Vermont Business License in 2026: Tax Licences, Contractor Registration and Burlington Rules

Vermont has no general business license, but most businesses still deal with three or four state offices before they open. The Secretary of State registers LLCs, corporations and assumed business names. The Department of Taxes opens a free business tax account and issues the sales and use tax licence or the meals and rooms tax licence you display at each location. Regulated work needs its own credential, from the Department of Health for food and lodging, the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) for residential contractors and many professions, or the Division of Fire Safety for electricians and plumbers. Towns add zoning and, in Burlington's case, local taxes and activity licences. This guide covers each layer with 2026 fees. We checked every figure in October 2026.

Quick answer

Vermont has no general state business license. Most sellers open a free business tax account with the Department of Taxes and display a sales tax or meals and rooms licence at each location. Trading under another name means an assumed name registration with the Secretary of State. Residential contractors register with OPR for jobs of $10,000 or more.

• Tax account and licence: free; sales tax 6%, meals and rooms 9%

• Assumed name: $70, renewed every five years

• Residential contractors: $75 (individual) or $250 (business)

• Restaurant licence from $105 for up to 25 seats

Does Vermont have a state business license?

No. Vermont's system is a set of separate registrations, each tied to what you do. Forming an LLC with the Secretary of State costs $155, and the LLC then files an annual report for $45 each year. Selling taxable goods means a sales tax licence; running a restaurant or inn means a meals and rooms tax licence and a Health Department licence; contracting on homes means OPR registration. None of these is an all-purpose licence, and none is needed unless your activity calls for it.

For a freelance designer or a consultant selling services Vermont does not tax, the state side can be almost empty: there is no tax licence to get, and no Secretary of State filing unless you form an entity or trade under a name other than your own. For a café, a shop or a builder, the list is longer, and the sections below take each one in turn.

Two features make Vermont different from its neighbours. First, assumed names are registered with the state, not with the town clerk as in Maine, so a sole proprietor's trade name goes to the Secretary of State. Second, Vermont has a separate meals and rooms tax system: restaurants, caterers, inns and short-term rental hosts register for that tax, not just for sales tax.

The business tax account and licences

Every business that collects Vermont sales tax or meals and rooms tax opens a business tax account with the Department of Taxes, online through myVTax or on Form BR-400. Registration costs free. The department then issues a sales and use tax licence, a meals and rooms tax licence, or both, depending on what you sell. Each location needs its own licence displayed where customers can see it, although one myVTax account covers all of them. Vendors without a permanent location, such as cart and market vendors, can use a single licence.

Once registered, you collect 6% sales tax on taxable goods. Vermont exempts clothing and most groceries, so a clothing shop may collect little or no sales tax but still needs the licence if it sells anything taxable. Prepared and restaurant meals are taxed at 9%, lodging at 9%, and alcoholic drinks served in restaurants at 10%. About about 50 towns add a 1% local option tax, which the Department of Taxes collects on the same return, so there is no separate local registration. Short-term rentals of whole houses and condos carry a further 3% surcharge.

Out-of-state sellers register once their Vermont sales pass $100,000 or 200 transactions a year. Late returns bring a 5% a month, up to 25% penalty, and returns more than 60 days late add a $50 charge. Our Vermont sales tax guide covers the meals and rooms rules, the local option towns and the filing calendar.

Assumed business names

Vermont's assumed name rules are broader than many states'. A sole proprietor who does business under any name other than his or her own proper name, a general partnership, an unincorporated nonprofit association, and an existing LLC or corporation that wants to trade under a different name all register the assumed name with the Secretary of State. The exception, under 11 V.S.A. § 1621, is an individual doing business under a name that includes their full legal name: "Maria Lopez Carpentry" needs no registration, but "Green Mountain Carpentry" does.

Registration costs $70, and filing online through the Online Business Service Center usually takes less than one business day, with no extra fee for filing online. Mail filings take 7 to 10 business days. The registration must be renewed every five years, and reregistration costs $65. You can reserve an assumed name first for a fee if you need time. Vendors and banks will often ask to see the registration before they set up an account in the trade name. Our DBA guide compares the rules across states.

OPR residential contractor application

0/4

• Business name registered and active with the Secretary of State
• Certificate of liability insurance ($1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate)
• Attestation that you will use a written contract
• Online application and fee: $75 individual or $250 business

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Residential contractor registration

Since 2023, Vermont has required residential contractors to register with the Office of Professional Regulation before contracting with a homeowner for residential construction worth $10,000 or more, counting labor and materials. The program was created by Act 182 of 2022. Commercial contractors who take on a residential job of that size must register too.

There are two kinds of registration. A contractor without employees registers as an individual for $75; a business with employees registers as a business organization for $250, and its employees do not register separately. To apply you complete the online application, show that your business name is registered and active with the Secretary of State, upload a certificate of liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, and attest that you will use a written contract. The contract must cover the price, the dates, the scope of work and how changes are handled, and OPR publishes a sample agreement. Registrations renew every two years, and renewal opens six weeks before expiry.

Some people are exempt, including employees of a registered contracting business, licensed engineers and architects working within their licence, and anyone working on a structure not attached to a home. Using an unregistered name on a contract counts as unauthorized practice, and OPR can discipline registrants for unprofessional conduct.

Enforcement has stepped up. In May 2026 the Attorney General brought lawsuits against contractors in Chittenden and Washington counties for working without registration, with a default order and a $500 fine in one case, according to local news reports. OPR has also told lawmakers that it wants to revisit the threshold, because many complaints involve jobs under $10,000, so watch for changes.

Licensed trades sit outside this program. Electricians and plumbers are licensed by the Division of Fire Safety, which also handles elevator, boiler and fire safety certifications; initial licences are applied for on paper, and renewals online.

Vermont residential contractor rules (2026)

$10,000

Registration threshold

labor and materials

$75

Individual registration

$250

Business registration

covers employees

2 years

Renewal cycle

Food and lodging licences

The Vermont Department of Health's Food and Lodging Program licenses restaurants, caterers, food trucks, push carts, home bakeries and lodging. Apply at least 30 days before opening, with the fee, a draft menu and, for new construction or major renovation, a plan review, which is free. You also need a water and wastewater permit or an engineer's documentation in its place. The licence is issued after an opening inspection, lasts one year from that date and is not transferable, so a new owner applies afresh.

Restaurant fees rise with seating: $105 for 1 to 25 seats, $180 for 26 to 50 and $300 for 51 to 100, with higher tiers above. Mobile units, push carts and commercial caterers pay $260, and a home bakery $100. Selling alcohol needs a licence from the Department of Liquor and Lottery and approval from your town's local control commission.

Short-term rentals, home bakers and other home businesses

Home-based businesses in Vermont usually need fewer licences, but not none. A host renting out a furnished house or condo to the public for short stays opens a meals and rooms tax account and collects the 9% rooms tax, the 3% short-term rental surcharge on dwellings rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days, and any local option tax; in Burlington the city's 9% gross receipts tax on short-term rentals applies as well. Hotels, inns and B&Bs licensed by the Department of Health do not pay the surcharge but need their lodging licence.

Bakers and caterers working from a home kitchen can be licensed by the Department of Health as a home bakery, for $100, or a home caterer, rather than as a commercial establishment, and some very small operations fall under the department's home-based food exemptions. Check the department's home-based food page before you start selling. Whatever the business, ask your town zoning administrator whether a home occupation permit is needed, particularly if customers will visit or you will put up a sign.

Burlington: local taxes and activity licences

Burlington does not license every business, but it has more local rules than any other Vermont city. The Clerk-Treasurer's Office licenses specific activities, including liquor, cannabis, peddlers and taxis, and runs the city's own gross receipts tax on restaurants, hotels and amusements.

The gross receipts tax is separate from the state's meals and rooms tax and is paid to the city every month. From July 1, 2026 the rates are 2.5% on meals, alcoholic beverages and amusements, 4% on hotel and motel stays, and 9% on short-term rentals, and the city no longer charges a separate admissions rate. A Burlington restaurant therefore registers twice: with the Department of Taxes for state meals tax, and with the city for gross receipts tax. The city's new business application starts the local registration.

Street vendors need a peddler licence. In the General District it costs $100 a year or $15 a month; the Central and University Place districts have been closed to new applicants, with a waiting list for University Place. Applicants provide a background check consent with a fee per person, a certificate of liability insurance and a Secretary of State business registration, and food vendors add a Health Department licence and the gross receipts form. Annual peddler licences expire on May 31.

Opening a café in Burlington

Step 1

Assumed name or LLC with the Secretary of State

Step 2

myVTax meals and rooms licence

free

Step 3

Health Department licence

30+ days before opening

Step 4

City gross receipts registration

Step 5

Zoning and permits

Worked examples

A gift shop in a small town. Hannah forms "Ottauquechee Gifts LLC" for $155 and opens a free business tax account, receiving a sales and use tax licence for her shop. A $40 candle costs the customer $42.40 at the 6% rate in a town without a local option tax, but a $60 sweater costs $60, because clothing is exempt. Her yearly fixed cost is the $45 annual report.

A kitchen remodeler in Rutland. Ben trades alone as "Killington Kitchens," so he registers the assumed name for $70. Most of his jobs are over $10,000, so he registers with OPR as an individual for $75, buys liability insurance meeting the $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate minimum, and uses a written contract on every job. Wiring goes to a licensed electrician. When he hires a helper, he moves to a business registration at $250.

A 30-seat café in Burlington. Aisha's café needs a free meals and rooms licence from the Department of Taxes, a Health Department licence at $180 for 26 to 50 seats, and city gross receipts registration. A $20 lunch bill carries the 9% state meals tax plus Burlington's 2.5% gross receipts tax, which the café pays to the city monthly.

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

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How to get set up in Vermont

Getting legally set up in Vermont

1. 1

   Choose your structure and name

   Form an LLC for $155, or trade as a sole proprietor and register any assumed name ($70).

2. 2

   Get an EIN

   Free from the IRS; needed for entities and employers.

   EIN guide
3. 3

   Open a business tax account on myVTax

   Free sales and use tax or meals and rooms licence for each location, plus withholding if you hire.

   Vermont sales tax guide
4. 4

   Get any state credential

   Health Department licence for food or lodging, OPR registration for residential contracting, Division of Fire Safety for electrical and plumbing.

5. 5

   Clear local requirements

   Town zoning and permits, and in Burlington the gross receipts tax and any activity licence.

6. 6

   Diary the renewals

   LLC annual report each year, assumed name every five years, OPR every two years, Health Department licence every year.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

The first mistake is trading under a brand name without registering it. In Vermont even a sole proprietor's trade name goes to the Secretary of State unless it includes the owner's full legal name. Register online; it usually takes less than a day.

The second is using one tax licence for several locations. Each location needs its own displayed licence. Add new locations in myVTax before they open.

The third is taking a home renovation job of $10,000 or more without OPR registration. The Attorney General began suing unregistered contractors in 2026. Register first, and use a written contract every time.

The fourth is forgetting Burlington's own tax. A restaurant registered for state meals tax still owes the city gross receipts tax every month. Register with the Clerk-Treasurer when you open.

The fifth is letting the assumed name lapse. Registrations expire after five years; diary the renewal so the name stays on record for your bank and suppliers.

Official Vermont links

• Department of Taxes — myVTaxBusiness tax account and licences
• Secretary of State — Fees and statutes
• Secretary of State — Assumed name registration
• OPR — Residential contractor FAQs
• Department of Health — Retail food establishments
• Division of Fire Safety — Trade licensing
• Burlington — Gross receipts tax
• Burlington — Peddler licensing

What to do next

Choose your structure, check the name with the LLC name checker and get an EIN. Open your business tax account on myVTax before your first sale, and use our Vermont sales tax guide and sales tax calculator to price correctly, including any local option tax. Then check zoning with your town. For neighbouring states, see our Maine, Massachusetts and New York 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 Vermont require a business license?

Vermont does not issue a general statewide business license. Businesses register with the Secretary of State if they form an entity or use an assumed name, open a free business tax account with the Department of Taxes for sales or meals and rooms tax, and get any credential their work requires, such as a Department of Health food licence or Office of Professional Regulation registration for residential contractors.

How much does a Vermont sales tax license cost?

Nothing. The Department of Taxes charges free to open a business tax account and issue a sales and use tax licence or a meals and rooms licence, through myVTax or Form BR-400. Each location needs its own licence on display, though one account covers them all. You then collect 6% sales tax, plus 1% in towns with a local option tax.

Do I need to register a business name in Vermont?

Yes, if you trade under a name other than your own legal name or your entity's registered name. Sole proprietors, partnerships and entities register the assumed business name with the Secretary of State for $70 and renew every five years for $65. An individual using a name that includes their full legal name does not need to register.

Do contractors need a license in Vermont?

Residential contractors must register with the Office of Professional Regulation before contracting with a homeowner for work worth $10,000 or more, including labor and materials. Registration costs $75 for individuals or $250 for businesses, renews every two years, and requires liability insurance and a written contract. Electricians and plumbers are licensed separately by the Division of Fire Safety.

Do I need a business license in Burlington, Vermont?

Burlington does not license every business. The Clerk-Treasurer licenses specific activities, including liquor, cannabis, peddlers and taxis, and collects the city's gross receipts tax on meals, alcohol and amusements at 2.5%, hotels at 4% and short-term rentals at 9%, paid monthly. Peddlers in the General District pay $100 a year or $15 a month.

How do I get a food license in Vermont?

Apply to the Vermont Department of Health's Food and Lodging Program at least 30 days before opening. A restaurant with 1 to 25 seats pays $105, and fees rise with seats. New construction and major renovations need a free plan review. The licence is issued after an opening inspection, lasts one year and does not transfer to a new owner.

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.Sales and Use Tax (FS-1017) — Vermont Department of Taxes · accessed 13 October 2026
2. 2.Local Option Tax — Vermont Department of Taxes · accessed 13 October 2026
3. 3.Fees & Statutes — Vermont Secretary of State · accessed 13 October 2026
4. 4.Assumed Name Registration — Vermont Secretary of State · accessed 13 October 2026
5. 5.Residential Contractor FAQs — Vermont Office of Professional Regulation · accessed 13 October 2026
6. 6.Residential Contractor Applications & Renewals — Vermont Office of Professional Regulation · accessed 13 October 2026
7. 7.Application for License to Operate a Retail Food Service Establishment — Vermont Department of Health · accessed 13 October 2026
8. 8.Retail Food Service Establishments — Vermont Department of Health · accessed 13 October 2026
9. 9.Trade Licensing and Certifications — Vermont Division of Fire Safety · accessed 13 October 2026
10. 10.Gross Receipts Tax — City of Burlington Clerk-Treasurer · accessed 13 October 2026
11. 11.Peddler Licensing — City of Burlington Clerk-Treasurer · accessed 13 October 2026
12. 12.Vermont AG sues 2 contractors for failing to register — WCAX · accessed 13 October 2026