Business licenses and permits in Pennsylvania

What applies everywhere in Pennsylvania

12 requirements are set by Pennsylvania itself and apply whichever city you open in. Local permits sit on top of them.

Sources

Every statewide figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

1. Pennsylvania Department of State — annual reports under Act 122 of 2022, first due 2025, replacing the decennial reportPennsylvania Department of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
2. Pennsylvania Department of State — business filing fees and paymentsPennsylvania Department of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
3. 55 Pa. Code section 20.42 — certificate of compliance fees; no fee is required for a facility not listedPennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
4. 55 Pa. Code section 3270.11 — child care certificate of compliance, not to exceed 12 monthsPennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
5. Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry — the Commonwealth has no licensure or certification requirement for most construction contractorsPennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
6. 49 Pa. Code section 7.2 — cosmetology fees, the column effective 1 July 2024 being operativePennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
7. 7 Pa. Code section 46.1201 — food employee certification requires an accredited manager programme, not a state certificatePennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
8. Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop — there is no general business license that all Pennsylvania businesses must obtainCommonwealth of Pennsylvania · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
9. Pennsylvania Attorney General home improvement contractor registration portal — $100 every two years, insurance requirementsPennsylvania Office of Attorney General (archived capture) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
10. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture — retail food facility licensing fees and delegated jurisdictionsPennsylvania Department of Agriculture · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
11. 7 Pa. Code section 46.1141 — retail food license interval varies on risk-based factorsPennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
12. 61 Pa. Code section 34.1 — sales tax license registration; there is no registration feePennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
13. Pennsylvania Department of Revenue form REV-717 — sales, use and hotel occupancy licenses renew automatically every five yearsPennsylvania Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
14. 49 Pa. Code section 31.41 — the complete veterinary fee schedule, which contains no facility or premises linePennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Which Pennsylvania city are you opening in?

• Allegheny County, PAAllegheny County, Pennsylvania — seat Pittsburgh — is entirely made up of 130 municipalities (the City of Pittsburgh, three 3rd-class cities, 91 boroughs and 35 townships), since Pennsylvania has no unincorporated territory anywhere. The county-level records listed here apply county-wide, in every municipality including Pittsburgh, because they come from a county health department (one of only 7 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties to run its own, under the Local Health Administration Law of 1951) and a county land-use ordinance that operate by their own legal force — not from a fallback rule for unincorporated land, which does not exist here. Each of the 130 municipalities separately administers its own zoning under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, its own building and Uniform Construction Code permitting, and, where adopted, its own business-privilege or mercantile tax under the Local Tax Enabling Act (Act 511 of 1965) — a power the Act gives only to municipalities and school districts, not counties, which is why Allegheny County's own Code contains no business-privilege or mercantile-tax article and issues no general county business license of its own. All of that municipal-level licensing stacks on top of every county record below.18 published records
• Montgomery County, PAMontgomery County, Pennsylvania — seat Norristown, a Home Rule Municipality (not a borough: voters abolished borough status in a 1983 referendum effective 1986, and the municipality's legal name is 'Municipality of Norristown') — is a Second Class A county (population 500,000–999,999) made up of 62 municipalities: boroughs and townships plus Norristown's single Home Rule Municipality, and zero cities, since Pennsylvania has no unincorporated territory anywhere. Montgomery is one of only 6 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties that runs its own county health department, plus Philadelphia as a city-county, under the Local Health Administration Law of 1951, and most of the county-level records here come from that department's own Public Health Code and 2026 Fee and Permit Schedule, plus a Sheriff's Office precious-metals license and a Planning Commission subdivision/land-development review that reaches every proposal countywide (advisory only; final approval is each municipality's own). Montgomery is not a home-rule county, and Pennsylvania's Local Tax Enabling Act (Act 511 of 1965), 53 P.S. §6924.301.1(a), empowers only cities, boroughs, towns, townships and school districts — not counties — to levy a business-privilege or mercantile tax or require a general business registration, which is why Montgomery County issues no general county business license of its own. The county's five largest municipalities by population are Lower Merion Township, Abington Township, Cheltenham Township, Norristown, and Upper Merion Township. Each of the 62 municipalities separately administers its own zoning under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, its own building and Uniform Construction Code permitting, and, where adopted, its own business-privilege or mercantile tax — all of which stacks on top of every county-level record here.17 published records
• Bucks County, PABucks County, Pennsylvania — seat Doylestown Borough — is entirely made up of 54 municipalities (23 boroughs and 31 townships, zero cities), since Pennsylvania has no unincorporated territory anywhere. Bucks is one of only 6 Pennsylvania counties plus Philadelphia to run its own county health department under the Local Health Administration Law of 1951, and the Bucks County Department of Health (BCDH) is the statutory licensor named in 3 Pa.C.S. §5702 for food safety, on-site sewage, private wells, public bathing places, and the county's own Massage Therapy Establishment ordinance across every municipality. Bucks is a Second Class A county (population 500,000–999,999) per the Pennsylvania County Commissioners Association's current classification. Each of the 54 municipalities separately administers its own zoning under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, its own building and Uniform Construction Code permitting, and, where adopted, its own business-privilege or mercantile tax under the Local Tax Enabling Act of 1965 — a power the Act gives only to municipalities and school districts, not counties, which is why Bucks County issues no general county business license of its own. All of that municipal-level licensing stacks on top of every county record below.15 published records
• Delaware County, PADelaware County, Pennsylvania — seat Media (Media Borough) — is entirely made up of 49 municipalities (1 city, Chester; 27 boroughs; 21 townships), since Pennsylvania has no unincorporated territory anywhere. Chester is the county's only city but is not its most populous place — Upper Darby Township (~86,000, 2024 est.) is the county's largest municipality, a position it has held since 1950. Delaware County is one of Pennsylvania's three original counties (1682) and in 1976 became the Commonwealth's first Home Rule county. It is also one of only 7 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties (plus Philadelphia, a city-county) to run its own county health department under the Local Health Administration Law of 1951 — the Delaware County Health Department (DCHD), whose Board of Health was appointed in April 2021 and which began operating in April 2022, making it the newest of the seven. Each of the 49 municipalities separately administers its own zoning under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, its own building and Uniform Construction Code permitting, and, where adopted, its own business-privilege or mercantile tax under the Local Tax Enabling Act of 1965 — a power the Act gives only to municipalities and school districts, not counties, which is why Delaware County issues no general county business license of its own. All of that municipal-level licensing stacks on top of every county record below.15 published records
• Chester County, PAChester County, Pennsylvania — seat West Chester Borough; population 560,745 (U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate) — is made up of 73 municipalities, which the county's Facts page lists as 'one city, 15 boroughs, and 57 townships': the City of Coatesville; the boroughs of Atglen, Avondale, Downingtown, Elverson, Honey Brook, Kennett Square, Malvern, Modena, Oxford, Parkesburg, Phoenixville, South Coatesville, Spring City, West Chester and West Grove; and 57 townships. Pennsylvania has no unincorporated territory. The Chester County Health Department (CCHD) is one of the county health departments listed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and licenses food facilities, temporary events, farm-market vendors, Certified Food Managers, public bathing places and child day care centres county-wide, and permits on-lot sewage systems and wells and licenses well, pump, geothermal and liquid-waste contractors; its fees come from a schedule effective January 1, 2025, and the Board of Health has proposed a revised schedule for January 1, 2027. The county Sheriff issues the Precious Metal Dealer License and the Chester County Planning Commission conducts the Act 247 advisory review of subdivision and land development plans. Act 511 (the Local Tax Enabling Act) §301.1(a) authorises cities, boroughs, towns, townships and school districts — not counties — to levy business taxes, so any business privilege or mercantile tax comes from the municipality. CCHD Rules §602.2.1 states that a pool construction permit 'shall be obtained from the local municipality' under the PA Uniform Construction Code, and the Planning Commission describes its subdivision role as 'advisory review' — each municipality's own zoning, building and UCC permits, approvals and local taxes stack on top of every county record here. Alcohol licenses are issued by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; its list 'Pennsylvania Dry Municipalities — As of September 2025' names 19 Chester County municipalities as dry for one or more license categories: Elverson and West Grove boroughs and East Bradford, East Brandywine, East Coventry, East Goshen, East Nantmeal, East Nottingham, Elk, Franklin, Highland, London Grove, Londonderry, Lower Oxford, New London, Upper Oxford, West Brandywine, West Fallowfield, West Nantmeal, West Pikeland and Westtown townships (check the PLCB list for the category affected).13 published records
• Pittsburgh, PAThe City registers the business and issues occupancy and building permits; Allegheny County Health Department permits the food. PLI's Licensing page lists the business licenses the City issues (vending, parking lot, towing, bed and breakfast, antique or secondhand dealers, one-day solicitation and ticket reselling) alongside contractor and trade licenses, and that page lists no salon or veterinary license.10 published records
• Allentown, PAAllentown runs its own food inspection program, one of only a few Pennsylvania localities to do so, but follows the statewide manager-certification standard rather than its own separate exam. Its fire fee structure charges nothing for on-time inspections.9 published records
• Philadelphia, PAThe Commercial Activity License is free and never expires. Food service and retail food selling are licensed on separate schedules, and the general contractor license carries insurance requirements but no bond.9 published records
• Lancaster County, PALancaster County, Pennsylvania — seat Lancaster city — is entirely made up of 61 municipalities (33 townships, 27 boroughs, and Lancaster city itself), since Pennsylvania has no unincorporated territory anywhere. Lancaster is a Second Class A county (population 500,000–999,999), reclassified from Third Class effective January 1, 2022 under County Ordinance No. 151 and 16 P.S. §§210–211. Unlike Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Montgomery and Philadelphia, Lancaster is not one of the seven Pennsylvania counties that the PA Department of Health's own current County-Municipal Health Depts page lists as running a county health department, so the food-safety and public-bathing-place records below come directly from state agencies — the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Department of Health — rather than a county health office. Pennsylvania's Local Tax Enabling Act (Act 511 of 1965), 53 P.S. §6924.301.1(a), names only cities, boroughs, towns, townships and school districts as able to levy a business-privilege or mercantile tax or require a local business license — counties are absent from that enumerated list, which is why Lancaster County issues no general county business license of its own. Likewise, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code §602 (53 P.S. §10602) limits county zoning power to municipalities that have not adopted their own zoning ordinance, and the Lancaster County Planning Commission's own description of its role is limited to preparing the county comprehensive plan and giving advisory review of municipal land-use matters, not administering zoning itself. Each of the 61 municipalities separately runs its own zoning, building, and — where adopted — business-privilege or mercantile tax regime, all of which stack on top of the county-level records below.8 published records
• Luzerne County, PALuzerne County, Pennsylvania, with its seat in the City of Wilkes-Barre and a population of 331,379 (U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate), is divided among 76 municipalities, including the cities of Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Nanticoke and Pittston and many boroughs and townships; Pennsylvania has no unincorporated territory. Each municipality runs its own permits, approvals and local taxes, and those stack on top of the county records below. The county itself administers zoning in 19 municipalities under the 2021 Luzerne County Zoning Ordinance: Avoca, Courtdale, Dupont, Duryea, Hughestown, Jeddo, Laflin, New Columbus, Pringle, Warrior Run, West Wyoming and Yatesville boroughs, and Conyngham, Fairmount, Hunlock, Huntington, Lake, Ross and Union townships. The county's Zoning page lists the other 57, including the four cities, as not under county planning and zoning jurisdiction, with each municipality's own contact number.The county Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance applies in 27 municipalities, where the Luzerne County Planning Commission approves or denies plans, and the county's Department of Planning and Zoning reviews plans in the other 49 under Act 247. The Sheriff licenses precious-metals dealers, and the Luzerne Conservation District reviews erosion and sediment control plans and NPDES construction stormwater applications county-wide. Section 301.1(a) of the Local Tax Enabling Act (53 P.S. §6924.301.1) lists cities, boroughs, towns, townships and school districts as the political subdivisions that may levy local taxes on persons, occupations, privileges and transactions; counties are not listed.7 published records
• Lehigh County, PALehigh County, Pennsylvania — seat Allentown; population 385,655 (U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate) — is made up of 25 municipalities on the county Assessment Office's municipality list: the cities of Allentown and Bethlehem; the boroughs of Alburtis, Catasauqua, Coopersburg, Coplay, Emmaus, Fountain Hill, Macungie and Slatington; and the townships of Hanover, Heidelberg, Lower Macungie, Lower Milford, Lowhill, Lynn, North Whitehall, Salisbury, South Whitehall, Upper Macungie, Upper Milford, Upper Saucon, Washington, Weisenberg and Whitehall. Pennsylvania has no unincorporated territory. The county-level records below concern land development: the Lehigh County Conservation District reviews erosion and sediment control and post-construction stormwater plans under delegation from the PA Department of Environmental Protection, and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, a joint commission of Lehigh and Northampton counties, reviews subdivision and land development plans and administers the county's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Section 301.1(a) of the Local Tax Enabling Act (53 P.S. §6924.301.1) lists cities, boroughs, towns, townships and school districts as the political subdivisions that may levy local taxes on persons, occupations, privileges and transactions; counties are not listed. Under §602 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, a county's power to enact zoning ordinances is 'limited to land in those municipalities, wholly or partly within the county, which have no zoning ordinance in effect'. Each municipality's own permits, ordinances and local taxes stack on top of every county-level record here; Allentown's are listed in its own entry.4 published records
• Westmoreland County, PAWestmoreland County, Pennsylvania, with its seat in the City of Greensburg, is divided among 65 municipalities (cities, boroughs, townships and the home-rule Municipality of Murrysville), as listed in the county's Municipalities app. Each municipality runs its own zoning where it has adopted it, its own building-permit arrangement and its own local taxes, and those stack on top of the county records below. The county's Subdivision, Development & Zoning page states: 'Westmoreland County does not have countywide zoning. Zoning is entirely under the purview of local municipalities. Some municipalities have adopted zoning ordinances, while others have not.' The same page states that building permits are handled at the local level, with each municipality choosing to review and issue permits in-house, contract with a building inspection company, or opt out and rely on the PA Department of Labor and Industry. Section 301.1(a) of the Local Tax Enabling Act (53 P.S. §6924.301.1) lists cities, boroughs, towns, townships and school districts as the political subdivisions that may levy local taxes on persons, occupations, privileges and transactions; counties are not listed. At county level, the Bureau of Weights and Measures licenses commercial weighing, measuring, timing and scanning devices under Ordinance #ORD-1-2025, the Department of Planning and Development reviews subdivision and land development plans in the 33 municipalities that use the county SALDO, and the Sheriff issues the Precious Metals Dealer License.3 published records

These are the 12 Pennsylvania jurisdictions where we publish the most. All 13 jurisdictions we cover lists the other 1.

Is there a single Pennsylvania business license?

Who issues permits in Pennsylvania?

• Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable OrganizationsEntity formation · Annual reports under 15 Pa.C.S. section 146 · Fictitious names4 permits
• Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory ServicesRetail food facility licensing · Food employee certification recognition2 permits
• Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early LearningChild care certificates of compliance1 permit
• Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Bureau of Occupational and Industrial SafetyUniform Construction Code · Confirmation that Pennsylvania does not license contractors1 permit
• Pennsylvania Department of RevenueSales, use and hotel occupancy tax licenses · Business tax registration1 permit
• Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer ProtectionHome improvement contractor registration1 permit
• Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology, Bureau of Professional and Occupational AffairsCosmetology salon licensing · Individual practitioner licensing1 permit
• Pennsylvania State Board of Veterinary MedicineVeterinarian licensing · Biennial inspection of veterinary establishments1 permit

By industry

• All 10 industries we cover