Business licenses and permits in Arizona

What applies everywhere in Arizona

12 requirements are set by Arizona itself and apply whichever city you open in. Local permits sit on top of them.

Sources

Every statewide figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

1. Arizona Revised Statutes section 10-1622 — corporate annual report, due date and penaltyArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
2. Arizona Corporation Commission — Business Services FAQs — 'Do LLCs file annual reports?' (LLCs are not required to; only corporations are)Arizona Corporation Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
3. Arizona Revised Statutes section 10-122 — corporation filing fees, including the data-processing surcharge in subsection HArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
4. Arizona Revised Statutes section 29-3213 — limited liability company filing feesArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
5. Arizona Revised Statutes title 32 — the complete list of professions and occupations Arizona licensesArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
6. Arizona Administrative Code title 9, chapter 5, rule R9-5-206 — annual child care facility fees by capacity (Internet Archive capture of the official code, 17 October 2025)Arizona Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
7. Arizona Revised Statutes section 36-882 — annual child care licensure fees and the validity of a licenseArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
8. Arizona Registrar of Contractors — licensing fees (Internet Archive capture of the official page, 26 July 2026; the live host refuses automated clients)Arizona Registrar of Contractors · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
9. Arizona Revised Statutes section 32-1152 — contractor bonds and the residential contractors' recovery fundArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
10. Arizona Revised Statutes section 32-1121 — exemptions from contractor licensing, including the sub-$1,000 thresholdArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
11. Arizona Revised Statutes section 36-136 — the state writes the food rules and local boards of health enforce themArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
12. Arizona Revised Statutes section 36-187 — county boards of health adopt the schedule of permit feesArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
13. Maricopa County Environmental Health Code chapter I — environmental health operating permit fee schedule, revised 19 August 2026Maricopa County Environmental Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
14. Pima County Health Department — consumer health and food safety fee schedulePima County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
15. Arizona Revised Statutes section 11-269.12 — food handler certificates are a county option, standardised and made reciprocal by the stateArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
16. Arizona Revised Statutes section 29-3201 — publication of the notice of filing of articles of organizationArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
17. Arizona Revised Statutes section 10-130 — the Commission's public notice database and the 800,000-population exemptionArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
18. Arizona Administrative Code title 4, chapter 10, rule R4-10-102 — Barbering and Cosmetology Board fees (Internet Archive capture of the official code, 12 July 2025; the Secretary of State host refuses automated clients)Arizona Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
19. Arizona Revised Statutes section 32-544 — annual renewal of an establishment licenseArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
20. Arizona Revised Statutes section 42-5005 — transaction privilege and municipal privilege tax licenses, fees and renewalArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
21. Arizona Department of Revenue — License Fees, Cancellation and Other Changes — municipal license fee worksheetArizona Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
22. Arizona Revised Statutes section 32-2273 — veterinary premises license feesArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
23. Arizona Revised Statutes section 32-2271 — which locations need a veterinary premises licenseArizona State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Which Arizona city are you opening in?

• Maricopa County, AZMaricopa County states on its own Licenses & Permits page that it 'does not issue or require a General Business license for unincorporated areas of the County' and directs a business inside a city or town to that municipality — Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and the county's other incorporated cities are each their own government and are not recorded here. The county's own products reach commercial tenants in three places. The Environmental Services Department (MCESD) issues food, mobile-food, pool and onsite-septic permits under the Maricopa County Environmental Health Code (Rev 08/19/2026), applying in the unincorporated area, in incorporated areas generally, and in any city or town that has specifically requested MCESD's services; the Department's page does not name those cities and towns. Planning and Development (P&D) regulates zoning and building only 'within the unincorporated areas of Maricopa County' (its own Commercial Construction page), charging a $250 commercial Zoning Clearance, a Plan of Development for most non-residential projects, and a Table 1-A valuation-based building permit. The Air Quality Department's Dust Control Permit (Rule 310) is the one county product that reaches a business anywhere in the county, including inside a city, once it disturbs 0.1 acre of ground. The Zoning Ordinance was comprehensively updated effective January 9, 2026 (approved by the Board of Supervisors December 10, 2025); every zoning article and section number cited here uses that current numbering. Under A.R.S. §32-1101.01, which makes construction-contractor licensing 'a proper state function' that counties 'shall not require' a separate license for, Maricopa County issues no contractor license; and under A.R.S. §36-882(A) child-care-facility licensing belongs to the Arizona Department of Health Services for any facility serving five or more unrelated children.29 published records
• Mohave County, AZMohave County, Arizona has its seat at Kingman and a 2024 population of 226,479. The county's Clerk of the Board frequently asked questions states: 'Mohave County does not issue business licenses.' The county's Business Licenses Within the County page says the individual cities issue business licenses, and it names Kingman, Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City and the Town of Colorado City as the places that do. Each of those four runs its own business license regime, and each city license is in addition to any county permit that applies. The city licenses are not recorded in this county record. The county's own regulatory role reaches a business through four channels: Environmental Health food permits, whose coverage inside the four cities is not stated in the county's published materials; Development Services zoning and building permits, which apply to the unincorporated portions of the county; Development Services septic permits where there is no public sewer; and the Board of Supervisors' local recommendation on state liquor license applications outside an incorporated city or town.17 published records
• Yavapai County, AZYavapai County, Arizona, has its seat in Prescott. Yavapai County Community Health Services issues food establishment, food worker, plan review, special event food, peddler and pool licenses under the county Health Code and Ordinance, effective 1/1/2023. Yavapai County Development Services issues building, zoning clearance, sign, home occupation, septic, well and special-event permits for the unincorporated areas of the county. Spirituous liquor licenses are issued by the state Department of Liquor License Control, and for premises outside incorporated cities the county Board of Supervisors makes a recommendation under A.R.S. 4-201. The Arizona Department of Liquor License Control's city, county and town listing names nine incorporated places in the county: Camp Verde, Chino Valley, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Dewey-Humboldt, Jerome, Prescott, Prescott Valley and Sedona. Each of those places runs its own licensing, building and zoning processes, which sit on top of the county requirements in this record and are not covered by it. The Health Code does not publish which incorporated places its food programme serves.15 published records
• Yuma County, AZYuma County, Arizona, seat Yuma, is a county whose health charges are set by Board of Directors Resolution 2021-23 (approved September 8, 2021) and administered by the Yuma County Public Health Services District's Environmental Health Services Division. Its zoning ordinance applies to the unincorporated area of the county, and the Department of Development Services administers zoning use approval, building permits and septic permits there. Liquor licenses are issued by the state; the Board of Supervisors gives a recommendation for premises outside incorporated cities under A.R.S. 4-201. The incorporated cities and town inside the county, namely the City of Yuma, the City of San Luis, the City of Somerton and the Town of Wellton, run their own municipal governments, and their licensing and permitting rules are separate from the county records listed here.11 published records
• Mesa, AZMaricopa County Environmental Services, not the city, permits every food facility in Mesa. Mesa's own Specialty Business License page directly confirms salons, auto repair shops, veterinary practices and child care need no additional city-specific license beyond the general business license. A Certificate of Occupancy is genuinely free on first issuance.9 published records
• Pima County, AZPima County, Arizona, seat Tucson, is a county whose permits are issued by three county departments: the Consumer Health and Food Safety division of the Pima County Health Department (food, temporary food and swimming pool permits), the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality (onsite wastewater authorizations), and the Development Services Department (zoning use approval for businesses). The county's business-startup page at pima.gov/1056, as read on October 5, 2026, states that "Pima County does not require or issue business licenses" and that businesses require zoning use approval from Development Services. The incorporated cities and towns inside the county include Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, South Tucson and Sahuarita. Each incorporated city or town sets its own municipal licensing rules inside its limits, separately from the county permits, and the Tucson and Marana business license requirements are recorded as city records.8 published records
• Phoenix, AZMaricopa County Environmental Services, not the city, permits every food facility in Phoenix, the same countywide authority as Mesa. A Certificate of Occupancy carries no separate fee when tied to an active building permit. Phoenix's own licensing directory directly confirms salons, auto repair shops and veterinary clinics need no city-specific license beyond the general privilege license.7 published records
• Pinal County, AZPinal County, Arizona has its seat in Florence. Its environmental health permits are issued by the Pinal County Public Health District under the Pinal County Environmental Health Code, effective January 1, 2022, which applies to all areas within the county boundaries except as provided by law. The Code defines a Municipality as any incorporated area within Pinal County. Which incorporated places defer to the county for food, mobile-food and pool permits is not published in the Code or on the county's environmental health pages, so a business inside an incorporated place should confirm with the Public Health District which permits apply to its address.7 published records
• Tucson, AZArizona's state layer already covers the TPT license, the Pima County-administered food establishment permit and food handler requirements, the salon establishment license, the child care facility license, and the state contractor license — this city layer adds only Tucson's own Business/Privilege License, Certificate of Occupancy, building/sign permits, and TFD's mobile-food fire permit. Tucson City Code chapter 7's 27 article headings list no salon, contractor, auto-repair, or veterinary category beyond the state layer, though the chapter's full text is not retrievable because codelibrary.amlegal.com blocks direct access.5 published records

Is there a single Arizona business license?

Who issues permits in Arizona?

• Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations DivisionEntity formation · Annual reports · Formation notice publication5 permits
• Arizona Department of Health ServicesFood safety rules · Child care facility licensing3 permits
• Arizona Barbering and Cosmetology BoardSalon and shop establishment licensing · Practitioner licensing1 permit
• Arizona Department of RevenueTransaction privilege tax licenses · Municipal privilege tax licenses1 permit
• Arizona Registrar of ContractorsContractor licensing · Contractor bonds · Residential recovery fund1 permit
• Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining BoardVeterinary premises licensing · Veterinarian licensing1 permit

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