What permits do you need to open a retail store in Stark County Oh?

Sewage Treatment System Permits and Registrations (small flow systems, installers, service providers, septage haulers)

A business building on or replacing an on-site sewage system because it is not on a sanitary sewer, and a contractor who installs, services or pumps those systems, deal with the Stark County Health Department. The Department's sewage page explains that a septic system 'treats and disposes of sanitary wastewater from a home or business that does not have access to the sanitary sewer', and links its 'Sewage Treatment System Fees Effective May 1, 2026'. Those fees are Board of Health Resolution #3-2026, adopted April 8, 2026 and effective May 1, 2026, which prints local, state and total columns: the small flow system permits above carry a $74.00 or $35.00 state amount, and the application, operation permit and registration fees carry none. A business on a public sewer has no on-site system permit to obtain. Resolution #3-2026 also prices household systems, gray water systems and property transfer work, which are not listed here. 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'.

Semi-Public Sewage Treatment System Inspection Fee

A business whose wastewater goes to its own semi-public sewage treatment system rather than a public sewer, such as a restaurant, garage, store, childcare center or clinic on a larger on-site system, pays an annual inspection fee to the Stark County Health Department. The figures are Board of Health Resolution #7-2019, adopted June 12, 2019 and effective July 1, 2019, which the Department's sewage page still links as its 'Semi-Public Fees'. The 2026 sewage fee resolution (#3-2026) has no semi-public rows. Resolution #7-2019 rests on ORC 3709.085, which it describes as allowing a general health district to contract with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for semipublic sewage inspections and to charge 'a fee established pursuant to section 3709.09 of the Revised Code to be paid by the owner or operator of a semipublic sewage treatment system for inspections conducted by the board.' The fee is set by system type (mechanical or not, discharging or not) and size, and is 'paid on or before March 1st each year'. A business on a public sewer has no semi-public inspection fee. 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'.

Vendor's License

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 license per fixed location, so a second shop means a second $50. The license 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.

Shared with other businesses in Stark County Oh

• Retail Dealer's Cigarette License — Stark County Auditor, $125 a year, for each physical place where cigarettes are sold at retail, set by ORC 5743.15(B); an application filed after June 1 is prorated to the rest of the license year but is never less than $25; a duplicate of a lost, destroyed or defaced license is $5, one year commencing on the first day of June (ORC 5743.15(B)(2)); applications are due annually on or before June 1. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Service Operation / Retail Food Establishment License — Stark County Health Department (Stark County Combined General Health District), As listed on the Health Department's sheet headed '2026 Food Service Fees / Effective February 1st', by risk level 1 / 2 / 3 / 4. Commercial, under 25,000 sq ft: $329.00 / $362.60 / $635.60 / $788.90. Commercial, over 25,000 sq ft: $447.30 / $467.50 / $1,496.00 / $1,582.20. Non-commercial, under 25,000 sq ft: $164.50 / $181.30 / $317.80 / $394.45. Non-commercial, over 25,000 sq ft: $223.65 / $233.75 / $748.00 / $791.10. Late fees, which the sheet applies as of March 2nd: commercial under 25,000 sq ft $75.25 / $83.65 / $151.90 / $190.23; commercial over 25,000 sq ft $104.83 / $109.88 / $367.00 / $388.55; non-commercial under 25,000 sq ft $37.63 / $41.83 / $75.95 / $95.11; non-commercial over 25,000 sq ft $52.41 / $54.94 / $183.50 / $194.28., annual license year; the sheet's late fee 'Applies as of March 2nd', and the Health Department's 2026 vending application gives the renewal deadline as March 1, 2026. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Service / Retail Food Plan Review (new or remodeled) — Stark County Health Department (Stark County Combined General Health District), As listed on the Health Department's sheet headed '2026 Food Service Fees / Effective February 1st', by risk level 1 / 2 / 3 / 4. Commercial, under 25,000 sq ft: $301.00 / $334.60 / $607.60 / $760.90. Commercial, over 25,000 sq ft: $419.30 / $439.50 / $1,468.00 / $1,554.20. Non-commercial, under 25,000 sq ft: $150.50 / $167.30 / $303.80 / $380.45. Non-commercial, over 25,000 sq ft: $209.65 / $219.75 / $734.00 / $777.10. The Department's 2026 Plan Review Application prints Risk Level I $301.00 through IV $760.90., one review per new or remodeled operation; the 2026 Plan Review Application states that the Department 'has 30 days' to review. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Food Vending Machine Location License — Stark County Health Department (Stark County Combined General Health District), $35.99 per vending machine location per license year, combined: the Health Department's 2026 vending application prints $29.99 license fee + $6.00 state amount = $35.99; the 2026 Food Service Fees sheet lists a $7.50 late fee, annual; the 2026 vending application gives the renewal deadline as March 1, 2026. Also required for fitness studios and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.
• Transient Vendor's License — Ohio Department of Taxation, $50 one-time, valid statewide, no renewal — stays in effect until cancelled. Also required for food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.