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10 permits · verified 2026-09-14

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

In short

A contractor or trade in Aberdeen, SD has 2 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 8 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. South Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services charges $150 filed online; paper filing costs $165 for the articles of organization (llc). 3 of the 10 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-14 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a contractor or trade in Aberdeen

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Contractor Licenses by ClassCity of Aberdeen Building Inspection DepartmentBy class: a residential contractor license is $200.00 for a new license and $150.00 to renew, each covering three years. A sewer and water contractor license is $300.00 and requires a $10,000.00 bond. A sidewalk contractor license is $150.00. An excavation license is $210.00. A sign hanging license is $150.00 and requires a $10,000.00 bond.three years for a residential contractor license; as set by class for the others2026-09-14
Electrician or Electrical Contractor Licenseonly if it applies to youSouth Dakota Electrical Commission$80–$200 for the license itself, plus a $60 application fee — Electrical Contractor $200, Journeyman $802 years — every license expires June 30 of even-numbered years2026-09-04
General Contractor Licensing — Contractor's Excise Tax License Only (South Dakota)only if it applies to youSouth Dakota Department of RevenueNo feenot applicable2026-09-04
Plumbing Contractor or Plumber Licenseonly if it applies to youSouth Dakota Plumbing Commission$50 to apply, for either a Plumbing Contractor or a Plumber; a third-year apprentice applies for $20annual, with 16 hours of continuing education required every two years2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Aberdeen

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Commercial Building PermitCity of Aberdeen Building Inspection DepartmentVaries — formula on the Aberdeen pageas set in the adopted building code2026-09-14
General Business License — City of Aberdeen Positiononly if it applies to youCity of Aberdeen Finance OfficeNo feenot applicable to a general license2026-09-14

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

SD registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youSouth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services$150 filed online; paper filing costs $165perpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youSouth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services$150 filed online; paper filing costs $165perpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
Annual Reportonly if it applies to youSouth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services$55 a year filed online; paper filing costs $70annual — due the first day of the entity's anniversary month of formation2026-09-04
General Business License — State of South Dakota positiononly if it applies to youSouth Dakota Secretary of State, Business ServicesNo feenot applicable2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a contractor or trade in Aberdeen?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a contractor or trade in Aberdeen, SD, 2 apply to every business of this type and 8 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

3 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 3 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Contractor Licenses by Class: By class: a residential contractor license is $200.00 for a new license and $150.00 to renew, each covering three years. A sewer and water contractor license is $300.00 and requires a $10,000.00 bond. A sidewalk contractor license is $150.00. An excavation license is $210.00. A sign hanging license is $150.00 and requires a $10,000.00 bond.

Electrician or Electrical Contractor License: $80–$200 for the license itself, plus a $60 application fee — Electrical Contractor $200, Journeyman $80

The other 1 variable fee belongs to permits that apply to every type of business here; its formula is set out on the Aberdeen permits page and the SD state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Aberdeen?

Permits for a contractor or trade in Aberdeen, SD come from 6 separate offices: City of Aberdeen Building Inspection Department, City of Aberdeen Finance Office, South Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services, South Dakota Electrical Commission, South Dakota Department of Revenue, South Dakota Plumbing Commission. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a contractor or trade need in Aberdeen that other businesses do not?

4 of the 4 permits particular to a contractor or trade here apply to no other business type we cover in Aberdeen: Contractor Licenses by Class, Electrician or Electrical Contractor License, General Contractor Licensing — Contractor's Excise Tax License Only (South Dakota) and Plumbing Contractor or Plumber License.

Contractor Licenses by Class

Aberdeen licenses by the kind of work rather than by a single contractor category, so a firm doing several kinds holds several licenses — a contractor putting in a service line, pouring a walk and hanging a sign needs the sewer and water license at $300.00, the sidewalk license at $150.00 and the sign hanging license at $150.00, with $10,000.00 bonds on two of the three. The bonds are the part most likely to delay a start date, because they are secured from a surety rather than paid at a counter. The residential contractor license's three-year term matches Sioux Falls's triennial residential license and makes its effective annual cost modest. For the classes listed here, these municipal credentials are the licenses the City requires.

Electrician or Electrical Contractor License

An Electrical Contractor's $200 license costs two and a half times a Journeyman's $80, with the same $60 application fee layered onto either, all on a shared two-year cycle expiring across the state on the same June 30 date in even years.

General Contractor Licensing — Contractor's Excise Tax License Only (South Dakota)

No fee applies. Per the Department of Revenue's license-requirements tax fact, the state-level requirement touching a general contractor is the contractor's excise tax license, already recorded with this state's sales tax license: 'All contractors must be licensed regardless of the amount of the receipts they have or the amount of tax due,' and 'There is no fee for a sales or contractor's excise tax license.' Any competency-based contractor licensing that exists is set by individual cities and counties.

Plumbing Contractor or Plumber License

South Dakota licenses no separate HVAC or mechanical trade — only plumbing and electrical work carry their own state boards. The $50 figure here is the application fee specifically; the state's own application form indicates a further license-issuance fee applies once approved, but does not state that amount, so no additional figure is asserted.

The other 2 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Aberdeen, SD; what each one involves is set out on the Aberdeen permits page. The 4 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across SD and are covered on the SD state page.

How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Aberdeen?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs Contractor Licenses by Class, Electrician or Electrical Contractor License, General Contractor Licensing — Contractor's Excise Tax License Only (South Dakota) and Plumbing Contractor or Plumber License. A auto repair shop needs Auto Repair Shop Licensing — City of Aberdeen Position, Sign Permit and Auto Repair Shop — Dealer Licensing Covers Vehicle Sales Only (South Dakota), which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Aberdeen, SD, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops3043
Childcare centres2042
Coffee shops4044
Fitness studios2042
Food trucks3043
Restaurants4044
Retail stores3043
Salons and barbers4044
Veterinary clinics3043

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Aberdeen permits page and the SD state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Revised Ordinances of the City of Aberdeen — Chapter 14 (Businesses and Business Regulations, including Article II licence procedure, §14-128 home day care licences and §14-135 special exception), Chapter 12 (Buildings and Building Regulations, including contractor licensing and building permit fees), Chapter 42 (Signs), Chapter 60 (Zoning), Chapter 24 (Fire Prevention and Protection), Chapter 38 (Peddlers, Solicitors and Itinerant Merchants — §38-1 definitions, §38-29 transient and itinerant merchant applications and §38-34 fees) and §50-77 (municipal gross receipts tax)City of Aberdeen, codified by Municode · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
  2. Building Inspection — the department's own current page for building permits, contractor licensing by class, inspections and the permit fee basisCity of Aberdeen Building Inspection Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
  3. South Dakota Electrical Commission — license fee table and biennial expirationSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  4. South Dakota Department of Revenue — sales, use and contractor's excise tax licensing fact sheet, confirming no license feeSouth Dakota Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  5. South Dakota Plumbing Commission — plumbing contractor and plumber application feesSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.