota sales tax guide covers rates by city and filing in detail.

Have these ready when you register for a Minnesota tax ID

0/7

• Legal name and any assumed name
• EIN, or SSN for a sole proprietor without employees
• Business address and each sales location
• Date of your first taxable sale
• Expected filing frequency (monthly, quarterly or annual)
• Accounting method
• Any local sales taxes that apply where you sell

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Assumed names: mandatory in Minnesota

Minnesota's assumed name law, Chapter 333, requires anyone doing business under a name other than their own legal name to file a certificate of assumed name with the Secretary of State. That covers a sole proprietor called Maria Johnson trading as "North Shore Pottery", and it also covers an LLC that trades without its full registered name, for example "Lakeside Design LLC" trading as "Lakeside Kitchens". Filing online costs $50.

The step people miss is publication. After filing, you must publish the certificate in a qualified newspaper in the county of your principal place of business for two successive issues. The newspaper sets its own charge, so budget for it on top of the state fee. The certificate then has a free annual renewal with the Secretary of State; if it lapses, it can be reinstated for $25.

An assumed name does not give you exclusive rights to the name. It puts your use on the public record so customers and creditors can see who is behind it, and banks will usually ask for it before opening an account in the trading name. If the brand matters, look at a state or federal trademark too. Our DBA guide compares assumed name rules across states.

Registrations vs operating licences in Minnesota

	What it does	Lets you run a regulated activity?
Certificate of assumed name	Records the name you trade under	No
LLC articles of organization	Creates the legal entity	No
Minnesota tax ID	Lets you collect and remit sales tax and withholding	No
DLI, health, agriculture or board licence	Authorizes a trade, food business or profession	Yes
City licence	Authorizes a listed activity at a location	Yes

Certificate of assumed name

What it does

Records the name you trade under

Lets you run a regulated activity?

No

LLC articles of organization

What it does

Creates the legal entity

Lets you run a regulated activity?

No

Minnesota tax ID

What it does

Lets you collect and remit sales tax and withholding

Lets you run a regulated activity?

No

DLI, health, agriculture or board licence

What it does

Authorizes a trade, food business or profession

Lets you run a regulated activity?

Yes

City licence

What it does

Authorizes a listed activity at a location

Lets you run a regulated activity?

Yes

State licences: contractors, food and professions

Minnesota's Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) licenses the building trades. Electricians, plumbers, boiler operators, elevator workers and others need individual credentials, and many businesses in those trades need a contractor licence as well. Roofers have their own licence, which costs $180 and requires a $15,000 bond.

The licence that catches most new builders and handymen is the residential building contractor or residential remodeler licence. Under section 326B.805 of the Minnesota Statutes, a business that contracts directly with homeowners to build or improve homes generally needs one of these licences. Several groups are exempt, including specialty contractors who offer only one special skill, people working on their own property, and trades such as plumbers and electricians already licensed for that work. The licence requires a qualifying person for the business who has passed DLI's exam.

There is also a small-business exemption. If you expect no more than $15,000 in gross annual receipts from work that would need a licence, you can file an affidavit with DLI and get a certificate of exemption instead. Gross receipts means all receipts from residential contracting, wherever the work is done, with no deduction for materials or expenses. The certificate renews each year with an affidavit that you stayed under the limit, and the moment you exceed it in a calendar year you must surrender it and apply for a full licence.

The full licence fee is set by statute. A business licence carries a base fee of $180, and residential contractors also pay a fee into the contractor recovery fund, which compensates homeowners harmed by licensed contractors. The statute scales that fee by gross annual receipts: $320 for businesses under $1 million, $420 between $1 million and $5 million, and $520 above that. Confirm the current amounts with DLI when you apply, since the department can adjust how fees are collected.

Food is split between agencies. Depending on the business, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture or the Minnesota Department of Health licenses grocery stores, restaurants, food trucks and food manufacturers, and in many cities, including Minneapolis, a local health department licenses and inspects restaurants under delegation from the state. Alcohol needs a city or county licence first, then state approval. Licensed professions, from accountants and nurses to cosmetologists and real estate agents, each have their own board.

Residential contracting in Minnesota

Step 1

Expect gross receipts under $15,000?

Step 2

Yes: certificate of exemption (annual affidavit)

Step 3

No: residential building contractor or remodeler licence

Step 4

$180 + recovery fund fee

qualifying person exam

Minneapolis: licences for listed activities

Minneapolis does not require every business to buy a general licence. Its Business Licenses and Consumer Services office, part of Community Planning and Economic Development, licenses specific categories. These are grouped as alcohol and tobacco; animal-related businesses; body art, massage, sauna and tanning; contractors; door-to-door and secondhand sales; dry cleaning and laundry; entertainment and recreation; food and restaurants; lodging; and vehicles, including food trucks and carts, pawnbrokers and taxis. The city notes that Hennepin County and the State of Minnesota issue some other business licences.

A restaurant in Minneapolis typically deals with both the licensing office and the city's environmental health inspectors, and adds a liquor licence if it serves alcohol. A contractor working in the city may need a city contractor licence on top of the state DLI licence, depending on the trade.

Minneapolis also has an unusual permit for businesses that fit no existing category. An Innovative and Emerging Small Business permit is for non-traditional businesses that city code does not yet allow. It lasts one year, after which the owner works with a licence inspector on what comes next. It is useful for new concepts, such as a business model the code has not caught up with.

Every Minneapolis rental property also needs a rental licence, which matters if your business plan involves letting residential units. Whatever your business, check zoning before you sign a lease: a use allowed in one district may need a conditional use permit in another.

Home-based businesses

Running a business from home does not change the state rules. A home-based online seller still needs a tax ID and sales tax account if it sells taxable goods, and an assumed name if it trades under a brand. What changes is zoning. Most Minnesota cities allow home occupations within limits on customer visits, signs, non-resident employees, parking and outdoor storage, and some require a home occupation permit. Food made at home for sale has its own state rules and limits, so check with the Department of Agriculture before baking for sale. If your home business is a licensed trade, such as hair styling, the board's rules on where you may practise also apply.

Worked examples: first-year costs

A gift shop in Stillwater. Jenna forms an LLC online for $155 and trades as "St. Croix Gifts", so she files an assumed name for $50 and pays the local newspaper to publish it twice. She registers for a Minnesota tax ID at no cost. State filing costs come to about $205 before the newspaper notice. A $40 candle sold in Stillwater carries the state rate plus local taxes, and she uses the Department of Revenue's rate lookup to set her till. Her LLC renewal each year is free.

A café in Minneapolis. The café needs a tax ID, a city food licence and inspection, and a liquor licence if it serves beer or wine. Outside the downtown taxing area it charges 9.025% on prepared food, so a $30 lunch bill carries $2.71 in tax. In the downtown area, the 3% restaurant tax takes the rate to 12.025%, and the same bill carries $3.61. It pays staff at least the $11.41 state minimum, since Minnesota allows no tip credit, and it checks whether a higher city minimum wage ordinance applies to it.

A remodeler in the suburbs. Tom finishes basements and does carpentry, drywall and flooring, which are more than one special skill, so he needs a licence. In his first year he expects about $12,000 in receipts, under the $15,000 limit, so he files for a certificate of exemption. In his second year he lands a $30,000 kitchen job. He must surrender the certificate and apply for a residential remodeler licence, paying the $180 licence fee and the $320 recovery fund fee, about $500 in total, and he must have a qualifying person who has passed the exam.

Add licence and registration fees to your first-year budget

Registration, Legal & LicencesEquipment & Fit-outOpening InventoryLaunch MarketingMonthly Operating CostRunway Needed

One-Time Costs₹7,00,000.00

Working Capital Reserve₹10,80,000.00

Recommended Buffer (10%)₹1,78,000.00

Total Capital Required₹19,58,000.00

Open the full Startup Cost Calculator (PDF, save, compare)

How to get set up in Minnesota

Getting legally set up in Minnesota

1. 1

   Choose your structure and name

   Form an LLC with the Secretary of State for $155 online, or operate as a sole proprietor. Search the business database first.

   Minnesota LLC guide
2. 2

   File an assumed name if needed

   File the certificate for $50 online and publish it in a qualified newspaper for two successive issues.

3. 3

   Get an EIN

   Free from the IRS; needed for entities and employers.

   EIN guide
4. 4

   Register for a Minnesota tax ID

   Open a sales and use tax account, and withholding if you hire, through the Department of Revenue before your first taxable sale.

5. 5

   Check state licensing

   Use DEED's Directory of Licenses and Permits or Minnesota ELicensing to see whether your activity needs a DLI, health, agriculture or board licence.

6. 6

   Confirm city licences and zoning

   Ask the city whether your activity is on its licensed list, and confirm zoning for your premises or home business.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

The first mistake is skipping the assumed name because "Minnesota doesn't need a DBA". It does. Banks often catch it when you try to open an account in the trading name. If you have been trading without one, file now, publish it and keep the newspaper's affidavit of publication.

The second is forgetting the newspaper step. A certificate filed but never published is not complete. The fix is the same: arrange publication in two successive issues and keep the proof.

The third is making taxable sales before registering. Tax is owed from the first sale whether or not you collected it. Register immediately and file returns for the periods already missed; the department is usually more lenient with businesses that come forward.

The fourth is outgrowing the contractor certificate of exemption. Receipts are counted gross, including materials, so a few kitchen jobs can push you over $15,000 quickly. Once you cross it, stop taking new licensable work until you hold a licence, because unlicensed residential contracting is a violation DLI can penalize.

The fifth is assuming a state licence covers city requirements, or the reverse. A licensed electrician still pulls city permits, and a city food licence does not replace state food rules. Check both levels before you open.

Official Minnesota links

• DEED — Business licenses and permitsLicence directory and Small Business Assistance Office
• DEED — 5 steps to start your business
• Department of Revenue — Registering your businessMinnesota tax ID and sales tax account
• Secretary of State — Business entity feesLLC and assumed name fees
• Minn. Stat. § 326B.805 — Residential contractor licensing
• Minn. Stat. § 326B.89 — Contractor recovery fund
• City of Minneapolis — Business licenses

What to do next

Pick your structure with our Minnesota LLC guide, test your name with the LLC name checker and get a free EIN. Register for your Minnesota tax ID before your first sale, then use our Minnesota sales tax guide and sales tax calculator to charge the right city rate. Finally, ask your city about licences and zoning before you sign a lease. For neighbouring states, see our Wisconsin and Iowa guides or the business licenses overview.

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

Frequently asked questions

Does Minnesota require a general business license?

No. Minnesota does not issue one general licence that every business must hold. The Department of Employment and Economic Development says many kinds of business operate with no special permission, while regulated activities need specific state licences, permits or registrations. Most businesses still register with the Secretary of State, get a Minnesota tax ID from the Department of Revenue and check city rules.

How much does a Minnesota business license cost?

There is no general licence fee. Typical startup filings are $155 for LLC articles of organization online, $50 for a certificate of assumed name plus newspaper publication, and nothing to register for a Minnesota tax ID. Activity licences cost extra; a residential building contractor pays a $180 licence fee plus a contractor recovery fund fee.

Do I need a business license in Minneapolis?

Only if your activity is on the city's licensed list. Minneapolis Business Licenses and Consumer Services licenses categories such as alcohol and tobacco, food and restaurants, body art and massage, contractors, door-to-door and secondhand sales, dry cleaning, entertainment, lodging and vehicles. Non-traditional businesses that fit no category can apply for a one-year Innovative and Emerging Small Business permit. Hennepin County and the state license some other activities.

Is a Minnesota tax ID the same as a sales tax permit?

Registering for a Minnesota tax ID number with the Department of Revenue is how you open a sales and use tax account. You must have both before you make taxable sales. Registration is done online through Business Tax Registration or by phone, and the department does not charge an application fee. It is not a general operating licence.

Do I need a license to be a handyman in Minnesota?

It depends on how much work you do and what kind. Contracting directly with homeowners in more than one special skill area of residential building generally needs a Department of Labor and Industry residential building contractor or remodeler licence. Someone who expects no more than $15,000 a year in gross receipts from that work can instead get a certificate of exemption. Single-skill specialty contractors are exempt.

Do I have to file an assumed name in Minnesota?

Yes, if you do business under any name other than your own legal name or your entity's exact registered name. You file a certificate of assumed name with the Secretary of State, which costs $50 online, and publish it in a qualified newspaper for two successive issues. The certificate has a free annual renewal.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 13 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.Business Licenses and Permits — Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) · accessed 13 October 2026
2. 2.5 Steps to Start your Business in Minnesota — Minnesota DEED · accessed 13 October 2026
3. 3.Registering Your Business — Minnesota Department of Revenue · accessed 13 October 2026
4. 4.Minn. Stat. § 326B.805 — Licensing of residential building contractors — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · accessed 13 October 2026
5. 5.Minn. Stat. § 326B.092 — Licence fees — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · accessed 13 October 2026
6. 6.Minn. Stat. § 326B.89 — Contractor recovery fund — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · accessed 13 October 2026
7. 7.Licenses, Permits & Inspections — Business licenses — City of Minneapolis · accessed 13 October 2026
8. 8.Innovative & Emerging Small Business permit — City of Minneapolis · accessed 13 October 2026
9. 9.Business entity fee schedule — Minnesota Secretary of State · accessed 13 October 2026