9 permits · verified 2026-09-29
What permits do you need to open a retail store in Elmore County Al?
In short
A retail store in Elmore County Al, AL has 2 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 7 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Elmore County Revenue Commissioner, License Division (Tag and Title) charges $1 a year for one store, state amount only with no county portion (Ala. Code §40-12-315, ALDOR code 0315), plus a $1 state issuance fee for the store license (sec. 315) — state amount only for a single store. 3 of the 9 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-29 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a retail store in Elmore County Al
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol License Local Approval (Elmore County Commission) — Wet Countyonly if it applies to you | Elmore County Commission | No fee | per application; the underlying license comes from the Alabama ABC Board on its own renewal cycle | 2026-09-29 |
| Store License (Sec. 315) — State Amount Only for a Single Store | Elmore County Revenue Commissioner, License Division (Tag and Title) | $1 a year for one store, state amount only with no county portion (Ala. Code §40-12-315, ALDOR code 0315), plus a $1 state issuance fee | annual; the license year runs October 1 through September 30, due October 1 and delinquent November 1 | 2026-09-29 |
| Store Licenseonly if it applies to you | Alabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax Division | $2 for a single store including the issuance fee, then $16 each for stores two to five, $23.50 for six to ten, $38.50 for eleven to twenty and $113.50 each beyond that | annual — 1 October to 30 September | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
AL registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State and County Business Privilege Licenseonly if it applies to you | Alabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax Division | Varies — formula on the AL page | annual — 1 October to 30 September, delinquent 1 November | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Formation (LLC)only if it applies to you | Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services | $200 one-time filing | perpetual — Alabama abolished the annual report in 2024 | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services | $200 one-time filing | perpetual — Alabama abolished the annual report in 2024 | 2026-09-03 |
| Corporation Annual Report (abolished)only if it applies to you | Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services | No fee | not applicable — the filing no longer exists | 2026-09-03 |
| Business Privilege Taxonly if it applies to you | Alabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division | Varies — formula on the AL page | annual — due when the matching federal return is due | 2026-09-03 |
| Sales Tax License | Alabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division | No fee | annual — renew online between 1 November and 31 December | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
How much does it actually cost to permit a retail store in Elmore County Al?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 9 records listed for a retail store in Elmore County Al, AL, 2 apply to every business of this type and 7 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
Of the 2 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $1.00. That is a floor, not a total. 3 of the 9 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 3 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Store License: $2 for a single store including the issuance fee, then $16 each for stores two to five, $23.50 for six to ten, $38.50 for eleven to twenty and $113.50 each beyond that
The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Elmore County Al permits page and the AL state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Elmore County Al?
Permits for a retail store in Elmore County Al, AL come from 5 separate offices: Elmore County Commission, Elmore County Revenue Commissioner, License Division (Tag and Title), Alabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax Division, Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services, Alabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Elmore County CommissionIssues 1 permit on this page: Alcohol License Local Approval (Elmore County Commission) — Wet County100 E. Commerce St., Suite 200, Wetumpka, AL 36092 · 334-514-5841www.elmoreco.org/alcohol-licenses
- Elmore County Revenue Commissioner, License Division (Tag and Title)Issues 1 permit on this page: Store License (Sec. 315) — State Amount Only for a Single Store100 E. Commerce St., Room 101, Wetumpka, AL 36092 · 334-567-1166www.elmoreco.org/revenue
- Alabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: State and County Business Privilege License, Store License2545 Taylor Road, Montgomery, AL 36117 · (334) 353-7827www.revenue.alabama.gov/business-license
- Alabama Secretary of State, Business ServicesIssues 3 permits on this page: Certificate of Formation (LLC), Certificate of Incorporation, Corporation Annual Report (abolished)770 Washington Avenue, Suite 580, Montgomery, AL 36104 · (334) 242-5324www.sos.alabama.gov/business-entities
- Alabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: Business Privilege Tax, Sales Tax LicensePO Box 327710, Montgomery, AL 36132-7710 · (334) 242-1490www.revenue.alabama.gov/sales-use/business-tax-online-registration-system
What does a retail store need in Elmore County Al that other businesses do not?
1 of the 3 permits particular to a retail store here applies to no other business type we cover in Elmore County Al: Store License (Sec. 315) — State Amount Only for a Single Store.
Alcohol License Local Approval (Elmore County Commission) — Wet County
Elmore County is classified Wet on the Alabama ABC Board's own wet-cities table. A restaurant or retail store applying for an alcohol license outside a municipal governing body's approval follows the county's procedure: submit the ABC Board pre-application first, then apply to the Elmore County Commission at 100 East Commerce St., Suite 200, Wetumpka, by noon Wednesday the week before the Commission meeting. The Commission votes to advertise, the applicant posts a window notice and pays for one week of newspaper notice, a public hearing follows, and the Commission sends an approval letter to the ABC Board. There is no fee published for the county approval step; the Commission's page states none, and the applicant's own cost is the newspaper notice. Call 334-514-5841 ext. 5006 for the Commission and 334-213-6300 for ABC Licensing and Compliance. A business inside a municipality also deals with that city's own alcohol rules.
Store License (Sec. 315) — State Amount Only for a Single Store
A retail store in Elmore County pays the Sec. 315 store license: $1.00 for one store plus a $1 state issuance fee. The statute makes it a state-only amount, since no license fee is due or payable for the use of any county, so there is no county share. A chain pays more for each additional store: $15.00 each for stores 2-5, $22.50 each for 6-10, $37.50 each for 11-20, and $112.50 each over 20. The license is collected through the Elmore County Revenue Commissioner's License Division in Wetumpka, and any municipal business license stacks on it.
Store License
The store license reaches essentially every retail and wholesale merchant, which makes it the closest thing Alabama has to a universal business license — and it is remarkably cheap for a single-location business at $2 all in. The price climbs per store as a chain grows, reaching $113.50 for each store past the twentieth. Unlike the privilege license, this one is state-only: the statute says expressly that no fee is due for the use of any county. An auto repair shop needs it only if it sells parts to the public over the counter; keeping a stock of parts to fit to customers' vehicles does not trigger it, even where the parts are itemised on the repair bill.
The 6 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across AL and are covered on the AL state page.
How does a retail store compare with other businesses in Elmore County Al?
The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 1 of these permits. A retail store also needs Alcohol License Local Approval (Elmore County Commission) — Wet County and Store License (Sec. 315) — State Amount Only for a Single Store. A auto repair shop needs County Business Privilege License — Automobile Garage or Shop (Sec. 54) and Garage and Repair Shop Privilege License, which a retail store does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a retail store | Only a retail store needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto repair shops | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Restaurants | 8 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Childcare centres | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Coffee shops | 5 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Contractors and trades | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Food trucks | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Salons and barbers | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Veterinary clinics | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Sources
Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Elmore County Al permits page and the AL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Elmore County Commission — Alcohol Licenses page (application procedure approved November 27, 2017)Elmore County Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
- Wet Cities determination — Madison County listed 'Wet,' no city-level carve-outsAlabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- ALDOR — Elmore County Annual Business Privilege/License Tax Fiscal Year Report, FY2026 (license amounts by code, combined state and county)Alabama Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
- Alabama Department of Revenue — Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses, October 2022, with the fee schedule for each business typeAlabama Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Code of Alabama §45-26-242.20 — License Division created within the Revenue Commissioner's Office of Elmore County, effective July 1, 2020law.justia.com (Code of Alabama mirror) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.