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Southaven

City of Southaven, Office of the City Clerk

In short

City of Southaven, Office of the City Clerk issues 3 permits we publish for Southaven, 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
Business Privilege LicenseCity of Southaven, Office of the City Clerk1 to 3 full-time employees: $20/year; 4 to 10 employees: $30/year; 11 or more employees: $3 per employee, capped at a $150/year maximum — the same employee-count schedule Mississippi's Local Privilege Tax Law sets, which the City's own Costs & Fees page applies directly, in the same numbers, to every service-based commercial business.annual — all Southaven business licenses expire December 31 regardless of issue date; a license obtained between February 1 and December 1 is prorated through that December 312026-09-10
Privilege License to Operate Transient Business (Mobile Food Vendor)City of Southaven, Office of the City Clerk$250.00 for a new permit — the exact maximum a Mississippi municipality may charge under state law (Miss. Code § 75-85-13 caps it at "Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00)") — and $25.00 to renew before the original expires. A single permit and its one renewal each run 90 consecutive days, for a combined maximum of 180 days in any calendar year, after which the vendor must vacate the City for the remainder of the year.90 days from issuance, renewable once for an additional 90 consecutive days (maximum 180 days per calendar year); the license is not transferable2026-09-10
Business Privilege License — Retail StoreCity of Southaven, Office of the City Clerk15% of the true (assessed) value of the store's inventory, banded through Mississippi's Local Privilege Tax Law's own retail/wholesale store schedule — the City's own Costs & Fees page states outright that "the fee is taken directly from § 27-17-365, Mississippi Code Annotated."annual — expires December 31, prorated if obtained between February 1 and December 12026-09-10

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

Business Privilege License

The City's own Business Occupancy Checklist lays out the real five-step process: (1) the Office of Planning and Development confirms zoning and whether any further process (conditional use, site plan, rezoning) is needed; (2) the Building Department performs a Use & Occupancy Final inspection; (3) the Fire Marshal inspects; (4) the Building Department issues the Certificate of Occupancy; (5) the City Clerk issues the Privilege Tax License itself, requiring the application, an emergency contact list, a driver's license copy, proof of EIN/SSN, formation papers, any MS sales tax/beer/tobacco permit, an MS Health Department food permit where applicable, and proof of any professional license (insurance, real estate, massage, etc.). No business may occupy the building until this entire process is complete — violating it risks denial of occupancy or a citation to municipal court. Retail-based businesses use a separate inventory-value schedule instead (recorded below). No separate, additional salon-, fitness-, veterinary-, auto-repair-, contractor-, or childcare-specific municipal license exists beyond this general privilege license and the standard checklist process. "Day Care" is one of the named business types on the checklist's own Statement of Operations (alongside Retail Sales/Service, Restaurant, Beauty Shop, Auto Service Repair, Barber Shop, Nail Salons and others), but the checklist itself, read page by page, applies the identical five numbered steps to every business type with no day-care-specific branch: Step 3, Fire Marshal inspection, is the same single sign-off for a day care as for any other applicant, with no earlier or additional fire review and no distinct fee or permit product tied to that business type.

Privilege License to Operate Transient Business (Mobile Food Vendor)

This is the real mechanism a food truck (or any other business "carried on in any building, structure, motor vehicle, or other means of conveyance ... for a period of less than six months in each calendar year," per the City's own definition) actually uses, distinct from the fixed-location Business Privilege License recorded above. Beyond the license fee itself, the application requires: a $2,000 surety bond, or 5% of the wholesale value of inventory if lower (Miss. Code § 75-85-13); a separate $2,000 penal bond (Miss. Code § 21-19-35); a notarized Registered Agent Affidavit naming an agent who must reside in the City of Southaven (Miss. Code § 75-85-11); a Fire Inspection; and, whenever the vendor sells food, a copy of the vendor's current Mississippi State Department of Health food permit (the underlying credential recorded at the state layer). Violating the Act's provisions is a misdemeanor carrying up to a $500 fine and/or six months' imprisonment. Separately, the Board of Aldermen created a narrower, cheaper option by resolution on September 21, 2021, known as Food Truck Friday. It lets a food truck set up on Fridays at the City Arena parking lot or Snowden Grove Park under a City permit whose cost "shall be $100 per year," plus "a $25.00 rental charge for each Friday" it operates there, or $75.00 for an entire month. The rental is paid to the City by the Monday of that week and is not refunded for any reason, including weather. The permit application is filed yearly with the City Clerk's Office and must include a Mississippi State Department of Health food service permit, a state tax number, approval from the City Fire Inspector, proof of $500,000 in liability insurance naming the City as an additional insured, an indemnity agreement and a police background check. Participating trucks must also pay "all other required tax and license fees required by other food providers." The resolution sets hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., while the City's own 2023 calendar listings for the program advertise vendors from 10 a.m. to dusk. The City Clerk's current page lists managing Food Truck Fridays among the office's duties; confirm current terms there (662-280-6554). The resolution covers only those two City-owned sites. The transient-vendor figures above come directly from the City's own current application form and match the state statute's cap.

Business Privilege License — Retail Store

Southaven's own page is more explicit than either Jackson's or Gulfport's about this schedule's legal basis, citing § 27-17-365 by section number rather than merely describing an inventory-based fee. The same five-step Business Occupancy Checklist process (zoning review, Use & Occupancy inspection, Fire Marshal inspection, Certificate of Occupancy, Privilege Tax License) applies to a retail store exactly as it does to a service-based business.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Southaven
Phone
(662) 280-6554

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. Application for Privilege License to Operate Transient Business — states a $250.00 new permit fee and $25.00 renewal fee, a 90-day (renewable once) term, and the bond, agent-affidavit and food-permit requirements under Mississippi's Transient Vendor ActCity of Southaven, Mississippi · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  2. Business Occupancy Checklist (Rev. 4/19) — the five-step approval process (Planning & Development zoning review; Building Department Use & Occupancy Final; Fire Marshal inspection; Certificate of Occupancy issuance; Privilege Tax License) that every commercial business must complete before occupying a buildingCity of Southaven, Mississippi · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  3. City Clerk — lists "Manage Food Truck Fridays" among the office's duties, alongside issuing business licenses (home-based, commercial, transient vendor) and event permits; Ph: 662-280-6554City of Southaven, Mississippi · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  4. Costs & Fees — states the home-based ($20/year), retail-based (15% of true inventory value, "taken directly from § 27-17-365, Mississippi Code Annotated"), service-based (employee-count banded) and several flat-fee business license categories, plus year-end prorationCity of Southaven, Mississippi · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  5. Food Permits and Fees — confirming MSDH itself "now processes food facility permits electronically," with no Hinds County or other county office named as an issuing authorityMississippi State Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  6. Food Truck Friday, Friday, July 14 (2023) — City calendar listing: two locations every Friday (Arena at Southaven, 7360 Highway 51, and Snowden Grove Park, 6450 Getwell Rd), vendors present "from 10AM-DUSK"City of Southaven, Mississippi · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  7. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 21, 2021 of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, Part 1 — "Resolution for Food Trucks Using City Property" ("Food Truck Friday"), adopted 7-0: permit cost "shall be $100 per year" (Section 3(b)); "a $25.00 rental charge for each Friday," or $75.00 for an entire month (Section 4(a)(2)); Fridays 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the City Arena parking lot and Snowden Grove ParkCity of Southaven, Mississippi, Mayor and Board of Aldermen (City Clerk's Archive Center) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  8. Mississippi Code § 21-19-35 — Municipalities, penal bond not to exceed $2,000 required of transient vendors before transacting businessState of Mississippi, republished by FindLaw · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  9. Mississippi Code § 27-17-365 — Local Privilege Tax Law, inventory-value-banded tax on wholesale or retail storesState of Mississippi, republished by FindLaw · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  10. Mississippi Code § 27-17-9 — Local Privilege Tax Law, general employee-count privilege tax schedule and municipal tax-collector administrationState of Mississippi, republished by FindLaw · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  11. Mississippi Code § 75-85-13 — Transient Vendor Act, license fee "not to exceed Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00)" set by the county or municipality, and surety bond of the lesser of $2,000 or 5% of wholesale inventory valueState of Mississippi, republished by FindLaw · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  12. Mississippi Code § 75-85-7 — Transient Vendor Act, application for license in each county and municipality where business is transactedState of Mississippi, republished by FindLaw · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10

Other offices serving Southaven

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

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Mississippi jurisdictions

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