17 published records
Business licenses and permits in Baldwin County, Alabama
Baldwin County runs no county-specific business-license ordinance or fee schedule of its own. Its Judge of Probate collects Alabama's statewide occupational privilege license, Title 40, Chapter 12, Code of Alabama 1975, using the same classification codes and combined state+county fee amounts published in the Alabama Department of Revenue's Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses — this reaches every industry covered on this site, including contractors, veterinarians and salons, each of which appears as its own numbered classification on Baldwin's own application form even without a separate, industry-specific county credential. This county-level privilege license stacks with, rather than substitutes for, each incorporated city's own municipal business license (Fairhope, Daphne, Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Spanish Fort, Robertsdale, Loxley, Bay Minette and others) — a business inside city limits owes both. A second, separate county revenue mechanism, the special county privilege license tax under §45-2-244.072, adds a 1% gross-receipts tax on top of the flat classification fee. Baldwin County has no independent county health department; the Alabama Department of Public Health's Southwestern District, operating locally as the Baldwin County Health Department, administers food, mobile-food, temporary-event and pool/spa permits county-wide, including inside every city. The County's own Building Inspection Department and Planning & Zoning Department, by contrast, reach only unincorporated Baldwin County — every incorporated city runs its own building and zoning process instead. Baldwin County is Wet countywide per the Alabama ABC Board's current wet/dry list; alcohol licensing itself is a state ABC Board function, recorded at the state layer.
What are you opening in Baldwin County?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Baldwin County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special County Privilege License Tax (1% of Gross Receipts) | Baldwin County Commission (county governing body) | 1% of the gross proceeds of sales, or gross receipts, of the business, in addition to all other taxes including each municipality's own gross-receipts license tax; exemptions mirror the state sales-tax exemptions | recurring, tied to the business's ongoing gross receipts; administered under the County Commission's authority to levy this tax under Act 83-532 | 2026-09-28 |
| Building Permit — Unincorporated Baldwin Countyonly if it applies to you | Baldwin County Building Inspection Department | Residential (one/two-family): building plan review $75 new / $30 alterations; building permit $3.00 per $1,000 of valuation (minimum $55); electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits $110 each for new construction 1,000 SF or more / $55 each under 1,000 SF; re-roofing $55; demolition $75; swimming pool $30 plan review plus $100 permit plus $55 electrical plus $35 gas; dune walkover $30 plus $55; marine accessories in a FEMA flood zone add a $75 floodplain fee; mobile home set-up $35; mobile home park $15 per lot; data processing fee $15 per permit; re-inspection fee $45. Commercial: building permit $5.00 per $1,000 of valuation (minimum $55), plus a $1.00 per $1,000 Construction Industry Craft Training Fee. | one-time, per permit | 2026-09-28 |
| Zoning / Land-Use Review — Unincorporated Baldwin Countyonly if it applies to you | Baldwin County Planning & Zoning Department | Baldwin County Planning & Zoning Department reviews and approves zoning, subdivision and rezoning matters for unincorporated Baldwin County; no fee figure is published in this record; contact the department for the fee that applies to a specific application | per application | 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.
What do these permits involve in Baldwin County?
Special County Privilege License Tax (1% of Gross Receipts)
Baldwin County levies a second, distinct county revenue obligation on top of the flat Title 40-12 occupational privilege license: a special county privilege license tax equal to 1% of a business's gross proceeds of sales or gross receipts, authorized by §45-2-244.072 (Act 83-532). The statute is explicit that this tax applies 'in addition to all other taxes, including municipal gross receipts license taxes' — so it stacks with both the flat Title 40-12 classification fee and, for a business inside city limits, that city's own municipal gross-receipts tax. Its exemptions mirror the exemptions already built into Alabama's state sales tax. This is a percentage-of-revenue tax, not a fixed annual fee, so the amount owed scales directly with a business's sales and is not a one-time or capped charge. Most business owners researching only the flat Probate Office privilege-license fee would not otherwise learn this second obligation exists, which is why it is recorded here as its own requirement rather than folded into the general privilege-license records above.
Building Permit — Unincorporated Baldwin County
A business building, altering or demolishing a structure in unincorporated Baldwin County needs a building permit from the County's own Building Inspection Department, priced per this fee schedule adopted October 6, 2020 and effective November 2, 2020. Residential-scale fees run from a $55 minimum permit fee up to $3.00 per $1,000 of construction valuation, plus itemized fees for plan review, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, re-roofing, demolition, pools, dune walkovers and mobile homes. Commercial construction is $5.00 per $1,000 of valuation (minimum $55) plus a $1.00 per $1,000 Construction Industry Craft Training Fee. This entire department, and every fee on this schedule, applies ONLY within unincorporated Baldwin County — a business inside any incorporated city (Fairhope, Daphne, Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Spanish Fort, Robertsdale, Bay Minette and the rest) gets its building permit from that city's own building department instead, not from the County. A food-truck or other purely mobile operation with no fixed structure of its own does not trigger this permit.
Zoning / Land-Use Review — Unincorporated Baldwin County
A business locating, building or expanding in unincorporated Baldwin County needs zoning/land-use review from the County's own Planning & Zoning Department, which administers zoning, subdivision and rezoning matters there and only there — every incorporated city (Fairhope, Daphne, Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Spanish Fort, Robertsdale, Bay Minette and the rest) runs its own separate zoning process instead. The department's existence, its unincorporated-only jurisdiction and its role alongside the Building Inspection Department are well established, but no fee figure is published in this record. Contact Baldwin County Planning & Zoning directly, 251-580-1655, for the current fee applicable to a specific application before budgeting for this step.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Ala. Code §45-2-244.072 — special county privilege license tax (Act 83-532), 1% of gross proceeds of sales/receiptsJustia (Code of Alabama) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Baldwin County Building Inspection Department fee schedule, adopted October 6, 2020, effective November 2, 2020Baldwin County Commission (Legistar) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Environmental Services — food, mobile food unit and general permitting program overviewAlabama Department of Public Health, Baldwin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Who issues business permits in Baldwin County?
Permitting in Baldwin County is split across 5 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Baldwin County issuing agencies
- Baldwin County Probate Office, Licensing Division (Judge of Probate Harry D'Olive Jr.)Issues the general county occupational/business privilege license under Title 40, Chapter 12, Code of Alabama 1975 · Administers the statewide ALDOR classification fee schedule locally, county-wide, in addition to each city's own municipal license · Covers all business types, including restaurants, salons, barbers, contractors, veterinarians and junk dealers, via named Title 40-12 classifications8 permits
- Alabama Department of Public Health, Southwestern District — Baldwin County Health Department, Environmental Services (Food and Lodging Division)Permits permanent food-service establishments, mobile food units, temporary event food vendors and public pools/spas · County-wide — reaches every incorporated city and the unincorporated area alike, since Baldwin has no independent county health department4 permits
- Baldwin County Commission (county governing body)Levies the special county privilege license tax (1% of gross receipts) under §45-2-244.072 · Issues massage-parlor licenses under Title 45, Chapter 2, Article 4 (§§45-2-40 et seq.), a separate process from the Probate Office's Title 40-12 licensing · Governing body of record for Baldwin County's wet/dry status and local alcohol-referendum administration3 permits
- Baldwin County Building Inspection DepartmentIssues building permits for new construction, alteration, demolition and accessory structures · Applies ONLY in unincorporated Baldwin County — every incorporated city runs its own building permit process1 permit
- Baldwin County Planning & Zoning DepartmentAdministers zoning, subdivision and rezoning review · Applies ONLY in unincorporated Baldwin County — every incorporated city runs its own zoning process1 permit
Other Alabama jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.