Shelby County

Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices

In short

Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices issues 8 permits we publish for Shelby 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
Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
General County Privilege License — Sandwich Shops, Barbecue Stands, Hamburger/Hot Dog Stands	Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices	$8.50 a year, flat, combined state+county total ($7.50 state + $1 issuance fee) (2022 ALDOR Handbook, §40-12-153)	annual; due October 1, delinquent November 1 (§40-12-26); 15% delinquency penalty plus 6% annual interest (§40-12-10(e))	2026-09-28
General County Privilege License — Restaurants, Cafes, Cafeterias	Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices	$8.50–$76 a year, combined state+county total, tiered by the population of the nearest incorporated city and by seating capacity (2022 ALDOR Handbook, §40-12-151)	annual; all Title 40-12 licenses are due October 1 and delinquent November 1 (§40-12-26); a 15% delinquency penalty plus 6% annual interest applies to a late renewal (§40-12-10(e))	2026-09-28
General County Privilege License — Barbers	Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices	$4.75 total for the first chair, plus $3.75 total for each additional chair, combined state+county (§40-12-58)	annual; due October 1, delinquent November 1 (§40-12-26); 15% delinquency penalty plus 6% annual interest (§40-12-10(e))	2026-09-28
General County Privilege License — Beauty Parlors	Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices	$16 total for the shop owner (license $15 + $1 issuance fee), plus a per-additional-operator charge of $6 in a city under 60,000 population or $9 in a city of 60,000 or more (§40-12-61)	annual; due October 1, delinquent November 1 (§40-12-26); 15% delinquency penalty plus 6% annual interest (§40-12-10(e))	2026-09-28
General County Privilege License — Automobile Garages and Shops	Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices	$8.50 total for the first workman (owner counts as a workman if he performs the work), plus $7.50 total for each additional workman, combined state+county (§40-12-54)	annual; due October 1, delinquent November 1 (§40-12-26); 15% delinquency penalty plus 6% annual interest (§40-12-10(e))	2026-09-28
General County Privilege License — Construction Companies and Contractors	Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices	$16–$376 a year, combined state+county total, tiered by gross contract value, e.g. $5,000-$10,000 = $16, over $200,000 = $376 (2022 ALDOR Handbook, §40-12-84)	annual; due October 1, delinquent November 1 (§40-12-26); purchased once and valid statewide, so payment in one county satisfies this requirement elsewhere in Alabama for the same license year	2026-09-28
General County Privilege License — Veterinary Surgery	Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices	$6 a year, combined total ($5 state amount plus $1 issuance fee); the statute directs that no license portion is paid to the county for this classification (§40-12-178)	annual, due October 1, delinquent November 1 (§40-12-26); not owed until the veterinarian has practiced two years or more	2026-09-28
General County Privilege License — Other Business Classifications (retail, childcare, fitness)	Shelby County Business Revenue Department / License Offices	Priced by the specific Title 40-12 classification that applies to the business — for a general retail store, the separate ad valorem Store License system (Title 40-12, Article 20, §40-12-311 et seq.) taxes merchandise inventory value rather than a flat classification fee; childcare centers and fitness studios have no industry-specific Title 40-12 classification and fall back to the base county privilege license	annual; due October 1, delinquent November 1 (§40-12-26); 15% delinquency penalty plus 6% annual interest (§40-12-10(e))	2026-09-28

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

General County Privilege License — Sandwich Shops, Barbecue Stands, Hamburger/Hot Dog Stands

A food truck, cart or limited-menu coffee-shop-type operation in Shelby County is priced under this flat classification, the closest statutory analog to that kind of business: $8.50 a year total, unlike the restaurant classification above, which tiers by city population and seating. The ALDOR Handbook states directly that 'certificate from Health Department is a requirement before issuance of license, in all cases,' meaning this county privilege license is issued only after the ADPH food-service permit recorded separately below is in hand. An establishment that also serves prepared sides needs a deli license instead if sales are off-premises only, or the restaurant classification above if seating is provided. This county license stacks with any applicable municipal license, exactly as the restaurant classification does, and is required whether the operation is based in unincorporated Shelby County or inside any of its incorporated cities.

General County Privilege License — Restaurants, Cafes, Cafeterias

Every restaurant, cafe or cafeteria in Shelby County owes this county privilege license, collected through the Business Revenue Department's three License Office locations under the statewide Title 40-12 classification schedule rather than a Shelby-specific ordinance. The 2022 ALDOR Handbook prices it by the population of the nearest incorporated city and by seating capacity: $8.50 total in a place of 5,000 population or under with 10 seats or fewer, rising with both population tier and seat count up to $76 in a city of 40,000 or more population with 35 or more seats — Shelby's incorporated cities span several of those tiers, so the exact figure charged depends on the restaurant's specific location. A Health Department certificate is a prerequisite in every case. This county license is required regardless of location inside Shelby County, and stacks with rather than replaces a municipal license: Shelby's own site names Chelsea, Columbiana, Indian Springs Village, Montevallo, Wilsonville and Wilton as requiring an additional city license, and Alabaster's and Pelham's own official pages each separately confirm their own municipal business-license requirement, so a restaurant in either of Shelby's two largest cities owes both the county and the city license.

General County Privilege License — Barbers

A barbershop in Shelby County owes this county privilege license through the Business Revenue Department's Title 40-12 process: $4.75 total for the first chair and $3.75 total for each additional chair. Unlike Jefferson County and Mobile County, Shelby County has no surviving independent barber commission of its own — the county's own comprehensive 'Shelby County Boards' page lists roughly sixteen boards and commissions by name, and neither a Barber Commission nor a Board of Health appears anywhere on it, a complete official enumeration rather than a mere absence of search results. Barbers and barbershops in Shelby County are regulated solely by the statewide Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering for their individual licensing, on top of this county revenue classification, which is separate and does not substitute for it. This county license stacks with any applicable municipal license.

General County Privilege License — Beauty Parlors

A beauty parlor or full-service salon in Shelby County owes this county privilege license through the Business Revenue Department's Title 40-12 process: $16 total for the shop owner plus a per-operator charge that depends on the population of the city the shop sits in — $6 per additional operator in a city under 60,000 population (every incorporated Shelby city, including Alabaster at roughly 33,000 residents) or $9 in a city of 60,000 or more. This classification also covers beauty-parlor colleges. It is separate from the individual operator's own state cosmetology license from the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering, and, since Shelby County has no surviving barber commission or other salon-specific county board, this Title 40-12 classification is the only county-level requirement a salon faces beyond the standard state license. This county license stacks with any applicable municipal license.

General County Privilege License — Automobile Garages and Shops

An automobile garage or repair shop in Shelby County owes this county privilege license through the Business Revenue Department's Title 40-12 process, priced by staff count: $8.50 total for the first workman and $7.50 total for each additional one, with the owner counted as a workman if he personally performs repair work. Shelby's own License-Requirements page names no Shelby-specific ordinance for auto repair beyond this statewide classification. An auto-repair business that also buys, sells or dismantles junk or scrap vehicles additionally needs the junkyard/scrap-metal license recorded separately below if it operates in unincorporated Shelby County; an ordinary repair shop that does not handle junk or scrap does not need that separate license. This county license stacks with any applicable municipal license.

General County Privilege License — Construction Companies and Contractors

A construction company or contractor doing business in Shelby County owes this county privilege license, tiered by gross contract value from $16 total for a $5,000-$10,000 contract up to $376 total for a contract over $200,000, collected through the Business Revenue Department's Title 40-12 process. This is a separate mechanism from the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors' competency license: Act 2024-277, effective October 1, 2024, raised the ALBGC's threshold to $100,000 for general contractors and subcontractors on covered projects, and a contractor working above that threshold in Shelby County needs both the ALBGC state competency license and this county-collected §40-12-84 privilege tax, which applies regardless of the ALBGC threshold. Shelby County's own License-Requirements page describes only these state-level thresholds and mechanisms and does not describe any additional county-level contractor registration or permit layer beyond this classification and the building/zoning permit recorded separately below. This county license stacks with any applicable municipal license.

General County Privilege License — Veterinary Surgery

A veterinarian practicing surgery in Shelby County for two years or more owes this county-administered privilege license: $6 total, collected through the Business Revenue Department's Title 40-12 process like every other classification. Unlike most Title 40-12 classifications, where the county keeps a flat 50% add-on share, §40-12-178 states directly that 'no license shall be paid to the county' for this classification, so Shelby County collects and processes the payment but keeps none of the $5 state amount, only the $1 issuance fee. This is separate from, and in addition to, both the state 'premises permit' every veterinary facility needs from the Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and the separate $1 probate-office license filing recorded below under §34-29-84.

General County Privilege License — Other Business Classifications (retail, childcare, fitness)

Every business in Shelby County engaged in an activity described in Title 40, Chapter 12, Code of Alabama 1975 owes a state/county privilege license through the Business Revenue Department, regardless of industry — the classification and fee depend on the specific business type. The classification figures for restaurants, food-truck-type operations, barbers, beauty parlors, contractors, auto garages and veterinary surgery are recorded as separate records; a retail store instead falls under the separate ad valorem Store License system (§40-12-311 et seq.), which taxes merchandise inventory value rather than charging a flat classification fee, while childcare centers and fitness studios have no industry-specific Title 40-12 classification at all and pay only the base county privilege license. Contact the Shelby County Business Revenue Department, 205-670-6520, or consult the current ALDOR Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses, to confirm the applicable classification and fee for a specific retail, childcare or fitness business. This county license stacks with any applicable municipal license, recorded separately for Alabaster and Pelham.

Contact

Jurisdiction: Shelby County
Phone: 205-670-6520
Website: www.shelbyal.com/260/Business-Revenue

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.

Alabama Department of Revenue — Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses, October 2022, with the fee schedule for each business typeAlabama Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Changes to the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors — Act 2024-277, $100,000 threshold effective Oct. 1, 2024Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
City of Alabaster Business Licenses page — confirms a separate municipal business-license requirementCity of Alabaster, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
City of Pelham Business Licenses page — confirms a separate municipal business-license requirement under Ordinance 526City of Pelham, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Shelby County Boards — comprehensive official list of the county's boards and commissions; no Barber Commission or Board of Health appearsShelby County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Shelby County Business Revenue Department pageShelby County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Shelby County License Requirements — points applicants to Title 40-12 and names six municipalities requiring an additional city licenseShelby County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28

Other offices serving Shelby County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Business licenses in Shelby County

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Alabama jurisdictions

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