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

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 Columbus, 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.

Of the 2 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $700.00. That is a floor, not a total. 1 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:

Commercial Building Permit: $700 plus $7 for each 10 gross square feet, or portion of it, over 1,000 square feet, capped at $500,000. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing work runs $550 with one inspection or $700 with two. A minor work permit is $275.

Permits for a contractor or trade in Columbus, OH come from 4 separate offices: City of Columbus License Section, Department of Building and Zoning Services, City of Columbus Department of Building and Zoning Services, 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 Columbus License Section, Department of Building and Zoning ServicesIssues 1 permit on this page: City Income Tax Registration4252 Groves Rd, Columbus, OH 43232 · (614) 645-8366www.columbus.gov/Business-Development/Business-Licenses-Resources
• City of Columbus Department of Building and Zoning ServicesIssues 3 permits on this page: Certificate of Occupancy, Commercial Building Permit, General Contractor Registration111 N Front Street, Columbus, OH 43215 · (614) 645-7433www.columbus.gov/bzs
• 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, because there is no general business licence here — what stands in its place is a real 2.5% local income tax on business activity conducted within Columbus, filed as a tax return rather than paid for as a permit.

Occupying a space without one costs $2,500 — steep enough to function as a real deterrent rather than a nominal fine. A time-limited occupancy is $650, and a partial occupancy runs $250 residential or $450 commercial.

Fire protection work is priced separately on the same schedule: a fire suppression system review is $400 plus $2.50 per sprinkler head, and a fire alarm system review is $400 plus $3.25 per device. Demolition runs $200 plus $80 per 1,000 square feet, capped at $3,000.

This same $300 application and $350 annual fee structure covers Home Improvement Contractors, Demolition Contractors, Sign Erectors and Special Inspectors alike; a Journeyperson Plumber pays $150 instead, and a Sewer or Water Contractor pays $350 with prior approval from Public Utilities required. No bonding figure appears on the published fee schedule, and the underlying municipal code could not be reached to confirm whether one applies.

$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.