12 published records
Business licenses and permits in Lauderdale County, Alabama
Lauderdale County, Alabama, seat Florence, issues its general business privilege license through the County License Commissioner (102 S. Court St., Florence), an office created by local act (Ala. Code §45-39-200.04) that takes privilege licenses away from the Judge of Probate. Fees are the combined state plus county totals printed in the Alabama Department of Revenue's Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses; the county publishes no separate schedule. The county has its own Board of Barbering under the Lauderdale County Barber Act (Ala. Code §45-39-40 et seq.), which licenses barbers and registers barbershops county-wide. Lauderdale is Dry - Contains Wet Cities on the Alabama ABC Board's table: alcohol sales are lawful only inside an incorporated municipality (Ala. Code §45-39-20), and the wet cities are Rogersville, Florence, St. Florian, Lexington and Killen. Health permits come from the Lauderdale County Health Department, an Alabama Department of Public Health office. Seven incorporated municipalities — Florence, Killen, Rogersville, Waterloo, Anderson, Lexington and St. Florian — each stack their own business license and permit requirements on top of the county's; Florence also levies a city privilege tax. Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia are in Colbert County, not Lauderdale.
What are you opening in Lauderdale 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
- 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
Who issues business permits in Lauderdale County?
Permitting in Lauderdale 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.
Lauderdale County issuing agencies
- Lauderdale County License CommissionerCollects for and issues the general county business privilege licenses under Title 40, Chapter 12, Code of Alabama, and all other licenses for which state or county law requires payment, except marriage licenses (Ala. Code §45-39-200.04) · Collects the $1 issuance fee on each license and may charge a separate mailing fee on mailed renewals (Ala. Code §45-39-200.05)9 permits
- Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control BoardClassifies Lauderdale County as Dry - Contains Wet Cities and lists the wet cities: Rogersville, Florence, St. Florian, Lexington and Killen · Licenses alcohol sales in the wet cities; sales elsewhere in the county are unlawful under Ala. Code §45-39-201 permit
- Lauderdale County Board of BarberingLicenses barbers, managing barbers, apprentices and students, and registers barbershops and barber schools, county-wide, under the Lauderdale County Barber Act (Ala. Code §45-39-40 et seq.) · Sets the actual fees within the statutory maximums in Ala. Code §45-39-40.12; no fee schedule or office contact is published1 permit
- Lauderdale County Health Department (Alabama Department of Public Health)Permits and inspects food service establishments under State Board of Health Rules Chapter 420-3-22; applicants obtain the food permit application from the county health department · Also handles hotel and pool inspections, onsite sewage and septic permits through its Environmental Office1 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.