15 published records
Business licenses and permits in Las Vegas, Nevada
The City's general Business License is mandatory (LVMC 6.02.060) and, for most standard categories, costs a $50 one-time processing fee plus a $100 license fee billed again every six months based on gross revenue — not the flat '$300' figure repeated on third-party sites. Barber/Cosmetology, Contractor, Health & Fitness Club and Veterinary Clinic each carry their own different fee instead; the last two were confirmed only from a 2012 archive. No fee could be confirmed for the City's own Child Care business-license category, and no standalone Certificate of Occupancy fee is published separately from the building permit itself.
What are you opening in Las Vegas?
- 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 Las Vegas
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning Verification Letteronly if it applies to you | City of Las Vegas Department of Planning | $100 one-time, per request | one-time, no stated expiration | 2026-09-09 |
| Building Permit (Commercial) | City of Las Vegas Department of Building and Safety | Priced by ICC occupancy classification and project square footage on Table 3-A of the Building & Safety fee schedule, combining a separate Plan Check Fee and an Inspection/Permit Fee for each size band. Representative 'Complete' (new-construction) examples: a small Restaurant (under 50 occupants, up to 1,500 sq ft) is $964 plan check + $2,074 inspection/permit; a 500 sq ft Office is $325 + $1,249; a 1,000 sq ft General Retail (Mercantile) space is $442 + $1,167; a 250 sq ft Day Care Facility is $168 + $453; a 5,000 sq ft Repair Garage/Service Station is $1,175 + $2,920. Tenant-improvement work on existing space is priced on separate, generally lower TI bands for the same occupancy. A companion table (3-B/3-C) scales the same figures further by the building's fire-resistance construction type. A $55 Permit Issuance fee and, for most occupancies, a $220 (or $132 for some smaller TI categories) Fire Plan Review fee (Table 3-G) apply on top of the base building-permit fee. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-09 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Las Vegas Department of Building and Safety | No fee | one-time, no expiration | 2026-09-09 |
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 Las Vegas?
Zoning Verification Letter
An advisory letter confirming a property's zoning and permitted use, most often requested by lenders, buyers or new tenants rather than required to open every business — several LCAT category instructions do separately reference 'Conditional Use Verification from Planning' as a mandatory step for a specific setup (e.g., an Open Air Vendor site). This fee schedule, though dated 2008, is the document the City's own Business Licensing forms page links to.
Building Permit (Commercial)
Only a Nevada-licensed contractor may obtain a commercial building permit; electronic plan submission through the Citizen Portal/ProjectDox has been required since January 1, 2020. A childcare facility providing overnight (24-hour) care for more than 5 children under 2.5 years is classified I-2 rather than the ordinary I-4 Day Care Facility category, and is priced on a separate, higher table. This fee schedule, though dated 2021, is the document the City's own site links to.
Certificate of Occupancy
No fee is separately published for the standard, first-issuance Certificate of Occupancy: the Building & Safety fee schedule names only a Certificate of Occupancy — Duplicate ($174) and a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy ($22 admin plus $357 inspection). The original certificate's cost is most likely folded into the building permit's own Inspection/Permit Fee already paid, but that is not stated explicitly, so this fee is recorded as unpublished rather than assumed. Confirm treatment for a specific project directly with Building & Safety (702-229-6251).
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Department of Planning Fee Schedule, Resolution R-21-2008 (adopted April 16, 2008; fees effective July 1, 2008)City of Las Vegas, Department of Planning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- 2020 Building User Fees (Tables 3-A through 3-H), effective July 1, 2021 — building permit, plan check, sign, and other construction fee schedulesCity of Las Vegas, Department of Building and Safety · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
Who issues business permits in Las Vegas?
Permitting in Las Vegas 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.
Las Vegas issuing agencies
- City of Las Vegas Department of Community Development, Business Licensing DivisionGeneral business license · Mobile food vendor business license · Home occupation permits10 permits
- City of Las Vegas Department of Building and SafetyCommercial building permits · Sign permits · Certificates of occupancy3 permits
- City of Las Vegas Department of PlanningZoning verification letters · Land use and zoning applications1 permit
- Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, Fire Prevention DivisionFire prevention permits and inspections · Fire Engineering construction plan review1 permit
Other Nevada 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.