What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Stark County Oh?

Plumbing Contractor Registration

A plumbing contractor working in the Stark County Health Department's area registers with the Department before taking work there. Its plumbing page states that 'In 1991, the Stark County Board of Health adopted regulations requiring the registration of all plumbing contractors who work in the General Health District', and that 'Any plumbing contractor engaged in or intending to engage in the plumbing business in the Stark County Health Department jurisdiction must be registered with the department.' The fee is $70.00, with a $35.00 late registration fee, under Board of Health Resolution #8-2025, adopted December 10, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026. The Department's 2026 registration letter states a 'REGISTRATION FEE OF $70.00', asks for a 'COPY OF STATE PLUMBING LICENSE', and asks for bonds dated through January 31, 2027. The state plumbing license itself is a separate state credential. Scope: the Department's About Us page gives its jurisdiction as '17 Townships, 12 Villages, and the cities of Canal Fulton, Louisville, and North Canton'.

Building Department Contractor Registration

A contractor pulling permits from the Stark County Building Inspection Department registers with it each year. The Department's fee schedule, headed 'Effective 8/29/26' and linked from its Fees page as the 'Fee Schedule - Residential - Commercial - Low Voltage', lists the 'Contractor Registration Fee' at $200.00 'per calendar year, with no proration'. The Department's 2026 Specialty Contractor Registration form prints 'Initial/Renewal $200.00' for each trade category and states that the 'Applicant must hold a valid and unexpired license from the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board', so the state trade license comes first. The registration applies where the Department issues permits; its own page states that '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', and that 'Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton have their own building inspection departments.'

Commercial Trade Contractor License

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 license for residential work. The license is a master license 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.

Shared with other businesses in Stark County Oh

• Sewage Treatment System Permits and Registrations (small flow systems, installers, service providers, septage haulers) — Stark County Health Department (Stark County Combined General Health District), Per Board of Health Resolution #3-2026 (adopted April 8, 2026; effective May 1, 2026), total fees: Small Flow On-site Sewage Treatment System (SFOSTS) application, new construction $450.00, replacement $200.00; SFOSTS permit for new construction $850.00 ($776.00 local + $74.00 state), for replacement $850.00 ($776.00 + $74.00), for alteration $305.00 ($270.00 + $35.00); SFOSTS operation permit $40.00. Registrations: installer $250.00, service provider $165.00, septage hauler $55.00, septage hauler truck $80.00. Late fees: 25% of the established fee., per application or permit; registrations are periodic, and Resolution #3-2026 applies a late fee of 25% of the established fee. Also required for restaurants, auto repair shops, retail stores, childcare centres and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.