9 permits · verified 2026-09-28
What permits do you need to open a retail store in Lee County Al?
In short
A retail store in Lee 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. Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services charges $200 one-time filing for the certificate of formation (llc). 5 of the 9 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-28 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a retail store in Lee County Al
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol License Local Approval, Unincorporated Lee Countyonly if it applies to you | Lee County Commission | Every Alabama business seeking an ABC Board retail, wholesale or on-premises alcohol license needs an approval step from the local governing body with jurisdiction over the premises before the state issues the license — inside an incorporated city, that is the city's own governing body, and in the unincorporated area of a wet county, it is the county commission. Lee County's own codified local act on alcoholic beverages, Ala. Code §45-41-20 and §45-41-20.01 (Title 45, Ch. 41, Art. 2), authorizes draft/keg beer sales countywide and Sunday alcohol sales, but sets out no distinct step-by-step application procedure, fee, or deadline for the Lee County Commission's own local-approval role in the unincorporated area, of the kind Opelika's and Auburn's own city governments each publish for applicants inside their respective city limits. Contact the Lee County Commission office directly for the current unincorporated-area approval procedure before applying to the ABC Board. | one-time local approval per application; the resulting state ABC license has its own separate renewal cycle, administered by the state, not the county | 2026-09-28 |
| 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.
Local permits that apply to every type of business in Lee County Al
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County General Privilege License | Lee County Probate Judge's Office | Varies — formula on the Lee County Al page | 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.
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 Lee 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 Lee 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.
5 of the 9 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Alcohol License Local Approval, Unincorporated Lee County: Every Alabama business seeking an ABC Board retail, wholesale or on-premises alcohol license needs an approval step from the local governing body with jurisdiction over the premises before the state issues the license — inside an incorporated city, that is the city's own governing body, and in the unincorporated area of a wet county, it is the county commission. Lee County's own codified local act on alcoholic beverages, Ala. Code §45-41-20 and §45-41-20.01 (Title 45, Ch. 41, Art. 2), authorizes draft/keg beer sales countywide and Sunday alcohol sales, but sets out no distinct step-by-step application procedure, fee, or deadline for the Lee County Commission's own local-approval role in the unincorporated area, of the kind Opelika's and Auburn's own city governments each publish for applicants inside their respective city limits. Contact the Lee County Commission office directly for the current unincorporated-area approval procedure before applying to the ABC Board.
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 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Lee County Al permits page and the AL state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Lee County Al?
Permits for a retail store in Lee County Al, AL come from 5 separate offices: Lee County Probate Judge's Office, Lee County Commission, 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.
- Lee County Probate Judge's OfficeIssues 1 permit on this page: Lee County General Privilege License215 S. 9th St., Opelika, AL 36801 (mail: PO Box 2266, Opelika, AL 36803-0811) · 334-737-3670 (Opelika); 334-737-7297 (Auburn satellite office); 334-448-3299 (Smiths Station satellite office)www.leecountyal.gov/government/probate_judge/index.php
- Lee County CommissionIssues 1 permit on this page: Alcohol License Local Approval, Unincorporated Lee Countywww.leecountyal.gov/government/lee_county_commission/index.php
- 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 Lee County Al that other businesses do not?
Alcohol License Local Approval, Unincorporated Lee County
This local-approval role reaches unincorporated Lee County only. Lee County is 'Wet' countywide — entry #41 on the Alabama ABC Board's own Wet Cities list — and inside Opelika or Auburn, each city's own governing body plays the equivalent local-approval role instead, with its own detailed, city-published step-by-step ABC-application procedure; those two cities' procedures are municipal, not county, mechanisms, and neither describes how the Lee County Commission itself handles an unincorporated-area application. The Alabama ABC Board remains the primary state licensor in every part of the county regardless of which local body grants the underlying local approval.
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 other 1 local permit in the tables apply to every type of business in Lee County Al, AL; what each one involves is set out on the Lee County Al permits page. 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 Lee 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, Unincorporated Lee County. A auto repair shop needs 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 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Restaurants | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Childcare centres | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Coffee shops | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Contractors and trades | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Fitness studios | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Food trucks | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Salons and barbers | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Veterinary clinics | 2 | 0 | 2 | 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 Lee County Al permits page and the AL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Wet Cities determination — Madison County listed 'Wet,' no city-level carve-outsAlabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Code of Alabama, Title 45, Ch. 41, Art. 2 — Alcoholic Beverages (Lee County local acts: §45-41-20 draft/keg beer, §45-41-20.01 Sunday sales)Justia / Code of Alabama · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- 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
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.