10 published records
Business licenses and permits in Jefferson County, Alabama
Jefferson County, Alabama's largest county and home to Birmingham, layers a county-only Entity Business License Tax on top of the state business privilege license, and most of its many incorporated cities (Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Bessemer and others) add a third, separate city business license — none of the three substitutes for another. The Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) is one of only two independently run, county-funded health departments in Alabama (with Mobile County), not an Alabama Department of Public Health district office, and its food, mobile-food, daycare and swimming-pool permits reach county-wide, including inside Birmingham and every other incorporated city. The Jefferson County Barber Commission (JCBC), in continuous operation since 1951, still separately licenses barbershops and barbers today: the 2013 statewide consolidation into the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering exempted any county or municipal barber commission already in existence on August 1, 2013 unless its governing body opted in by resolution, and Jefferson County's commission never opted in. General (non-barber) cosmetology and salon licensing, veterinary practice, and auto-repair/salvage dealing are all state-licensed with no confirmed Jefferson-County-specific layer. The county's Development Services building/zoning permit and its ePermitJC contractor registration both reach unincorporated Jefferson County only; every incorporated city in the county runs its own building department instead.
What are you opening in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development Services Building / Zoning Permit (unincorporated county)only if it applies to you | Jefferson County Department of Development Services, Building Division (ePermitJC) | Residential building permit: $50 up to $5,000 in valuation, then $9.00 per $1,000 (or fraction) above that, plus a $100 architectural plan review. Commercial building permit: $50 up to $5,000, then $11.00 per $1,000 above that, plus a $200 architectural plan review. Miscellaneous building permit: $50 up to $5,000, then $10.00 per $1,000 above that, plus a $100 architectural plan review if needed. Every permit or application submitted through the county's Accela portal also carries a flat $50 administrative fee and $10 technology fee. Separate zoning fees: zoning amendment $300 plus $10 per acre, conditional use $250, variance $200, special exception $200 (Ordinance #1848, Item #6349, adopted November 5, 2020). | one-time, per permit or application | 2026-09-28 |
| Jefferson County Entity Business License Tax | Jefferson County Revenue Department, Business License Section | Jefferson County's own applied schedule: a minimum of $50 for a business's first location and $25 for each additional location; once gross receipts pass $100,000 a year, the tax becomes 1/40 of 1% (0.025%) of gross receipts, plus a flat $25 issuance fee. The underlying statute, Ala. Code §45-37-244.02, bounds these figures with an annual floor of $25 and ceiling of $15,000, authorizes the $25 issuance fee and the 1/40-of-1%-of-gross-receipts rate directly, and allows both the floor and ceiling to rise up to 5% every 5 years starting in fiscal year 2016. | annual | 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 Jefferson County?
Development Services Building / Zoning Permit (unincorporated county)
Jefferson County Development Services issues building and zoning permits only inside unincorporated Jefferson County — the county's own ePermitJC page states plainly that 'a permit from Jefferson County is required for all new construction, alterations, and repairs in unincorporated areas.' Every incorporated city in the county, including Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Bessemer, runs its own separate building department instead, and none of the fees here apply to work permitted by a city. For construction in the unincorporated area, a residential permit costs $50 up to $5,000 in valuation and $9.00 per $1,000 above that; a commercial permit is $50 up to $5,000 and $11.00 per $1,000 above that, plus a $200 architectural plan review; and a miscellaneous permit is $50 up to $5,000 and $10.00 per $1,000 above that. A flat $50 administrative fee and $10 technology fee apply to every permit or application submitted through the county's online portal. Separate zoning actions — an amendment, conditional use, variance or special exception — carry their own $200 to $300-plus-per-acre fees under the same fee ordinance.
Jefferson County Entity Business License Tax
Every business operating in Jefferson County owes this county-only Entity Business License Tax to the Jefferson County Revenue Department, Business License Section, in addition to — not instead of — the Alabama business privilege license issued through the county and any separate city business license. The county's own applied schedule charges a $50 minimum for a business's first location and $25 for each additional one; once gross receipts exceed $100,000 a year, the charge becomes 1/40 of 1% of gross receipts plus a flat $25 issuance fee. Ala. Code §45-37-244.02 sets these county figures within a statutory floor of $25 and ceiling of $15,000 a year and states plainly that the tax applies 'in addition to all state license taxes.' Jefferson County's own website states directly that a county business license is required 'in addition to any city or state license,' and separately confirms that most of the county's many incorporated cities — Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Bessemer among them — require their own additional city business license on top of both the state and county requirements. A business with more than one Jefferson County location pays the additional-location fee for each one.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Ordinance #1848 (Item #6349), Fee Ordinance for the Department of Development Services, adopted November 5, 2020 — building, zoning and related fee scheduleJefferson County Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- ePermitJC — 'a permit from Jefferson County is required for all new construction, alterations, and repairs in unincorporated areas'; contractor registration through Accela Citizen AccessJefferson County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Jefferson County FAQ — Entity Business License Tax minimum/per-location fee and 'in addition to any city or state license' statementJefferson County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Code of Alabama §45-37-244.02, Jefferson County Entity Business License Tax (Act 2011-662) — minimum/maximum tax, issuance fee, rate, 'in addition to all state license taxes'onecle.com (Code of Alabama mirror) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Jefferson County Business page — most cities located inside the county require their own additional city business licenseJefferson County, Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Who issues business permits in Jefferson County?
Permitting in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County issuing agencies
- Jefferson County Department of Health, Food Protection and Environmental Health programsFood establishment, mobile food, daycare and food processor permits, county-wide including inside every incorporated city · Public swimming pool and spa design/construction/operation regulations, county-wide5 permits
- Jefferson County Department of Development Services, Building Division (ePermitJC)Building, zoning and related permits — unincorporated Jefferson County only · Contractor registration via the ePermitJC/Accela Citizen Access portal — unincorporated Jefferson County only2 permits
- Jefferson County Revenue Department, Business License SectionJefferson County Entity Business License Tax, county-wide, in addition to the state business privilege license and any city license · Jefferson County Alcoholic Beverage Tax (Form ABT, locality code 7237), separate from the state ABC Board license itself2 permits
- Jefferson County Barber CommissionBarber, apprentice barber, barber teacher, scalp specialist, barbershop and barber college licensing, county-wide1 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.