20 published records
Business licenses and permits in Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester runs a genuine City Clerk Business License, but it reaches only a fixed, enumerated list of activities (Food Service Establishment, High Impact Retail Sales — tobacco/vapor/lottery retail only, Hotel/Motel, Tattoo/Body Piercing, Peddlers, Taxicab, Towing, Junk Dealers, Secondhand Dealers, Amusement Devices/Arcades, and a few others), priced by a real square-footage formula ($50.00 for the first 1,500 sq ft, plus $2.00 per 100 sq ft thereafter, $50.00-$1,000.00), confirmed in Code of Ordinances §§ 110.01-110.02 and § 110.20. A food truck instead pays the same application's own flat/daily Peddler fee ($150/yr or $25/day city-wide; $400/yr or $75/day in the Civic Center Zone). The real food-permitting authority is Manchester's own self-inspecting Health Department (recorded at the New Hampshire state layer and named on the Department's own fee schedule), which prices a banded Food Service Establishment Permit ($110-$1,000 by class and seating, including a $200.00 Class III-A line that also names child day-care facilities — the genuine local childcare fee), a newer two-tier Mobile Food Unit permit ($220-$365/year, superseding an older reference on the general form), and a $25.00/day Temporary Food Establishment Permit. Planning & Community Development prices a valuation-based building permit (1% of cost for commercial/multi-family, 0.6% for 1-2 family dwellings, plus a $25.00 application fee and $0.02/sq ft plan review for commercial) that also covers Certificate of Occupancy issuance under the same formula, an itemized Zoning Board of Adjustment fee table ($35.00-$350.00 by application type) and Planning Board fees (Site Plan $250.00 + $100.00/unit or /1,000 sq ft; Conditional Use Permit $150.00). A Sign Permit is priced on its own dedicated application form: a $25.00 non-refundable application fee plus $50.00 per sign up to 50 sq ft of face area (or $1.50/sq ft above that), with a separate $35.00 flat fee for a temporary outdoor sign. The Fire Department prices alarm/sprinkler plan review and inspection fees and a $100.00 Place of Assembly Permit. No additional local license exists for auto repair, veterinary practices, fitness studios, salons, or contractors beyond this general layer.
What are you opening in Manchester?
- 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 Manchester
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Manchester, Planning & Community Development Department | The same 1% (0.01) of the estimated cost of the associated work applied to building permits generally — the Building Division's own current Building Fees page names 'occupancy permits' directly inside its alterations/renovations/repairs pricing bullet rather than pricing a Certificate of Occupancy as a separate, flat product. The $25.00 application fee applies here as well. | one-time — issued for a new occupancy or a change of business use | 2026-09-12 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Manchester, Planning & Community Development Department | 1% (0.01) of the estimated cost of the work for all new commercial or multi-family construction and additions, and for alterations, renovations, or repairs to existing buildings and structures (the City's own examples include decks, sheds, pools, siding, windows, roofing, and occupancy permits); new one- and two-family dwellings are priced lower at 0.6% (0.006) of cost. Every building permit also carries a flat $25.00 non-refundable application fee, and multi-family/commercial applications carry a further plan review fee of $0.02 per square foot. | one-time, per project — not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-12 |
| Fire Alarm / Sprinkler System Plan Review and Inspection | Manchester Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau | Review of a Fire Alarm System Plan or a Sprinkler System Plan: $1.00 per device, minimum $50.00 each. Inspection of an alarm system: $100.00 per hour, minimum $100.00. Re-inspection of an alarm system: $300.00 per hour, minimum $300.00 (a 3-hour minimum at the overtime rate with two inspectors applies for an off-hours inspection). Per the Manchester Fire Department's own current Fee Schedule. | one-time, per project or system | 2026-09-12 |
| Zoning Board of Adjustment Application (Variance, Special Exception, Appeal)only if it applies to you | City of Manchester, Planning & Community Development Department | $350.00 for a Non-conforming Use Variance, Non-conforming Multi-Use Variance, Non-conforming Planned Development, Non-Conforming Subdivision, or Unaccepted Way application; $200.00 for All Other Variances, a Special Exception, an Administrative Appeal, an Equitable Waiver, or a Rehearing; $35.00 for a Subsequent Application or a Motion for Rehearing — each also carrying the City's flat $25.00 non-refundable application/processing fee, per the City's own Application & Permit Fee Schedule. | one-time, per application | 2026-09-12 |
| Site Plan / Planned Development Review (Planning Board)only if it applies to you | City of Manchester, Planning & Community Development Department | $250.00 base fee for a Site Plan/Planned Development application, plus $100.00 for each new dwelling unit (residential) or $100.00 for each 1,000 square feet of new gross floor area (non-residential); plus the City's flat $25.00 non-refundable application/processing fee, per the City's own Application & Permit Fee Schedule. | one-time, per application | 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 Manchester?
Certificate of Occupancy
Required before a business with a physical location can obtain its City Clerk Business License and Health Department food permit, per the restaurant checklist's own Final Phase ('Return to Planning and Community Development – Obtain Certificate of Occupancy and completed Sign-off Sheet'). It is recorded as its own line item to make the requirement explicit; Manchester publishes no separate, flat Certificate of Occupancy dollar figure distinct from the general building permit formula recorded above.
Commercial Building Permit
A genuine, confirmed valuation-based fee, read directly from the Building Division's own current Building Fees page rather than assumed to mirror a flat schedule. The restaurant checklist's own Pre-Construction Phase confirms this permit (along with electrical, plumbing, heating/mechanical, and zoning permits) is obtained from Planning & Community Development after Health Department plan approval, and before construction begins.
Fire Alarm / Sprinkler System Plan Review and Inspection
Covers sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems, and other fixed fire suppression systems (including kitchen hood suppression, per the restaurant checklist's own reference to obtaining 'hood suppression, fire alarm and sprinkler permits' from the Fire Department before construction).
Zoning Board of Adjustment Application (Variance, Special Exception, Appeal)
In the fee schedule's own layout, each dollar figure is a shared group fee covering several listed application types together, rather than five missing figures next to only the last item in each group. A Request for Rezoning is a separate $300.00 fee payable at the City Clerk's Office rather than to Planning & Community Development directly, per the same schedule.
Site Plan / Planned Development Review (Planning Board)
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. The Planning Board's own separate 'Fees' page independently mentions a $10.00-per-abutter notice-mailing cost on top of these figures.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Building Fees — the Building Division's own current page pricing building permits (valuation-based formula), the $25.00 application fee, the $0.02/sq ft commercial plan review fee, bazaars, tent sales, and yard salesCity of Manchester, Planning & Community Development Department, Building Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Application & Permit Fee Schedule — Planning Board (Site Plan, Subdivision, Conditional Use Permit), Zoning Board of Adjustment (variances, special exceptions, appeals), and Request for Rezoning fees, plus the $25.00 processing fee on every applicationCity of Manchester, Planning & Community Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Manchester Fire Department Fee Schedule — alarm/sprinkler plan review and inspection fees, Place of Assembly Permit, and annual master box/monitoring feesManchester Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Fire Permits — the Fire Prevention Bureau's own current page describing the Fixed Fire Suppression Systems, Place of Assembly, and Day Care (Unlicensed) inspection programsManchester Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Who issues business permits in Manchester?
Permitting in Manchester 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.
Manchester issuing agencies
- City of Manchester, Office of the City Clerk, Business Licensing & Enforcement DivisionBusiness License issuance and renewal · Peddler/Hawker, taxicab, towing, secondhand dealer, junk dealer, and amusement device licensing7 permits
- City of Manchester, Planning & Community Development DepartmentCommercial building permits and Certificate of Occupancy issuance · Sign permits · Site Plan Review (Planning Board), Conditional Use Permits, and Zoning Board of Adjustment variances7 permits
- Manchester Health Department, Environmental Health DivisionFood Service Establishment permits (self-inspecting city, not the state) · Mobile Food Unit and Temporary Food Establishment permits · Child day-care facility food-service permitting4 permits
- Manchester Fire Department, Fire Prevention BureauFire alarm and sprinkler/suppression system plan review and inspection · Place of Assembly Permit2 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.