5 published records
Business licenses and permits in Houston County, Alabama
Houston County, Alabama, seat Dothan, runs its general county business privilege license through the Probate Office's own internal License Department division — Ala. Code §45-35-200 separately created an appointed 'License Commissioner' office for the county, but the county's current department listing and the Probate Office's own page show that function folded into Probate's License Department in practice, with no separate License Commissioner department operating today. Houston County is Wet county-wide under the Alabama ABC Board's own classification: state ABC package stores can locate anywhere in the county, and beer/malt-beverage retail sale and on-premise consumption are licensed under the general state framework the same as any other wet county. Layered on top, Ala. Code §45-35-21 still confines the retail sale of spirituous or vinous liquors specifically — hard liquor and wine, not beer — outside an ABC store to establishments within the City of Dothan's corporate limits, each needing both a state license and a City of Dothan license. The Houston County Board of Health holds genuine local fee-setting authority under Ala. Code §45-35-170, the same category as Baldwin, Jefferson, Limestone, Mobile, Montgomery and Morgan counties, rather than a plain Alabama Department of Public Health field-office arrangement. The Road & Bridge Department issues flat-fee building and flood-zone permits for unincorporated Houston County only, and the county's site publishes no countywide zoning ordinance. Barbers and salons are licensed by the statewide Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering under Ala. Code Title 34, Chapter 7B. Nine incorporated municipalities — Dothan (dominant), Ashford, Columbia, Cottonwood, Gordon, Kinsey, Madrid, Rehobeth and Webb — each run their own separate municipal business-license processes, which stack on the county requirements listed here; check with the city or town for its own license, fee and zoning rules.
What are you opening in Houston 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 Houston County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General County Business Privilege License | Houston County Probate Office, License Department (Judge of Probate Patrick H. Davenport) | No distinct Houston County fee schedule or ordinance is published for this license. The county's own Business License Application asks for the same classification categories the statewide ALDOR Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses (Title 40, Chapter 12, Code of Alabama) uses — contractor by gross receipts, gasoline dealer by pump count, vending machine operator by machine count, manufacturer by capital investment, and roughly 140 other classifications — so the applicable fee is set by whichever Title 40-12 classification fits the specific business, per the current ALDOR Handbook, rather than by a separate Houston County dollar schedule. | annual; license year runs through September 30, renews each October, with penalties and interest applying after November 1 | 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 Houston County?
General County Business Privilege License
Every business, occupation or profession operating in Houston County needs this general county privilege license, required county-wide including inside every one of the county's nine municipalities. It is administered today through the Houston County Probate Office's own internal License Department division, at 462 N. Oates St., Dothan (checks payable to 'Patrick H Davenport, Judge of Probate'). Ala. Code §45-35-200 separately created an appointed 'License Commissioner' office for Houston County, staffed as a Commission-appointed exempt employee with license- and tag-enforcement duties, but that statute never names the Probate Judge at all, and no later act formally transferred the function. In current practice the office has no separate presence: the county's own departments listing shows only Probate, and the Probate Office's own page describes License as one of its five internal divisions alongside Tag, Recording, Court and Elections, with no separate License Commissioner named. No distinct Houston County dollar fee schedule is published; the application form's classification checkboxes track the structure of the statewide ALDOR Handbook, so the fee due depends on which Title 40-12 classification applies to the specific business.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Houston County Business License Application — classification categories (contractor by gross receipts, gasoline by pump count, vending by machine count, manufacturer by capital investment) tracking the statewide ALDOR Title 40-12 Handbook structureHouston County Probate Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Houston County Probate Office — Business License pageHouston County Probate Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Houston County Probate Office main page — internal division structure (License, Tag, Recording, Court, Elections)Houston County Probate Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Houston County Departments listing — confirms no separate License Commissioner department exists todayHouston County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Code of Alabama §45-35-200, Office of License Commissioner (Houston County, Act 81-359)law.justia.com (Code of Alabama mirror) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Who issues business permits in Houston County?
Permitting in Houston County is split across 4 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.
Houston County issuing agencies
- Houston County Probate Office, License Department (Judge of Probate Patrick H. Davenport)Issues the general county business privilege license under Title 40, Chapter 12, Code of Alabama 1975, via the Probate Office's internal License Department division — the function statutorily created as a separate 'License Commissioner' office under Ala. Code §45-35-200, but folded into Probate in current practice · Files state-issued veterinary licenses under Ala. Code §34-29-842 permits
- Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control BoardClassifies Houston County as Wet and licenses ABC package stores, beer/malt-beverage retail sale and on-premise consumption county-wide · Retail sale of spirituous or vinous liquors outside an ABC store additionally requires a City of Dothan license under Ala. Code §45-35-21, and is confined to establishments within Dothan's corporate limits1 permit
- Houston County Board of Health / Houston County Health Department, Environmental Health DivisionDesignates fee-chargeable health-department services and sets each fee under Ala. Code §45-35-170, subject to a public hearing and a sliding fee scale · Permits and inspects food-service establishments, mobile food units, bakeries, bars and daycare kitchens county-wide on a 100-point inspection scale1 permit
- Houston County Road & Bridge DepartmentIssues building and flood-zone permits for unincorporated Houston County only1 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.