Little Rock

City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division

In short

City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division issues 9 permits we publish for Little Rock, last verified 2026-09-10. 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
Privilege (Business) License — Automobile/Truck Repair	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	Business Tax classification, priced immediately under item 227 ('Wrecker Service') as 'a. Automobile/truck repair': $100.00 base plus $20.00 per employee.	annual — calendar year, due January 1	2026-09-10
Privilege (Business) License — Retail Inventory Operations	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	Business Tax classification 229 ('Retail Inventory Operations'): $100.00 base plus 0.24% of stock/inventory value, plus $20.00 per employee for any in-house repair service and $35.00 per on-call service technician. A number of specific retail sub-trades (clothing, groceries, hardware, pharmacy, and others) instead carry their own separately numbered and priced classifications; confirm with Treasury Management which applies to a specific line of retail.	annual — calendar year, due January 1	2026-09-10
Privilege (Business) License — Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	Business Tax classification 131 ('Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home'): $135.00 base plus $20.00 per employee for a facility serving up to 50 children/persons; $270.00 base plus $20.00 per employee for a facility serving more than 50.	annual — calendar year, due January 1	2026-09-10
Privilege (Business) License — Barbers/Beauty Operators	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	Business Tax classification 39 ('Barbers/Beauty Operators'): $75.00 base (includes the proprietor) plus $20.00 per additional operator and $35.00 per manicurist, plus a further $100.00 base if the salon also operates as a day spa, plus 0.24% of any retail product inventory carried.	annual — calendar year, due January 1	2026-09-10
Privilege (Business) License — Health Spa/Fitness Center	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	Business Tax classification 118 ('Health Spa/Fitness Center'): $270.00 base plus $20.00 per employee.	annual — calendar year, due January 1	2026-09-10
Privilege (Business) License — Veterinarian (Professional)	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	Business Tax classification 187 ('Professionals'), which names veterinarians among the licensed professions covered: $155.00 per licensed veterinarian (firm member, associate or staff professional), plus $50.00 per paraprofessional employee (registered veterinary technicians and similar staff).	annual — calendar year, due January 1	2026-09-10
Mobile Canteen (Food Truck) License	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	$100 annual, per vehicle	annual — calendar year, due January 1 (or part thereof)	2026-09-10
Privilege (Business) License — General Building Contractor	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	Business Tax classification 73(a) ('General Building Contractor'), banded by the permit value of the work: Class 1 (remodeling only, $0-$25,000) $200 plus $20 per employee; Class 2 ($0-$150,000) $300 plus $20 per employee; Class 3 (over $150,000 up to $500,000) $500 plus $20 per employee; Class 4 (over $500,000 up to $1,000,000) $800 plus $20 per employee; Class 5 (over $1,000,000) $1,600 plus $20 per employee. Electrical, Plumbing/Gasfitting, Masonry and Roofing/Painting contractors each carry their own separate $200-per-year-plus-per-employee classifications instead of this one.	annual — calendar year, due January 1	2026-09-10
Privilege (Business) License — Restaurants, Cafes, Lunch Counters	City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division	Business Tax classification 195 ('Restaurants, Cafeterias, Cafes, Lunch Stands, Lunch Counters, Drive-In Foods and Drink Service'): $100.00 base plus $20.00 per employee. A catering service operated alongside the restaurant adds a further $135.00 plus $20.00 per employee and $35.00 per delivery vehicle.	annual — calendar year, due January 1	2026-09-10

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

Privilege (Business) License — Automobile/Truck Repair

This is the industry-specific local license a general auto-repair garage needs. A shop that also sells motor fuel is instead classified as an Auto Service Station ($200 base plus $35 per fueling position and $35 per mechanic), and a body/collision shop is separately classified as an Automobile Paint/Body Shop ($135 base plus $20 per employee) — confirm the correct classification with Treasury Management if a shop's services span more than one of these categories.

Privilege (Business) License — Retail Inventory Operations

Per the § 17-52 schedule of license taxes, classification 229 (Retail Inventory Operations) is $100.00 plus 0.24% of stock, with additional services charged at $20.00 per employee for in-house repair and $35.00 per on-call service technician (an employee doing both is counted as a technician). The same January 1 due date and escalating late-payment penalty schedule described for the restaurant privilege license applies here. Zoning approval is required before the application is processed.

Privilege (Business) License — Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home

This is the City's own genuine local business-license classification for a child care centre — on top of, not instead of, the Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education license recorded at the state layer.

Privilege (Business) License — Barbers/Beauty Operators

This is the industry-specific local license a salon needs on top of the state cosmetology establishment license and (for a barbershop specifically) the Arkansas Board of Barber Examiners registration recorded at the state layer. A separate classification (item 40) exists only for a wholesale barbershop/beauty-parlor supply house, not a working salon.

Privilege (Business) License — Health Spa/Fitness Center

Named directly in the fee schedule as its own classification, distinct from the generic dance/private-school classifications elsewhere in Chapter 17. Per the § 17-52 schedule of license taxes, classification 118 (Health Spa/Fitness Center) is $270.00 plus $20.00 per employee, and the schedule's license taxes are due and payable in advance on January 1 of each year.

Privilege (Business) License — Veterinarian (Professional)

The ordinance's own Note 2 to this classification specifies that a license cannot be issued on paraprofessional employees alone — at least one professional (here, a licensed veterinarian) must be assessed. This is on top of, not instead of, the Arkansas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners licensing recorded at the state layer.

Mobile Canteen (Food Truck) License

A $100 flat annual charge per vehicle under the Business Tax schedule's 'Mobile Canteen' classification — this is a City license on top of, not instead of, the Arkansas Department of Health's own mobile food unit permit recorded at the state layer. A distinct, differently priced classification exists for a truck peddling only packaged goods, confections or tobacco ($100/vehicle/year) or an ice cream mobile unit ($50/vehicle/year); confirm the correct classification if the vehicle does not prepare or cook food on board.

Privilege (Business) License — General Building Contractor

Before a building permit is issued, the Planning and Development permit desk also requires a copy of this City privilege license, a copy of the Arkansas Contractors License, and a Surety Bond made out to the City of Little Rock in the amount of $10,000 — the bond premium is paid to a private bonding or insurance company, not to the City, so no additional city fee attaches to the bond itself. The City reciprocates with contractors licensed by other Arkansas cities who have no office within Little Rock.

Privilege (Business) License — Restaurants, Cafes, Lunch Counters

Zoning approval (contact 501-371-4844) is a documented prerequisite before the business license application will be processed. Renewal is due January 1 each year; a 10% penalty applies if unpaid by February 1, a further 10% by March 1, and a total 30% penalty by April 1. A business closing before July 1 of a given year may request a refund of half the annual fee in writing. This license is separate from, and in addition to, the Arkansas Department of Health food service permit recorded at the state layer.

Contact

Jurisdiction: Little Rock
Phone: (501) 371-4566
Website: www.littlerock.gov/city-administration/city-departments/finance/divisions/treasury/

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.

Code of Ordinances, Chapter 17 (Licenses, Taxation and Miscellaneous Business Regulations), Article II — Business Tax, § 17-52, the complete Schedule of License Taxes by trade classification (including Restaurants/Cafes item 195, Kindergarten/Nursery School item 131, Barbers/Beauty Operators item 39, Health Spa/Fitness Center item 118, Professionals/Veterinarians item 187, General Building Contractors item 73, Automobile/Truck Repair item 227(a), Retail Inventory Operations item 229, and Mobile Canteen item 154), due each January 1 with escalating late penaltiesCity of Little Rock, Finance Department (Treasury Management Division) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
Documents Required to be Submitted Before a Permit May be Issued — confirming the City's own use of 'city business license, aka privilege' and the mandatory $10,000 Surety Bond made out to the City of Little Rock as a precondition to a contractor's building permitCity of Little Rock, Department of Planning and Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
Starting a Business in Little Rock — Obtaining Permits & Licenses, describing the required zoning-approval step before a business license application, the food-service inspection requirement administered by 'the State Department of Health,' and city contractor permit requirementsCity of Little Rock, Finance Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10

Other offices serving Little Rock

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Business licenses in Little Rock

Industry permit lists that include this agency

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