9 published records
Business licenses and permits in Kansas City, Missouri
Spans Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass counties, but the city's own Health Department is the sole food-permitting authority citywide — county health departments serve only areas outside KCMO. Building-permit and contractor-license fees are set in section 18-20 of the city's Building and Rehabilitation Code, which the city's own fee-schedule page names as the complete schedule.
What are you opening in Kansas City?
- 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 Kansas City
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | City Planning and Development Department, Permits Division | No fee | issued once per qualifying occupancy | 2026-09-06 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City Planning and Development Department, Permits Division | Valuation-based, for any building other than a one- or two-family dwelling: $52 up to $500; $93 for $501–$2,000; $93 for the first $2,000 plus $14 for each further $1,000 (or fraction) up to $200,000; $2,774 for the first $200,000 plus $9 per further $1,000 up to $1,000,000; $9,965 for the first $1,000,000 plus $3.90 per further $1,000. Construction-document (plan) review is half the permit fee, paid at submittal and credited at issuance. A resubmittal to fix uncorrected deficiencies costs one-eighth of the permit fee, capped at $295 ($75 for a certified-checklist omission); a minor change to reviewed plans is $54 and a major one half the original review fee; scheduled express review is $75; the minimum partial-permit fee is $83; a fast-track permit adds $80. Building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, elevator and fire protection permits are each priced separately on this same table. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-06 |
| Business License (RD-105) | City of Kansas City, Business License Division, Revenue Department | Computed from annual gross receipts: (Gross Receipts − Low Limit of the bracket) × Incremental Rate + Base Rate. Retail/Wholesale/Service Table: $25 flat up to $28,000; $25 base + $0.0009 per dollar above $28,000 for $28,001–$55,000; scaling upward through higher brackets. A separate Manufacturer/Construction-Remodeling table uses the same mechanism with different breakpoints. Certain specific business types instead pay a flat RD-103 rate by NAICS/table line rather than this gross-receipts formula. | annual | 2026-09-06 |
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 Kansas City?
Certificate of Occupancy
Quoted directly: 'there is no charge for initial issuance of an occupant load certificate related to a building permit.' A certificate issued after August 6, 2018 is retrievable free via CompassKC; a copy of an older, pre-CompassKC certificate costs $36.
Commercial Building Permit
The city's own fee-schedule page states that the development fee schedule 'can be found in its entirety' in section 18-20 of the Building and Rehabilitation Code, and the figures above are that section's. The code lets the city manager adjust the section's other fees each year for inflation, by notice filed with the city clerk, but not the two permit-fee tables themselves. Work begun before the permit is issued pays triple the fee. There is no distinct, separately-published Kansas City Fire Department permit fee — fire protection permits are priced on this same valuation table.
Business License (RD-105)
The Revenue Division's guidance states that a new business must first register on Form RD-100 and then file Form RD-105 for its license no more than 60 days after opening in Kansas City, renewing each year by filing RD-105 before March 1, with the cost determined by gross receipts on the RD-105 fee tables. The separate flat-rate RD-103 schedule (for specific activities such as peddlers, handbill distributors or tow trucks) is a separate City document whose line-item amounts are not reproduced here; contact the Business License Division at (816) 513-1120 for those rates.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- City of Kansas City — Occupant Load Certificate RequirementsCity Planning and Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-06
- City of Kansas City — Records Requests, Certificate of Occupancy copiesCity Planning and Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Code of Ordinances of Kansas City, Missouri, section 18-20, Fees (Ord. No. 200418, 2020, as amended by Ord. No. 220612, 2022) — Supplement 139, codified through Ord. No. 260342 of 16 April 2026City of Kansas City, Missouri · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- City of Kansas City — Building and Development Fee Schedule page, naming section 18-20 of the Building Code as the fee schedule in its entiretyCity Planning and Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- City of Kansas City — RD-105 Business License Fee TablesCity of Kansas City, Revenue Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-06
Who issues business permits in Kansas City?
Permitting in Kansas City is split across 3 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.
Kansas City issuing agencies
- City of Kansas City, Business License Division, Revenue DepartmentBusiness license3 permits
- City Planning and Development Department, Permits DivisionCertificate of Occupancy · Commercial building permits · Contractor licensing3 permits
- Kansas City, Missouri Health Department, Environmental Public Health ProgramFood establishment permits · Food handler training · Childcare facility environmental health3 permits
Other Missouri 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.