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Jefferson County

Jefferson County Revenue Department, Business License Section

In short

Jefferson County Revenue Department, Business License Section issues 2 permits we publish for Jefferson County, last verified 2026-09-28. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Jefferson County Alcoholic Beverage Tax (Form ABT)Jefferson County Revenue Department, Business License SectionJefferson County levies its own alcoholic beverage tax, filed on Form ABT under locality code 7237, in addition to the state alcohol tax and separate from the state ABC Board license itself. The Alabama Department of Revenue's own local tax notice for Jefferson County confirms an active levy under this locality code, dated August 17, 2017, and a separately confirmed 'Form ABT (revised 1-1-2024)' shows the form itself is still actively maintained, but no source located publishes the actual tax rate. Contact the Jefferson County Department of Revenue, Enforcement Division, 205-325-5195, for the current rate before filing.recurring, per the filing schedule set by Form ABT2026-09-28
Jefferson County Entity Business License TaxJefferson County Revenue Department, Business License SectionJefferson County's own applied schedule: a minimum of $50 for a business's first location and $25 for each additional location; once gross receipts pass $100,000 a year, the tax becomes 1/40 of 1% (0.025%) of gross receipts, plus a flat $25 issuance fee. The underlying statute, Ala. Code §45-37-244.02, bounds these figures with an annual floor of $25 and ceiling of $15,000, authorizes the $25 issuance fee and the 1/40-of-1%-of-gross-receipts rate directly, and allows both the floor and ceiling to rise up to 5% every 5 years starting in fiscal year 2016.annual2026-09-28

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Jefferson County Alcoholic Beverage Tax (Form ABT)

A restaurant, bar or retail store selling alcohol in Jefferson County owes this county alcohol tax, separate from and in addition to the state alcohol tax and the underlying state ABC Board license. Getting the ABC license itself requires an approval letter from the relevant local governing body — the county commission or the city council, whichever has jurisdiction over the premises — but that approval-letter step is a statewide ABC Board procedural requirement applying in every Alabama county and city, not something Jefferson County invented. The county tax is the Jefferson-County-specific item: it is filed on Form ABT under locality code 7237, and the Alabama Department of Revenue's own local-tax-notice page for Jefferson County confirms an active levy under that code. The actual dollar rate is not published in any source located here; call the Jefferson County Department of Revenue, Enforcement Division, 205-325-5195, to get the current figure before filing.

Jefferson County Entity Business License Tax

Every business operating in Jefferson County owes this county-only Entity Business License Tax to the Jefferson County Revenue Department, Business License Section, in addition to — not instead of — the Alabama business privilege license issued through the county and any separate city business license. The county's own applied schedule charges a $50 minimum for a business's first location and $25 for each additional one; once gross receipts exceed $100,000 a year, the charge becomes 1/40 of 1% of gross receipts plus a flat $25 issuance fee. Ala. Code §45-37-244.02 sets these county figures within a statutory floor of $25 and ceiling of $15,000 a year and states plainly that the tax applies 'in addition to all state license taxes.' Jefferson County's own website states directly that a county business license is required 'in addition to any city or state license,' and separately confirms that most of the county's many incorporated cities — Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Bessemer among them — require their own additional city business license on top of both the state and county requirements. A business with more than one Jefferson County location pays the additional-location fee for each one.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Jefferson County
Phone
205-325-5300 (main); 205-325-5195 (Enforcement Division)

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. Code of Alabama §45-37-244.02, Jefferson County Entity Business License Tax (Act 2011-662) — minimum/maximum tax, issuance fee, rate, 'in addition to all state license taxes'onecle.com (Code of Alabama mirror) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  2. Jefferson County Business page — most cities located inside the county require their own additional city business licenseJefferson County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  3. Jefferson County FAQ — Entity Business License Tax minimum/per-location fee and 'in addition to any city or state license' statementJefferson County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  4. Jefferson County local tax notices — confirms an active alcoholic beverage tax levy under locality code 7237, dated 08/17/17Alabama Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28

Other offices serving Jefferson County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

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Alabama jurisdictions

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.