Kansas City
Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division
In short
Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division issues 7 permits we publish for Kansas City, 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
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occupation Tax License — Retail Trade | Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division | Annual Occupation Tax under the 'Retail Trade' category, banded by interior square footage on the same schedule as Food Service (Restaurants): $138 for 0-999 sq ft, rising to $5,787 for any location of 250,000 sq ft or more. | annual — calendar year, January 1 through December 31, prorated by the month of application | 2026-09-10 |
| Occupation Tax License — Food Service (Restaurants) | Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division | Annual Occupation Tax under the 'Food Service (Restaurants)' category, banded by interior square footage: $138 for 0-999 sq ft, rising through intermediate bands (e.g. $395 at 7,000-7,999 sq ft, $1,333 at 15,000-17,999 sq ft) to $5,787 for any location of 250,000 sq ft or more, per the Unified Government's own current Comprehensive Fee Schedule. | annual — calendar year, January 1 through December 31, prorated by the month of application | 2026-09-10 |
| Occupation Tax License — Barber Shop, Beauty Shop or Nail Salon | Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division | $138 annual, flat, regardless of size | annual — calendar year, January 1 through December 31, prorated by the month of application | 2026-09-10 |
| Occupation Tax License — Athletic Club or Gym | Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division | $138 annual, flat, regardless of size | annual — calendar year, January 1 through December 31, prorated by the month of application | 2026-09-10 |
| Occupation Tax License — Automotive Repair and Maintenance | Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division | $153 annual, flat, regardless of size | annual — calendar year, January 1 through December 31, prorated by the month of application | 2026-09-10 |
| Occupation Tax License — Veterinary Services | Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division | $138 annual, flat, regardless of size | annual — calendar year, January 1 through December 31, prorated by the month of application | 2026-09-10 |
| Mobile Food Vendor License | Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Business License Division | $100/year Mobile Food Vendor License Fee (listed under both the fee schedule's License Fee and Occupation Tax sections at the identical figure), plus a separate $30 Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department Mobile Food Vendor Inspection fee (normal hours). | annual — calendar year, January 1 through December 31 | 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
Occupation Tax License — Retail Trade
Retail Trade shares the identical square-footage banding the fee schedule also applies to Auto Parts, Furniture and Electronics, and Building Materials Supplies Dealers — a single standard commercial banding table the UG reuses across several NAICS-style categories rather than pricing each one separately from scratch.
Occupation Tax License — Food Service (Restaurants)
This is the UG's own general business license, structured as an annual occupation tax rather than a flat citywide fee — unlike Wichita and Overland Park, which license only a short list of named trades and charge most restaurants and coffee shops nothing at all, Kansas City, KS charges every food-service business a real, category-specific annual figure. Zoning review is built into this license rather than sold separately: the Business License Division's own page names planning and zoning approval as the first step for every business physically located in Kansas City, KS, submitted through the Business License office, with Planning & Urban Design determining that the business activity is a permitted use in its zoning district. Neither of the UG's published planning fee tables prices a separate zoning verification letter of the kind Wichita and Overland Park both sell — the Planning & Urban Design section of the 2026 Comprehensive Fee Schedule (change of zone, special use and home occupation permits, variances and appeals, signs, plats, plan review, vacations, ordinance publication and landmarks) and the department's own fee schedule effective 30 April 2023, still linked from its applications page, both list no such product — so the zoning check for an existing location is recorded here, inside this license's own process.
Occupation Tax License — Barber Shop, Beauty Shop or Nail Salon
Barber Shops, Beauty Shops and Nail Salons are each priced identically at a flat $138/year, unlike the square-footage-banded categories above. This sits on top of, not instead of, the Kansas Board of Cosmetology's own state establishment license recorded at the state layer. No separate, additional salon-specific city license beyond this occupation tax could be found.
Occupation Tax License — Athletic Club or Gym
Priced under the 'Athletic Clubs, Gyms' category at a flat $138/year. The fee schedule separately prices 'Beauty Spa, Health Clubs' at the same flat $138 — a business combining both services would confirm with Business Licensing which single category applies rather than paying twice.
Occupation Tax License — Automotive Repair and Maintenance
Priced under 'Other Automotive Repair and Maintenance' at a flat $153/year — distinct from the square-footage-banded 'Auto Parts' category, which covers parts retailers rather than repair shops. No separate, additional auto-repair-specific city license beyond this occupation tax could be found.
Occupation Tax License — Veterinary Services
Priced under 'Veterinary Services' at a flat $138/year. This sits on top of, not instead of, the Kansas Board of Veterinary Examiners' own premises registration recorded at the state layer.
Mobile Food Vendor License
This UG license and the Fire Department's own inspection sit on top of, not instead of, the Kansas Department of Agriculture's own statewide mobile food establishment license recorded at the state layer. Both the $100 Mobile Food Vendor License Fee and the $30 Fire Department inspection fee are drawn directly from the Unified Government's own current Comprehensive Fee Schedule; a search of the Code's own licensing chapter (19, Licenses, Permits and Miscellaneous Business Regulations) and food chapter (16, Food and Food Establishments) turned up no dedicated Mobile Food Vendor article in either, so this record cites the Code's general occupation-tax provisions (Chapter 34) rather than a more specific chapter number.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Kansas City
- Phone
- (913) 573-8780
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.
- Business License — confirming the Occupation Tax license is required to operate a business or perform services in Kansas City, KS, for a January 1-December 31 licensing yearUnified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
- Code of Ordinances, Chapter 34 (Taxation), Article III (Occupation Tax) — table of contents confirming Division 1 (Generally) and Division 2 (Fee Schedule)Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, published via eLaws · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
- Planning & Urban Design Applications — the department's applications (development, short-term rental, Board of Zoning Appeals, landmarks, narrow-lot design, sign permit) and its linked "Fee Schedule"Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Planning & Urban Design Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Planning & Urban Design Fee Schedule, Effective April 30, 2023 — the department's own schedule (master plan amendments, change of zone, special use, short-term rental, variance and appeal, plat, plan review, vacation, landmark and sign applications, ordinance publication), naming no zoning verification letterUnified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Planning & Urban Design Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas — Comprehensive Fee Schedule, January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 (current edition linked from the Finance Department's own Financial Reports page; cover page reads "PROPOSED")Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Finance Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
Other offices serving Kansas City
- Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Neighborhood Resource Center, Building Inspection Division
- Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department
- Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Planning & Urban Design Department
- Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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