What permits do you need to open a retail store in Columbus?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 9 records listed for a retail store in Columbus, OH, 4 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 4 that always apply, 3 carry a flat fee, coming to $800.00. That is a floor, not a total. 2 of the 9 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.

Sign Permit: $100–$600 $500 for a sign under 100 square feet needing no plan review, $600 for a larger sign or one that does; a temporary sign permit is $300, and a small miscellaneous sign of 32 square feet or less is $100

Permits for a retail store in Columbus, OH come from 5 separate offices: City of Columbus License Section, Department of Building and Zoning Services, City of Columbus Department of Building and Zoning Services, Franklin County Auditor, Vendor's Licence Section, Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services Division, Ohio Department of Taxation. 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, Sign Permit111 N Front Street, Columbus, OH 43215 · (614) 645-7433www.columbus.gov/bzs
• Franklin County Auditor, Vendor's Licence SectionIssues 1 permit on this page: Vendor's Licence373 S High St, 21st Floor, Columbus, OH 43215auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/Consumer/Licensing-Types
• 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 Department of TaxationIssues 2 permits on this page: Vendor's Licence, Transient Vendor's Licencetax.ohio.gov

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.

A billboard sits well above ordinary commercial signage at $2,500 for its own permit.

Issued by the county, not the city — this is the Sales Tax Account registration for the State of Ohio Department of Taxation, administered locally through the Franklin County Auditor's office.

$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.

The fee doubled from $25 to $50 on 9 April 2025 under House Bill 366, and the Department's own older PDF guidance still prints $25 — check the date on anything you read. One licence per fixed location, so a second shop means a second $50. The licence number is keyed to the county, but the fee is statutory and identical in all eighty-eight; the county auditor is a filing channel, not a separate charge. It is not only for goods: certain taxable services, including landscaping, building maintenance and janitorial work, private security and dry cleaning, need one too. An out-of-state seller with economic nexus registers free.

This is the licence for selling away from a fixed address — fairs, festivals, markets, travelling to the customer — and unlike the county vendor's licence it is valid in all eighty-eight counties on one registration. It is issued by the Department of Taxation only, never by a county auditor. Same $50 as the fixed-location licence since House Bill 366 took effect on 9 April 2025.