What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Cincinnati?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 7 records listed for a contractor or trade in Cincinnati, OH, 2 apply to every business of this type and 5 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

2 of the 7 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones that vary:

Certificate of Occupancy: $169–$567 for a non-residential building — $169 for the first 5,000 square feet, $21 for each additional 5,000, capped at $567

Commercial Building Permit: For a project valued over $50,000: $1,065 plus $11.59 for every $1,000 of valuation. Projects between $1,000 and $50,000 fall on a separate tiered table. On top of the base fee, commercial work adds a 3% technology surcharge, a 1% training surcharge, a 1% financial recovery fee, a 5% planning surcharge, and a 3% state surcharge.

Permits for a contractor or trade in Cincinnati, OH come from 4 separate offices: City of Cincinnati Finance Department, Income Tax Division, City of Cincinnati Department of Buildings and Inspections, Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services Division, Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Industrial Compliance. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

• City of Cincinnati Finance Department, Income Tax DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: City Income Tax Registration(513) 352-3847www.cincinnati-oh.gov/finance/income-taxes
• City of Cincinnati Department of Buildings and InspectionsIssues 3 permits on this page: Certificate of Occupancy, Commercial Building Permit, Contractor Registration805 Central Avenue, Suite 500, Cincinnati, OH 45202 · (513) 352-3271www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings
• Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: Articles of Organization (LLC), Initial Articles of Incorporation22 North Fourth Street, Columbus, OH 43215 · (877) 767-6446bsportal.ohiosos.gov
• Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Industrial ComplianceIssues 1 permit on this page: Commercial Trade Contractor Licencecom.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/industrial-compliance/boards/ohio-construction-industry-licensing-board

No fee is stated on the registration page for opening the account — Cincinnati has no general business licence, and this tax registration is the closest thing to a universal requirement for doing business in the city.

A temporary certificate, available before full completion once minimum plumbing, HVAC, grading and safety standards are met, costs 5% of the building permit fee for the first three months and another 5% for each additional month, with a $127 minimum.

Signs are not priced on a separate schedule — they are treated as ordinary construction and charged this same valuation-based formula and surcharge stack, just qualifying for an expedited five-day review track.

Applies broadly to every contractor performing work within city limits, and now extends to crane operators and crane equipment as well. Whether a bonding or insurance requirement rides along with this registration is not stated on the city's own page and is not asserted here.

$99 once, and then nothing. Ohio is one of the few states with no annual report and no annual fee for an LLC — the Secretary of State's own guidance says business entities are not required to file one, and the fee schedule carries no report line under either the LLC or the for-profit corporation heading. Standard processing is free and takes three to seven business days; expediting costs $100 for two days, $200 for one day or $300 for four hours with in-person delivery. Form 610 replaced the older form 533A in September 2025, so a downloaded 533A will be rejected.

$99 is a minimum, not a flat fee. It covers one to 990 authorised shares; above that the Secretary of State charges on a graduated scale, ten cents a share to 1,000, five cents to 10,000, two cents to 50,000, one cent to 100,000, half a cent to 500,001 and a quarter of a cent beyond — so a large authorisation costs materially more. A nonprofit never calculates on shares and pays $99 flat. As with an LLC, there is no annual report to follow.

Ohio does not license general contractors. The state board covers five commercial trades only — electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing and refrigeration — and everything else, including residential and general contracting, is regulated by the local building department, which may nonetheless insist on this state licence for residential work. The licence is a master licence held by a person, not a company: it must be assigned to one contracting company, cannot be used under a trading name, and requires $500,000 of liability cover plus five years' trade experience and a passing exam. Fees are per trade, so a contractor holding two pays twice. Continuing education is eight hours a year, or twenty-four across a three-year cycle, and half the electrical hours must be code courses. Let it lapse more than a year and you reapply and retest.