11 published records
Business licenses and permits in St. Paul, Minnesota
Food establishments in St. Paul are licensed directly by the Minnesota Department of Health — neither the city nor Ramsey County runs food-service permitting here, unlike most Minnesota cities. No blanket business license exists; roughly 200 activity-specific license types are issued by the Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI).
What are you opening in St. Paul?
- 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 St. Paul
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Certificate of Occupancy | City of Saint Paul, Department of Safety and Inspections | Commercial: $228 base up to 13,999 sq ft; $17 per 1,000 sq ft from 14,000–48,999 sq ft; $886 flat from 49,000–117,999 sq ft; $1,048 flat at 118,000+ sq ft. Re-inspection is 50% of the renewal fee; a missed-appointment no-entry fee is $89. | recurring, by occupancy type — Assembly and Institutional every 2 years; Business, Education, Factory, Mercantile, and Storage every 3 years; Hazardous every 1 year | 2026-09-08 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Saint Paul, Department of Safety and Inspections | Valuation-based, starting at $36 for $0–$500 and scaling through a detailed per-tier table to the $100,000 mark; from $100,001–$500,000, $1,499 plus $8 per additional $1,000 (or fraction); from $500,001–$1,000,000, $4,899 plus $7 per additional $1,000; above $1,000,000, $8,463 plus $5 per additional $1,000. A Plan Check Fee of 65% of the permit fee applies for valuations over $1,000, plus a separate Minnesota state surcharge under Minn. Stat. 326B.148. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-08 |
| General Business License — City of Saint Paul positiononly if it applies to you | City of Saint Paul, Department of Safety and Inspections | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-08 |
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 St. Paul?
Fire Certificate of Occupancy
This is a recurring inspection/certificate program, not a one-time issuance — the required renewal cadence depends on occupancy classification.
Commercial Building Permit
DSI's own Building Permits & Inspections page currently links two documents under the identical label 'Building Permit Fee Schedule': the February 2022 schedule this record originally cited, and a later one effective February 25, 2023 — also issued under Legislative Code section 33.04 — with higher figures across the same valuation table ($36 rather than $33.01 for $0–$500, rising to $1,499 plus $8 per additional $1,000 above $100,000 rather than $1,388.25 plus $7.86). This record now follows that later, currently-published schedule; DSI's page still also links the 2022 copy, which reads as an uncleaned legacy link rather than a second operative fee table.
General Business License — City of Saint Paul position
The City's Business License Fees page lists activity-specific licenses (alcohol, automotive, entertainment, health/sports club, animal, merchandise, professional services/trades, transportation and others) and names no blanket business license, so there is no fee for one; the city offers roughly 200 activity-specific license types instead.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- City of Saint Paul — Fire Certificate of Occupancy Information (revised February 2023)City of Saint Paul, DSI Fire Safety Inspection Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
- City of Saint Paul — Building Permit Fee Schedule, effective February 25, 2023 (Section 33.04 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code) — currently linked alongside the February 2022 edition from DSI's Building Permits & Inspections page, with higher figures across the same valuation tableCity of Saint Paul, DSI · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- City of Saint Paul — Building Permit Fee Schedule (effective February 2022)City of Saint Paul, DSI · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
- City of Saint Paul, DSI — Building Permits & Inspections page, whose own links confirm both the 2022 and the February 25, 2023 Building Permit Fee Schedule documents are currently publishedCity of Saint Paul, DSI · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- City of Saint Paul — Business Licenses and Permits (consolidated fee table)City of Saint Paul, DSI · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
Who issues business permits in St. Paul?
Permitting in St. Paul is split across 2 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.
St. Paul issuing agencies
- City of Saint Paul, Department of Safety and InspectionsActivity-specific business licenses · Building permits · Sign permits · Fire Certificate of Occupancy · Trade worker registration9 permits
- Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools, and Lodging Services, Metro District OfficeFood establishment licensing, directly, for the City of St. Paul2 permits
Other Minnesota 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.