11 permits · verified 2026-09-28
What permits do you need to open a retail store in Broward County?
In short
A retail store in Broward County, FL has 4 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 7 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations charges $125 one-time filing for the articles of organization (llc). 7 of the 11 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 Broward County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous Materials Licenseonly if it applies to you | Broward County Resilient Environment Department, Environmental Permitting Division (EPD) | Broward County Code §27-356 cross-references a separately adopted Environmental Permitting Division fee schedule for this license rather than stating a dollar figure directly in the exemption section, §27-354. Contact the Resilient Environment Department's Environmental Permitting Division for the amount currently set by that schedule. | confirm the license term with the issuing division | 2026-09-28 |
| Secondhand Dealer Registrationonly if it applies to you | Broward County Consumer Protection Division | Florida Statutes Chapter 538, Part I sets a $6 per-location state registration fee, which Broward adopts 'in addition to more restrictive provisions set forth in county ordinances,' per Florida Department of Revenue guidance describing Broward's ordinance by name. Contact the Broward Sheriff's Office (unincorporated areas) or the municipal police department for any county-level amount on top of the $6 state fee. | the $6 state per-location registration is required under Fla. Stat. Ch. 538, Pt. I; confirm Broward's own registration term with the enforcing agency | 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.
Local permits that apply to every type of business in Broward County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Use (CU) | Broward County Planning and Development Management Division (Building Services and Zoning) | Varies — formula on the Broward County page | one-time, unless ownership, the occupant or the business name changes, which triggers a new CU | 2026-09-28 |
| Local Business Tax Receipt (LBTR) | Broward County Tax Collector, Local Business Tax Section | Varies — formula on the Broward County page | annual; tax year October 1-September 30 | 2026-09-28 |
| Fire-Rescue Operational / Life-Safety Inspection | Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Fire Rescue, Fire Prevention Bureau | Varies — formula on the Broward County page | annual life-safety inspection; typically bundled into the Certificate of Use inspection in unincorporated Broward | 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.
FL registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | $125 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due every year by 1 May | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | $70 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due every year by 1 May | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Report (LLC)only if it applies to you | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | Varies — formula on the FL page | annual, due by 1 May | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Report (Corporation)only if it applies to you | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | Varies — formula on the FL page | annual, due by 1 May | 2026-09-03 |
| Business Tax Application (Sales and Use Tax)only if it applies to you | Florida Department of Revenue | No fee — no fee to register | no fixed expiry | 2026-09-03 |
| Local Business Tax Receipt | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | No fee | annual — every receipt expires on 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.
How much does it actually cost to permit a retail store in Broward County?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 11 records listed for a retail store in Broward County, FL, 4 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.
7 of the 11 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Hazardous Materials License: Broward County Code §27-356 cross-references a separately adopted Environmental Permitting Division fee schedule for this license rather than stating a dollar figure directly in the exemption section, §27-354. Contact the Resilient Environment Department's Environmental Permitting Division for the amount currently set by that schedule.
Secondhand Dealer Registration: Florida Statutes Chapter 538, Part I sets a $6 per-location state registration fee, which Broward adopts 'in addition to more restrictive provisions set forth in county ordinances,' per Florida Department of Revenue guidance describing Broward's ordinance by name. Contact the Broward Sheriff's Office (unincorporated areas) or the municipal police department for any county-level amount on top of the $6 state fee.
The other 5 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Broward County permits page and the FL state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Broward County?
Permits for a retail store in Broward County, FL come from 7 separate offices: Broward County Resilient Environment Department, Environmental Permitting Division (EPD), Broward County Planning and Development Management Division (Building Services and Zoning), Broward County Tax Collector, Local Business Tax Section, Broward County Consumer Protection Division, Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Fire Rescue, Fire Prevention Bureau, Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Florida Department of Revenue. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Broward County Resilient Environment Department, Environmental Permitting Division (EPD)Issues 1 permit on this page: Hazardous Materials Licensewww.broward.org/Environment/HazMat/Pages/Default.aspx
- Broward County Planning and Development Management Division (Building Services and Zoning)Issues 1 permit on this page: Certificate of Use (CU)www.broward.org/Planning/Pages/ZoningCUFAQs.aspx
- Broward County Tax Collector, Local Business Tax SectionIssues 1 permit on this page: Local Business Tax Receipt (LBTR)browardtax.org/business-tax-receipt
- Broward County Consumer Protection DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Secondhand Dealer Registrationwww.broward.org/Consumer/ConsumerProtection/AutoRepair/Pages/default.aspx
- Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Fire Rescue, Fire Prevention BureauIssues 1 permit on this page: Fire-Rescue Operational / Life-Safety Inspectionwww.sheriff.org/FR/Pages/Fire-Prevention.aspx
- Florida Department of State, Division of CorporationsIssues 5 permits on this page, including Articles of Organization (LLC), Articles of Incorporation, Annual Report (LLC)efile.sunbiz.org
- Florida Department of RevenueIssues 1 permit on this page: Business Tax Application (Sales and Use Tax)floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx
What does a retail store need in Broward County that other businesses do not?
1 of the 2 permits particular to a retail store here applies to no other business type we cover in Broward County: Secondhand Dealer Registration.
Secondhand Dealer Registration
A retail business that buys or sells secondhand or used goods — not general new-merchandise retail — needs to register as a secondhand dealer, enforced by the Sheriff in unincorporated Broward or by municipal police inside a city. The state framework is confirmed: Florida Statutes Chapter 538, Part I requires a $6 per-location registration fee, and Florida Department of Revenue guidance confirms Broward adopts that chapter 'in addition to more restrictive provisions set forth in county ordinances.' An earlier citation for Broward's own county-level ordinance text, 'Chapter 20, Article V, §§20-127 through 20-138,' is not the current text: Municode lists that entire article as reserved, a Pawnbrokers article repealed by Ordinance 89-11 in 1989. The county's own substantive secondhand-dealer provisions most likely sit in Chapter 20, Article VII (the Consumer Protection Code) instead, and this requirement cites that article generally rather than repeating the stale Article V section numbers. Confirm any county-level amount beyond the $6 state fee with the enforcing agency.
Shared with other businesses in Broward County
- Hazardous Materials License — Broward County Resilient Environment Department, Environmental Permitting Division (EPD), Broward County Code §27-356 cross-references a separately adopted Environmental Permitting Division fee schedule for this license rather than stating a dollar figure directly in the exemption section, §27-354. Contact the Resilient Environment Department's Environmental Permitting Division for the amount currently set by that schedule., confirm the license term with the issuing division. Also required for auto repair shops, veterinary clinics and restaurants; what it involves is set out on the veterinary clinics page.
The other 3 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Broward County, FL; what each one involves is set out on the Broward County permits page. The 6 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across FL and are covered on the FL state page.
How does a retail store compare with other businesses in Broward County?
The closest match is a veterinary clinic, which shares 1 of these permits. A retail store also needs Secondhand Dealer Registration. A veterinary clinic needs Biomedical Waste Generator Permit (state-administered) and Veterinary Premises Permit, which a retail store does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a retail store | Only a retail store needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veterinary clinics | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Auto repair shops | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Restaurants | 7 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Childcare centres | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Coffee shops | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Contractors and trades | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Fitness studios | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Food trucks | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Salons and barbers | 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 shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the veterinary clinics page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Broward County permits page and the FL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Florida Statutes Chapter 538, Part I — Secondhand Dealers (state registration and fee requirements)Florida Senate · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Florida Department of Revenue guidance describing Broward's secondhand-dealer ordinance as adopting Chapter 538, Part I in addition to county-ordinance provisionsFlorida Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Broward County Code of OrdinancesMunicode / Broward County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.