Ohio · 14 jurisdictions covered
Business licenses and permits in Ohio
Ohio charges $99 to form a company and then asks for nothing further — no annual report, no annual fee. It licenses no general contractors, and a restaurant license is priced by the local board of health on top of a fixed $28 state share.
What applies everywhere in Ohio
10 requirements are set by Ohio itself and apply whichever city you open in. Local permits sit on top of them.
| Requirement | Issued by | Fee | Applies | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (LLC) | Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services Division | $99 one-time filing | Only in some cases | 2026-09-03 |
| Child Care Centre License | Ohio Department of Children and Youth | $50 one-time application | To every business | 2026-09-03 |
| Commercial Trade Contractor License | Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Industrial Compliance | $25 application, per trade; a further $25 on issue and $60 a year to renew | Only in some cases | 2026-09-03 |
| Food Service Operation License | Ohio Department of Health, Food Safety Program | $28 state fee for a commercial operation ($14 non-commercial, $6 per vending machine location), plus a license fee set independently by the local board of health | To every business | 2026-09-03 |
| Initial Articles of Incorporation | Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services Division | $99 one-time filing, minimum — see notes on authorised shares | Only in some cases | 2026-09-03 |
| Manager Certification in Food Protection | Ohio Department of Health, Food Safety Program | No fee | Only in some cases | 2026-09-03 |
| Salon or Barbershop License | Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board | $85 new license; $75 to renew | To every business | 2026-09-03 |
| Transient Vendor's License | Ohio Department of Taxation | $50 one-time, valid statewide | Only in some cases | 2026-09-03 |
| Vendor's License | Ohio Department of Taxation | $50 one-time, per fixed location | To every business | 2026-09-03 |
| Veterinary Business Facility License | Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board | $300 application, plus a $3.50 transaction fee | Only in some cases | 2026-09-03 |
Sources
Every statewide figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Ohio Secretary of State form 610, Articles of Organization for a Domestic Limited Liability Company (Internet Archive capture of the official form, 4 March 2026)Ohio Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Ohio Department of Children and Youth transmittal letter 48 — filed text of OAC 5180:2-12-02, child care centre licensingOhio Department of Children and Youth · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board — contractors and contracting companiesOhio Department of Commerce · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- OAC 3701-21-02 — the state amounts a licensor collects and remits: twenty-eight dollars for food service and retail food licenses, fourteen dollars for the mobile-discount category and six dollars for vending machine locationsOhio Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
- Ohio Secretary of State — filing forms and fee schedule (Internet Archive capture of the official page, 29 November 2025; the live host blocks all automated access)Ohio Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Ohio Department of Health — food safety certificationOhio Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board — feesOhio State Cosmetology and Barber Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board — business license pamphletOhio State Cosmetology and Barber Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Ohio Department of Taxation — sales and use tax, vendor's license types and feesOhio Department of Taxation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Ohio Department of Taxation — vendor's license fee change, House Bill 366Ohio Department of Taxation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board — business facility permitOhio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Which Ohio city are you opening in?
- Montgomery County, OHMontgomery County, Ohio, seat Dayton, spreads its business-facing requirements across four bodies with four different maps. The Auditor's licensing index lists exactly four license types — Cigarette, Dog, Driver's and Vendor — and the Auditor's vendor page states that 'The Auditor's Office issues only the County Vendor's License for businesses located at a fixed location within Montgomery County.' Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County (PHDMC) licenses food service operations and retail food establishments, mobile and temporary food operations, public pools and spas, body art establishments and plumbing; its municipalities-served page states that it 'provides contracted services to the City of Oakwood, which maintains its own Health Department,' and Oakwood's own page confirms the Oakwood Health District inspects food operations, retail food establishments and public swimming pools inside that city, so PHDMC's figures do not price an Oakwood address. PHDMC's plumbing programme page states that its oversight covers 'all areas of Montgomery County except for the cities of Centerville, Dayton, Oakwood, and Kettering,' with Centerville's sewer, water and irrigation/deduct-meter permits still issued by Public Health. Montgomery County Building Regulations enforces the building code for the jurisdictions on its published jurisdictional chart: all nine townships (Butler, Clay, German, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Miami, Perry, Washington), the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (Union for commercial work only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor; its FAQ states that 'Effective January 10, 2023, Montgomery County will no longer perform building services for the City of Clayton.' The county's other 18 cities and villages — Carlisle, Centerville, Clayton, Dayton, Englewood, Germantown, Kettering, Miamisburg, Moraine, Oakwood, Springboro, Vandalia and West Carrollton among them, plus the village of Verona — run their own building departments, and the same FAQ states that 'Zoning permits must be obtained for all new work and most changes of use of buildings. They are obtained from the township, city, or village in which the building is located,' so every municipal license, zoning and building regime stacks on top of the county records here. RAPCA, the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency, is a bureau of PHDMC's Office of Environmental Health serving six counties, and its own page states that it 'reviews the air pollution permit applications and prepares air pollution permits that are issued by Ohio EPA,' leaving the annual maintenance fee as the county-level charge.34 published records
- Summit County, OHSummit County is a charter county, and that changes the usual Ohio answer: Charter Article I §1.01 provides for 'the concurrent exercise by the County of all or any powers vested in municipalities by the Ohio Constitution or by general law,' and the county licenses several categories of business directly. Part Seven of its Codified Ordinances carries three titles — Title One (Taxation) holds the Lodging Excise Tax, Motor Vehicle License Tax, Sales Tax and Use Tax chapters; Title Three (Business Regulation) holds Firewood Sales, Secondhand Dealers, Junk Yards and Scrap Dealers, Weights and Measures, Massage Establishments, Ticket Brokers, Boxing, Mineral Drilling, Price Gouging, Pseudoephedrine and Entertainment Device Arcades, with the former Day Care Centers chapter carried as repealed; and Title Five (Consumer Protection) holds Motor Vehicle Repairs and Solicitors, Peddlers and Canvassers among others. Four county offices matter to a business: the Fiscal Office, acting as county auditor, for vendor's, cigarette, kennel and firewood licensing and weights and measures; Summit County Public Health, the Summit County Combined General Health District, whose 2023 Annual Report prints a member list of 14 cities including Akron and Barberton, 8 villages and 9 townships, so its food, pool, body-art, sewage and private-water programmes reach the whole county; the Department of Building Standards, whose services booklet names 23 jurisdictions it serves for commercial plan review and inspection; and the Office of Consumer Affairs, created by §201.02. Zoning is a community function — the county's Zoning Inspectors directory names a zoning contact for each of its 31 communities: the cities of Akron, Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Green, Hudson, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, New Franklin, Norton, Reminderville, Stow, Tallmadge and Twinsburg; the villages of Boston Heights, Clinton, Lakemore, Mogadore, Northfield, Peninsula, Richfield and Silver Lake; and the townships of Bath, Boston, Copley, Coventry, Northfield Center, Richfield, Sagamore Hills, Springfield and Twinsburg. Each of those municipalities and townships runs its own zoning, building and licensing regime that stacks on top of the county's, and Charter §1.02 provides that 'in case of conflict between the exercise of powers granted by this Charter and the exercise of powers by municipalities or townships granted by the Constitution or general law, the exercise of powers by the municipality or township shall prevail.' Inside the City of Akron a second review stacks on the county's: Akron's Plans and Permits page states the city reviews all projects within its limits simultaneously and that the county 'can not issue building permits without Akron Approval.'34 published records
- Hamilton County, OHHamilton County, Ohio, seat Cincinnati, is a statutory (non-charter) county, and the Legislative Service Commission's Overview of Local Government in Ohio (Members Brief, 2 September 2026) explains what follows from that: 'Counties and townships are creatures of statute - they have only the authority expressly stated in the Revised Code or impliedly derived therefrom,' while 'municipal corporations and charter counties have constitutional home rule authority', and 'the two charter counties (Cuyahoga and Summit)' are the only Ohio counties outside the default structure. Ohio Constitution Article X, Section 3 supplies that limit, and ORC Chapter 307, which states a board of county commissioners' powers and duties, carries only three regulatory sections — 307.37 on adopting a county building code, 307.38 on the county building inspector and 307.39 on publishing building regulations. Every county record here therefore traces to a named Revised Code grant: ORC 5739.17 (vendor's license), ORC 5743.15 (cigarette), ORC Chapter 3717 (food), ORC Chapter 3730 (body art), ORC 3709.21 (health district regulations), ORC Chapter 3718 (sewage systems), ORC 307.37 with Chapter 3781 (building), ORC Chapter 303 (county rural zoning), ORC Chapter 6117 (county sewer district), ORC 4737.07 (junk yards) and ORC 311.37 (the sheriff's transient vendor filing). The county's own Forms, Permits and Licenses page lists what it issues under Licenses — Food Service License, Food Service License Mobile, Food Service License Temporary, Pools and Spas, Tattoo and Piercing Facilities, Vendor's License — and under Permits — Buildings + Inspections, Engineer's Office, Soil & Water Conservation District, Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency, Stormwater + Infrastructure, Earth Movement Permit and Weights and Measures. Four bodies split the county's map. Hamilton County Public Health licenses food, pools, body art, plumbing and sewage systems in the General Health District, which its own body art page defines as 'within Hamilton County but... NOT within the cities of Cincinnati, Norwood, or Springdale'; its served-communities list names 45 jurisdictions including Sharonville, and the Ohio Department of Health's directory lists only the Cincinnati, Norwood and Springdale city health departments alongside it. Buildings + Inspections states that it 'is responsible for issuing building permits in the unincorporated townships of Hamilton County and in six contract jurisdictions' — Amberley Village, Elmwood Place, Indian Hill, North Bend, Terrace Park and Wyoming, with Elmwood Place, Terrace Park and Wyoming for commercial permits only. Zoning is split three ways on the county's own account — 'zoning adopted for cities or villages, zoning adopted for townships under township trustee jurisdiction, and zoning adopted for townships under county commissioner jurisdiction' — and county Development Services administers only the third, covering 'all of Columbia and Harrison Townships and the majority of Green and Miami Townships' plus Symmes Township and the Village of North Bend by contract. The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati is a county sewer district under ORC Chapter 6117 that the City of Cincinnati operates. The county lists 37 incorporated cities and villages — Addyston, Amberley Village, Arlington Heights, Blue Ash, Cheviot, Cincinnati, Cleves, Deer Park, Elmwood Place, Evendale, Fairfax, Forest Park, Glendale, Golf Manor, Greenhills, Harrison, Indian Hill, Lincoln Heights, Lockland, Loveland, Madeira, Mariemont, Milford, Montgomery, Mt. Healthy, Newtown, North Bend, North College Hill, Norwood, Reading, Sharonville, Silverton, Springdale, St. Bernard, Terrace Park, Woodlawn and Wyoming — and 12 townships: Anderson, Colerain, Columbia, Crosby, Delhi, Green, Harrison, Miami, Springfield, Sycamore, Symmes and Whitewater. Each city and village runs its own licensing, building and zoning regime on top of, or in place of, the county records below, which is why the first question at any Hamilton County address is which of these authorities it falls under.30 published records
- Lucas County, OHLucas County is a non-charter Ohio county whose seat is Toledo. Its regulatory instruments are separate adopted documents rather than a codified county code: the Lucas County Building Code (2006 edition), the Subdivision Rules and Regulations, the Drainage and Access Management Regulations, the Lucas County Engineer's Office Permit Fee Schedule, the Sanitary Engineer's Building Sewers and Connections Rules and Regulations, and the Board of Health's own fee rules adopted under ORC 3709.09. The Lucas County Auditor's licensing pages list dog licenses, vendor's licenses, cigarette licenses and junk yard licenses. The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department — legal name Lucas County Regional Health District — is the food, body art and pool licensor for the whole county, and the Ohio Department of Health's own directory entry for it reads 'Serving the city of Toledo and all of Lucas County', so unlike the Columbus area there is no separate city health department to route around. Lucas County Building Regulations issues commercial building, trade and sign permits and registers specialty contractors for all 11 townships, the City of Sylvania and the villages of Harbor View, Holland, Ottawa Hills, Waterville and Whitehouse; Toledo, Oregon and Maumee run their own building departments, and each village keeps its own zoning permit even where the county does the building permit. The county's incorporated municipalities — Toledo, Maumee, Oregon, Sylvania, Waterville, Ottawa Hills, Swanton, Whitehouse, Holland and Harbor View — hold municipal home rule under Ohio Const. Art. XVIII, §3 and each stacks its own business license, zoning and building regime on top of the county's: the City of Toledo, for example, licenses business activities under part 7 of the Toledo Municipal Code through its Division of Treasury. Salon and barber licensure (ORC 4713.41, State Cosmetology and Barber Board), veterinary licensure, child care centre licensure (ORC 5104.03, Department of Children and Youth) and liquor permits (ORC 4303.26, Division of Liquor Control) are state functions; the county's touchpoints on them are the ones recorded for Lucas County.23 published records
- Cuyahoga County, OHCuyahoga County, Ohio, seat Cleveland, spreads its business-facing requirements across five county bodies whose maps do not coincide, and the City of Cleveland is published on this site as its own jurisdiction with its own licensing. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) is the licensor for food service operations and retail food establishments, mobile and temporary food, vending machines, food facility plan review, body art facilities, public pools and spas, plumbing, sewage treatment system contractors and private water systems; its Food Licensing page states that 'In Cuyahoga County, CCBH licenses and inspects all facilities that sell food at the retail level, except for those operating in the City of Cleveland,' and its rabies page describes its jurisdiction as 'the entire county except for the City of Cleveland.' Two suburbs that once ran their own health departments now sit inside CCBH rather than outside it: Shaker Heights' own FAQ states that 'On January 1, 2018, the City of Shaker Heights closed its Health Department and joined the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH),' and Cleveland Heights' Health Services page states that 'Through a contract with the City of Cleveland Heights, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health provides health services for Cleveland Heights residents,' so a restaurant, gym pool or tattoo studio in either city is priced from the CCBH figures here. The Fiscal Officer's Licensing and Support Services page lists exactly three licenses — Vendor's Licenses, Cigarette Vendor's Licenses and Dog Licenses — and those reach every address in the county, Cleveland included. The Department of Consumer Affairs runs Weights and Measures and enforces the disposable bag rule and the retail pricing duties, under a different carve-out from CCBH's: County Code §1302.13(A) applies Chapter 1302 'throughout the unincorporated area of the County and in all municipal corporations and townships within the County,' except 'within any municipal corporation that has appointed a weights and measures official in accordance with ORC 1327.52,' and the county's page states that its Weights and Measures jurisdiction 'includes all of Cuyahoga County except for the City of Cleveland,' while County Code §1304.02 applies the bag rule 'within Cuyahoga County' with no such exception. The Department of Public Works, Sanitary Engineering licenses sewer contractors and permits sanitary and storm sewer connections for the county sewer system. Building permits come from a municipal or township department certified by the Ohio Board of Building Standards: the county's Division of Building Standards, founded in 2025, states that 'Building Standards will have jurisdiction in partner communities, which will be announced soon,' that 'All other Building Standards services will be available in partner communities by January 1,' and, answering 'How much will my permit cost?', that 'An approved fee schedule will be released by December 1, 2026.' That page also states that the county 'do[es] not deal with property maintenance or zoning. Please contact your local municipality for those issues,' and its Service Contacts table routes 'Municipal Zoning Services' to 'Local municipality.' The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission enumerates 59 communities in the county, of which only Olmsted Township and Chagrin Falls Township are unincorporated; every other community is an incorporated city or village running its own building permitting, zoning and, where it chooses, its own contractor registration and business regulation, and all of that stacks on top of the county records here.21 published records
- Franklin County, OHThe Franklin County Auditor's own Licensing Types page lists four licenses — kennel, junk yard, retail cigarette dealer and vendor's — and names no general business license among them. The county's food, body-art, pool/spa and rabies-control programs run through Franklin County Public Health (FCPH), the county general health district — but FCPH's territory excludes the City of Columbus and the City of Worthington, both of which are served instead by Columbus Public Health (CPH), an independent city agency rather than a county one. The Franklin County Auditor administers the state-mandated vendor's license, the junk yard/salvage dealer license (ORC Chapter 4737, only for businesses operating an actual salvage yard) and the kennel license (ORC 955.04/955.14, only for commercial dog breeding). The county's Residential Building Permits page states that the Building Department issues building permits for 1-, 2- and 3-family residential structures and that the State of Ohio issues commercial building permits; the Building Department and the Zoning Division serve 10 of the county's 17 unincorporated townships, and incorporated cities and villages — including Columbus and every suburb — run their own building and zoning. Salon/cosmetology licensure (Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board), veterinary licensure (Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board), childcare center licensure (Ohio Department of Children and Youth), trade-contractor licensure (Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board) and liquor permits are state functions; the records below set out what each body's own page says and where a county touchpoint exists.18 published records
- Stark County, OHStark County, Ohio, seat Canton, puts its business-facing requirements with three county offices whose coverage differs. The County Auditor issues the regular (county) vendor's license for any fixed place of business in the county. The Stark County Health Department, legally the Stark County Combined General Health District, licenses food operations, pools, body art, sewage systems and plumbing, and its About Us page states that 'The jurisdiction of the Stark County Combined General Health District is comprised of 17 Townships, 12 Villages, and the cities of Canal Fulton, Louisville, and North Canton.' Canton, Massillon and Alliance are not among the cities that sentence names. The Stark County Building Inspection Department's own page states: 'The department's jurisdiction covers the unincorporated areas of Stark County and those villages and cities that have entered into a contract with the county. Currently, contracts exist with Brewster, East Canton, Hills and Dales, Limaville, Magnolia, Meyers Lake, Minerva and Waynesburg. The office also inspects commercial structures only for East Sparta, Louisville and Hartville since each of these jurisdictions have residential building departments of their own. Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton have their own building inspection departments. Areas that do not have a building inspection department or a contract with any other office obtain commercial permits from the state.' On zoning, the Regional Planning Commission's zoning page states that 'Stark County does not have county wide zoning, instead zoning regulations are adopted by the individual townships, cities and villages in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code.' The county's cities are Canton, Massillon, Alliance, North Canton, Louisville and Canal Fulton, and each city, village and zoned township layers its own zoning and, where it has one, its own building department and local licensing on top of the county records here.16 published records
- Butler County, OHButler County, Ohio, seat Hamilton, splits its business-facing requirements among three county bodies that each cover a different map. The Butler County Auditor issues the vendor's license and the retail cigarette dealer license countywide; its licensing page states that 'The County Auditor issues licenses for dogs, kennels, junk yards, retail cigarette dealers, and vendors.' The Butler County General Health District licenses food service operations and retail food establishments, mobile and temporary food, public pools and spas, body art establishments, plumbing, medical gas and sewage treatment systems, and its Board of Health page states that it serves Butler County 'excluding the cities of Hamilton and Middletown, which maintain their own city health departments.' The Department of Development's Building & Zoning Division states that it enforces 'the building code, electrical code and zoning regulations for the unincorporated areas of Butler County.' Its Zoning Jurisdiction page lists the county Rural Zoning Resolution townships (Hanover, Lemon, Madison, Milford, Oxford and Ross), the township and villages where the division also enforces zoning (Reily Township and the villages of Millville, New Miami and Seven Mile), and the jurisdictions that enforce their own zoning codes: the townships of Fairfield, Liberty, Morgan, St. Clair, Wayne and West Chester, the cities of Fairfield, Hamilton, Middletown, Monroe, Oxford and Trenton, and the village of College Corner. A business inside any of those cities or villages also deals with that municipality's own license, zoning and building rules, which stack on top of the county records here.15 published records
- Delaware County, OHDelaware County, Ohio, seat the City of Delaware, sits directly north of Columbus, and its business-facing requirements run through three county bodies with three different maps. The Delaware Public Health District (DPHD) is a combined health district; its About Us page states that it is 'serving Delaware County (except portions annexed to Westerville, Columbus, and Dublin), Delaware City and Powell,' and it licenses food service operations, retail food establishments, mobile and temporary food operations, public pools and spas and tattoo and body piercing businesses. The DPHD Plumbing Unit's page gives its own territory as 'Delaware County except in the cities of Columbus, Dublin, and Westerville.' The Delaware County Department of Building Safety enforces the Delaware County Building Code, adopted by the Board of Commissioners under ORC 307.37, issues commercial building and trade permits, certificates of occupancy and tent permits, and administers the Delaware County Zoning Resolution, whose cover names only Marlboro, Radnor and Thompson Townships. The County Auditor issues the statutory vendor's license and retail cigarette dealer's license. The county's Cities, Villages & Townships page lists the cities of Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Powell, Sunbury and Westerville; the villages of Ashley, Galena, Ostrander and Shawnee Hills; and the townships of Berkshire, Berlin, Brown, Concord, Delaware, Genoa, Harlem, Kingston, Liberty, Marlboro, Orange, Oxford, Porter, Radnor, Scioto, Thompson, Trenton, Troy and Washington. Zoning outside the three county-zoned townships is local: the county's Zoning Inspectors list, updated 9/18/26, names township and village zoning inspectors, with the county's own inspector at 1610 State Route 521 listed for Marlboro, Radnor and Thompson. A business inside a city or village also meets that municipality's own requirements, which are not restated here.15 published records
- Lorain County, OHLorain County sits on Lake Erie west of Cleveland, with its seat at Elyria. Three county-level offices matter to a business here. Lorain County Public Health is a general health district, created in 1920 under Ohio law, governed by its own Board of Health and, in its own words, operating 'separately from the County Commissioners'; its About page states that it 'provides public health services for cities, townships, and villages in Lorain County, Ohio. The exception is the City of Vermilion, which receives services from the Erie County Health Department.' Its Board of Health roster lists members appointed by Lorain City, Elyria City, North Ridgeville City, the cities of Avon, Avon Lake and Sheffield Lake, and the cities of Amherst and Oberlin, so its food, pool, body-art, sewage and private-water licensing reaches those cities as well as the townships and villages. The Lorain County Auditor issues the vendor's license and the retail cigarette dealer's license, both priced by Ohio statute. The Lorain County Sanitary Engineering Department licenses sewer builders for work in the Lorain County Sewer Districts. On land use, the county's Planning and Zoning page states that 'the Lorain County Planning Commission makes recommendations on zoning amendments for the 18 unincorporated townships'. On building enforcement, the Ohio Board of Building Standards' Building Department Look Up lists Lorain County (the county entity) as not certified for commercial or residential building enforcement, and lists cities including Lorain, Elyria, Avon and North Ridgeville as certified. Each city and village in the county, including Lorain, Elyria, Avon, Avon Lake, Amherst, North Ridgeville, Oberlin and Sheffield Lake, runs its own permit, building and zoning regime, which stacks on top of the county-level records here.13 published records
- Warren County, OHWarren County, Ohio, seat Lebanon, splits its business-facing requirements among three county bodies, each covering a different map. The Warren County Auditor issues the vendor's license (ORC 5739.17) and the retail cigarette dealer's license (ORC 5743.15); its vendor page states that 'A Vendor's License is issued from the Warren County Auditor's Office for businesses in Warren County.' The Warren County Health District licenses food service operations and retail food establishments, mobile and temporary food, public pools and spas and body art establishments, and permits plumbing and on-site sewage systems; its history page states that it 'has evolved into the Warren County Combined Health District, signifying not only health services for the county, but also for the cities of Franklin, Lebanon, Mason, and Springboro.' The Building & Zoning Department issues commercial building, electrical, HVAC and fire-protection permits in the jurisdictions it serves, and its Zoning Department page states 'our office only does Zoning for the following: Franklin, Harlan, Turtlecreek, Union, and Washington Townships.' The county's township, village and city contact sheet states that 'Building & Zoning permits must be obtained from the following CITIES' and lists Blanchester/Clarksville, the City of Mason, the Village of Harveysburg, the City of Middletown, the City of Franklin, the City of Monroe, the City of Loveland, the City of Springboro and the Village of Carlisle; the same sheet names the villages and cities from which zoning permits must be obtained, among them Corwin, Waynesville, Morrow, Pleasant Plain, Maineville and Butlerville, and lists Clearcreek, Deerfield, Hamilton, Massie, Salem and Wayne Townships as 'not under the Warren County jurisdiction' for zoning. A business inside any city or village also deals with that municipality's own license, zoning and building rules, which stack on top of the county records here.12 published records
- Cleveland, OHCleveland runs its own independent health department rather than deferring to Cuyahoga County. Its fire fee schedule quotes a statute barring a charge for an inspection, directly above a fee line billing exactly that inspection.10 published records
These are the 12 Ohio jurisdictions where we publish the most. All 14 jurisdictions we cover lists the other 2.
Is there a single Ohio business license?
No. Ohio has no single license that covers every business. What you need depends on your industry, your city and your county, and most of the obligations that matter are issued locally rather than at state level.
The state-level registrations that do apply to nearly everyone are tax accounts rather than licenses — which is why they are easy to miss.
Who issues permits in Ohio?
- Ohio Department of Health, Food Safety ProgramFood service operation rules · Approval of local boards of health as licensors · Food protection certification2 permits
- Ohio Department of TaxationVendor's licenses · Sales and use tax · Transient vendor licenses2 permits
- Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services DivisionEntity registration · Statutory agent filings · Trade name registration2 permits
- Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Industrial ComplianceCommercial electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing and refrigeration licensing1 permit
- Ohio Department of Children and YouthChild care centre licensing · Family child care licensing1 permit
- Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber BoardSalon licenses · Barbershop licenses · Tanning facility licenses1 permit
- Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing BoardVeterinarian licensing · Veterinary business facility licensing1 permit
By industry
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.
