14 published records
Business licenses and permits in Concord, New Hampshire
The City Clerk's page lists elections, vital records (including marriage licenses), dog licensing and landlord-agent registration and names no business or trade license; the licenses the City issues to businesses, including the Food Service Establishment License, sit with the Code Administration Division's Health & Licensing Services, whose Licensing Services page lists the City's licensable activities and names no general business license. Concord is a self-inspecting New Hampshire municipality for food establishments: Health & Licensing Services, rather than NH DHHS, licenses them under Chapter 13 of the City Code, pricing its own banded Food Service Establishment classes ($74.00-$534.00/year; Class IV, $165.00, also names 'group daycare facilities'), with the class fees the same in the Division's 2021 fee schedule and the City's FY27 fee ordinance workbook (effective July 1, 2026). A food truck pays a single combined 'Food/Peddlers Combo License' ($50.00/day or $350.00/year) that satisfies both the food-service and peddler-license requirements at once, rather than stacking separate fees. The Code Administration Division prices a uniform building-permit formula that does not split residential from commercial ($30.00 application fee plus $7.60 per $1,000 of estimated cost, codified at § 26-1-6 and implemented July 1, 2020), a separate flat $50.00 Change of Occupancy fee, and an itemized sign-permit fee ($30.00 application plus $2.25/sq ft, plus further fees for Planning Board or right-of-way approval). The Zoning Board of Adjustment prices variance/appeal applications at $370.00-$460.00 by zoning district under one consolidated citywide fee article (Title I, § 1-5-1) rather than the scattered chapter-by-chapter fees Manchester and Nashua use; the Planning Board separately prices site plan review, subdivision, and conditional use permits under its own 2013 Subdivision Regulations fee appendix. The Fire Department prices an annual (not one-time) $115.00 Place of Assembly inspection fee, banded fire-suppression and alarm system fees, and a separate, banded day-care fire-inspection fee ($50.00-$80.00 by facility size) alongside the Class IV food-service childcare fee above. The Licensing Services page lists no City license specific to ordinary retail, auto repair, veterinary practices, fitness studios, contractors or salons (other than tattoo artists and tattoo establishments) beyond this general layer.
What are you opening in Concord?
- 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 Concord
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change of Occupancy (Certificate of Occupancy) Fee | City of Concord, Code Administration Division | $50 one-time, per application | one-time — issued for a new occupancy or a change of business use | 2026-09-12 |
| Zoning Board of Adjustment Application (Variance, Special Exception, Appeal)only if it applies to you | City of Concord, Planning Division (Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment) | $460.00 for an application or appeal on property located partially or completely within the RD, RN, RH, UT, CN, CU, CG, CBP, OCP, CVP, or IS zoning districts; $370.00 for property in all other districts; a further $82.00 where the application requires notice to an abutter located outside Concord's own city boundaries; a Zoning Ordinance rehearing request is $50.00. Per Title I, Chapter 1, Article 1-5, § 1-5-1. | one-time, per application | 2026-09-12 |
| Planning Board Site Plan Review / Conditional Use Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Concord, Planning Division (Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment) | Minor Site Plan Review: $300.00 application fee plus $100.00 for each new or redeveloped dwelling unit and $100.00 for each new or redeveloped 1,000 sq. ft. of non-residential gross floor area. Major Site Plan — Design Review Phase: $300.00; the Major Site Plan itself then carries no separate application fee (or $300.00 if no Design Review Phase occurred), plus $150.00 per dwelling unit or per 1,000 sq. ft. of non-residential floor area. A Conditional Use Permit is $250.00 generally, $750.00 for wireless telecommunications equipment, or a banded $50.00-$300.00 by disturbance area for wetland, buffer, Shoreland Protection District, or floodway encroachments. Every application separately carries a $5.00-per-abutter notification fee for each public hearing notice. | one-time, per application | 2026-09-12 |
| Building Permit | City of Concord, Code Administration Division | A $30.00 nonrefundable application fee plus $7.60 per $1,000 (or part thereof) of estimated cost, for construction or alteration of a building or structure — a single formula that does not vary between residential and commercial work. Relocation of a building or structure from one lot to another is priced identically. Demolition instead carries a $30.00 application fee, a $30.00 fee for review of demolition plans, and $10.00 per $1,000 of estimated cost. Per Code of Ordinances § 26-1-6, unchanged since its 7/1/2020 implementation. | one-time, per project — not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-12 |
| Fire Suppression / Alarm System Plan Review and Inspection | Concord Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau | New Automatic Fire Sprinkler Systems, priced per riser: NFPA 13D $80.00; NFPA 13R $155.00; NFPA 13 banded by protected area from $310.00 (up to 10,000 sq ft) to $775.00 (25,001-52,000 sq ft); Rack Storage systems $390.00-$775.00; water spray/foam systems $240.00-$775.00. New Fire Alarm Systems: $195.00 up to 49 devices, $310.00 for 50-99 devices, plus $1.50/device beyond 99. Commercial cooking ventilation systems (including suppression): $280.00, or $210.00 without suppression. Life Safety Site Plan Review Fee, banded by building area: $85.00 (up to 5,000 sq ft) to $660.00 (over 25,000 sq ft). Per Code of Ordinances §§ 26-16-4 and 26-18-4. | one-time, per project or system | 2026-09-12 |
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 Concord?
Change of Occupancy (Certificate of Occupancy) Fee
A confirmed, flat $50.00 figure, stated in the ordinance's own words as its own distinct line item rather than folded into the per-$1,000 building-permit formula above — a genuinely different structure from Manchester, which prices its Certificate of Occupancy using the same percentage-of-cost formula as its general building permit, and the same flat-fee structure Nashua uses. The current 2026 fee workbook separately lists a $41.25 fee for each additional inspection required after a first rejection.
Zoning Board of Adjustment Application (Variance, Special Exception, Appeal)
Unlike Manchester and Nashua, which each scatter dollar figures through the individual substantive chapter they belong to, Concord's General Code collects nearly every ordinance-based fee citywide into one consolidated fee article (Title I, § 1-5-1). The same figure appears in the Planning Division's ZBA Fees document and in the Chapter 28 line items of the City's FY27 fee ordinance workbook (effective July 1, 2026). Triggered when a proposed use or structure fails to conform to the Zoning Ordinance's use, dimensional, or other requirements.
Planning Board Site Plan Review / Conditional Use Permit
A genuinely separate, older fee schedule from the Zoning Board of Adjustment's own consolidated Title I fee above — the Planning Board reviews site plans, subdivisions, and conditional use permits under this 2013 Subdivision Regulations appendix, which is still the version the City's current Planning Documents & Fees page links live. Triggered by new construction or a significant addition rather than every business opening; a small tenant fit-out inside an existing building typically proceeds under the building permit process recorded above instead. An Inspection Fee for a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy is a separate $300.00 under the same appendix.
Building Permit
Required for new construction, additions, and most alterations to a commercial building; separate electrical, mechanical, and plumbing trade permits are required in addition, each separately priced (with its own $30.00 nonrefundable application fee) on the same current fee workbook. If work requiring a permit begins before one issues, the fee itself increases by 25% for a first occurrence, 50% for a second, and 100% for any subsequent occurrence, per the ordinance's own text.
Fire Suppression / Alarm System Plan Review and Inspection
Jointly administered by Code Administration's Building & Code Services and the Fire Department, reflected in the fee workbook's own joint 'Comm Dev./Fire' department coding for this section. Modifications to existing suppression or alarm systems are separately priced on the same schedule at lower banded rates.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Building Permit Fee Schedule — codified text of § 26-1-6 (Building Permit Fees), pricing the $30.00 application fee, $7.60 per $1,000 of estimated cost, and the $50.00 Change of Occupancy Fee (implemented 7/1/2020, passed by Council 4/13/2020)City of Concord, Code Administration Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- FY27 Ordinance Based Fees, Fines & Penalties (effective 7/1/2026) — the City's own current master workbook pricing every codified fee by chapter/section, including Food Service Establishment classes, the Food/Peddlers Combo license, Building/Sign/Fire Prevention permits, and the Zoning Board of Adjustment application feeCity of Concord, New Hampshire (Finance Department) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Zoning Board of Adjustment Fee Schedule — Title I, Chapter 1, Article 1-5, § 1-5-1 (Fees), pricing variance/appeal applications at $370.00-$460.00 by zoning district plus abutter-notification and rehearing feesCity of Concord, Planning Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Concord Subdivision Regulations, Appendix A: Fees (effective April 18, 2013) — Planning Board site plan review, subdivision, conditional use permit, and abutter-notification fee scheduleCity of Concord, Planning Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Who issues business permits in Concord?
Permitting in Concord is split across 4 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.
Concord issuing agencies
- City of Concord, Code Administration Division, Health & Licensing ServicesFood Service Establishment licensing (self-inspecting municipality, not the state) · Peddler/Vendor and Food/Peddler Combo (food truck) licensing · Outdoor dining, tattoo, pawnbroker, taxicab, junkyard, and entertainment licensing · Temporary event and special-event food permits5 permits
- City of Concord, Code Administration DivisionBuilding, relocation, and demolition permit issuance · Change of Occupancy (Certificate of Occupancy) issuance · Sign permits · Electrical, mechanical, and plumbing trade permits4 permits
- Concord Fire Department, Fire Prevention BureauFire suppression and alarm system plan review and inspection · Place of Assembly Permit (annual inspection) · Day-care, foster care, and residential-facility fire inspections3 permits
- City of Concord, Planning Division (Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment)Zoning Board of Adjustment variances, special exceptions, and appeals · Planning Board site plan review, subdivision, and conditional use permits2 permits
Other New Hampshire 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.