Missoula

City of Missoula, Community Planning, Development & Innovation — Permit & Business Licensing Coordinators

In short

City of Missoula, Community Planning, Development & Innovation — Permit & Business Licensing Coordinators issues 5 permits we publish for Missoula, last verified 2026-09-12. 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
City of Missoula Contractor Business License	City of Missoula, Community Planning, Development & Innovation — Permit & Business Licensing Coordinators	New Application: the same location-based per-FTE rate as the General Business License ($63/$42/$35 per FTE by commercial/home-based/outside-city location, $252-$5,355 / $168-$3,570 / $139-$2,945) — the fee schedule prices no separate 'Contractor' row for a new application. Renewal: a flat $28 per FTE ($113-$2,410), shared with General, Itinerant, and Cannabis licenses. Per the Business License & Registration Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2026.	annual — expires February 28th each year	2026-09-12
Industry-Specific Municipal License (not found beyond the general Business License)only if it applies to you	City of Missoula, Community Planning, Development & Innovation — Permit & Business Licensing Coordinators	No fee	not applicable	2026-09-12
City of Missoula General Business License	City of Missoula, Community Planning, Development & Innovation — Permit & Business Licensing Coordinators	A per-FTE (full-time-equivalent owner/employee) fee, floored at 4 FTE and capped at 85 FTE: $63 per FTE at a commercial location within city limits ($252 minimum, $5,355 maximum), $42 per FTE if home-based within city limits ($168-$3,570), or $35 per FTE if the business is located outside city limits but works within them ($139-$2,945). Renewal is a flat $28 per FTE regardless of location ($113-$2,410), shared with Contractor, Itinerant, and Cannabis licenses. A 5% technology fee applies to the total fees paid.	annual — expires May 31st each year regardless of the issue date	2026-09-12
City of Missoula Itinerant Vendor License (Mobile Food Vendor)only if it applies to you	City of Missoula, Community Planning, Development & Innovation — Permit & Business Licensing Coordinators	New Application: $53 per FTE (full-time-equivalent owner/employee), floored at 4 FTE ($210 minimum) and capped at 85 FTE ($4,463 maximum). Renewal: a flat $28 per FTE ($113-$2,410), shared with General, Contractor, and Cannabis licenses. Per the Business License & Registration Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2026.	annual — expires May 31st each year	2026-09-12
Daycare Business License Endorsement	City of Missoula, Community Planning, Development & Innovation — Permit & Business Licensing Coordinators	$499 one-time, at new General Business License application; $79 at each annual renewal	annual, tied to the General Business License's May 31st renewal cycle	2026-09-12

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

City of Missoula Contractor Business License

Required for anyone doing construction-related work — building, repairing, landscape installation, or installing materials/devices — within city limits, layered on top of Montana's own state Construction Contractor Registration, listed on this site's Montana state page. A background check is required except for state-licensed Plumbers and Electricians, and current general liability insurance and any required bonds must stay on file with the City or the license locks (blocking permit pulls and inspections).

Industry-Specific Municipal License (not found beyond the general Business License)

No fee applies beyond the general Business License already recorded above. This project read Missoula Municipal Code Title 5's own complete chapter index directly and confirms it names no dedicated ordinance for a retail store, an auto repair shop, a veterinary practice, a fitness studio, or a hair/nail salon — only narrow, separately-named trades (poolhalls, hotels, junk dealers, pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers, self-service gas stations, and similar) that do not match any of these five industries. Each of their Missoula-specific obligations is instead the general Business License, the same commercial Building Permit, Certificate of Occupancy, Sign Permit (where applicable), and Zoning Compliance/Conditional Use approvals recorded elsewhere in this file, on top of whatever trade-specific state professional license already applies (recorded at this project's Montana state layer).

City of Missoula General Business License

Required of any person or entity conducting business or offering goods/services within Missoula City Limits and grossing more than $6,000 annually — a revenue threshold that Billings, Montana's general license does not have. A business grossing less than $6,000/year instead files an Exemption Affidavit. The General category covers everything not sorted into the City's own Contractor, Itinerant Vendor, or Rental categories, and explicitly includes daycares and health clubs/gyms on the City's own decision-tree page. Vending only at an established farmers'/Saturday market is exempt from needing any city business license at all. The fees above are from the City's Business License & Registration Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2026, adopted by Resolution 8970.

City of Missoula Itinerant Vendor License (Mobile Food Vendor)

Required to vend within Missoula City Limits from a cart or truck; not required to vend only at an established farmers'/Saturday market. Missoula Public Health's own Mobile Retail Food page confirms this City license directly: 'The City of Missoula requires vendors to get an Itinerant Vendor License (a type of business license) to vend within city limits.' A separate $88 Fire Department Vendor Review fee (recorded below) may also apply, and a fixed parking location requires separate zoning sign-off from the Current Planning & Land Use Zoning Desk.

Daycare Business License Endorsement

A flat, Missoula-specific add-on fee layered on top of the ordinary General Business License's own per-FTE fee (recorded separately above) for any commercial daycare business — $499.00 the first time, $79.00 at each renewal thereafter, per the fee schedule effective October 1, 2026. This is separate from, and in addition to, Montana DPHHS's own state Child Care License (listed on this site's Montana state page) and Missoula Public Health's own sanitation inspection role (recorded below).

Contact

Jurisdiction: Missoula
Phone: (406) 552-6060
Website: www.ci.missoula.mt.us/3288/Business-Licensing

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 & Registration Fee Schedule, effective October 1, 2026 (FY2027, adopted by Resolution 8970) — the per-FTE fee tables for General, Contractor, Itinerant/Mobile Vendor, Liquor, and Cannabis licenses, plus Daycare, Sidewalk Café, and Pawnbroker endorsement feesCity of Missoula, Montana, Community Planning, Development & Innovation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Business License FAQ — 'Do I need a business license?' confirming the $6,000 gross-revenue threshold and renewal/penalty scheduleCity of Missoula, Montana · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Business Licensing — the City's own decision-tree page sorting applicants into General, Contractor, Itinerant Vendor, or Rental Business LicensesCity of Missoula, Montana, Community Planning, Development & Innovation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Missoula Municipal Code Title 5 (Business Licenses and Regulations) — the complete chapter index (Chapter 5.08 Licensing Provisions Generally, § 5.08.010; Chapter 5.56 Street Vendors, § 5.56.020) confirming no dedicated chapter exists for retail, auto repair, veterinary, fitness, or salon businessesCity of Missoula, Montana · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Mobile Retail Food Establishments — MPH's own page confirming the $285 Basic Plan Review Fee for mobiles and the City's own Itinerant Vendor License requirement to vend in city limitsMissoula Public Health (Missoula City-County Health Department) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12

Other offices serving Missoula

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Business licenses in Missoula

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Montana jurisdictions

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