12 permits · verified 2026-09-09
What permits do you need to open a retail store in Salt Lake City?
In short
A retail store in Salt Lake City, UT has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 6 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Salt Lake City Finance Department, Business Licensing Division charges $60 annual, in addition to the base license and employee fees for the business license add-on — retail/wholesale sales. 5 of the 12 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-09 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a retail store in Salt Lake City
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sign Permit | City of Salt Lake City, Department of Community and Neighborhoods, Building Services Division | Priced on the same valuation-based Building Permit Fee Schedule as the general building permit, plus a plan-checking fee of $0.15 per dollar of the calculated building permit fee (roughly a 15% surcharge) and a $17 inspection tag fee per inspection. | one-time, per sign | 2026-09-09 |
| Business License Add-On — Retail/Wholesale Sales | City of Salt Lake City Finance Department, Business Licensing Division | $60 annual, in addition to the base license and employee fees | annual (renewal cycle not stated in the published fee schedule) | 2026-09-09 |
| Retail Food Establishment Registration (grocery, processor or warehouse)only if it applies to you | Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Regulatory Services Division | $100–$1,250 banded by the size and type of the facility | set by the registration cycle | 2026-09-04 |
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 Salt Lake City
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Business License | City of Salt Lake City Finance Department, Business Licensing Division | Varies — formula on the Salt Lake City page | annual (renewal cycle not stated in the published fee schedule) | 2026-09-09 |
| Zoning Verification Letteronly if it applies to you | City of Salt Lake City, Planning Division | Varies — formula on the Salt Lake City page | one-time, no stated expiration | 2026-09-09 |
| Building Permit (Commercial) | City of Salt Lake City, Department of Community and Neighborhoods, Building Services Division | Varies — formula on the Salt Lake City page | one-time, per project | 2026-09-09 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Salt Lake City, Department of Community and Neighborhoods, Building Services Division | No fee | one-time, no expiration | 2026-09-09 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
UT registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and Use Tax License | Utah State Tax Commission | No fee | ongoing — no fixed expiration, with a filing frequency the state assigns and can revisit | 2026-09-04 |
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code | $59 one-time filing | perpetual, but a renewal is due every year | 2026-09-04 |
| Certificate of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code | $59 one-time filing | perpetual, but a renewal is due every year | 2026-09-04 |
| General Business License — Utah State Position (Entity Registration)only if it applies to you | Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code | No fee | set by the city or county | 2026-09-04 |
| Annual Renewalonly if it applies to you | Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code | $18 a year; a late renewal adds $10 | annual — due in the calendar month tied to the entity's own formation anniversary | 2026-09-04 |
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 retail store in Salt Lake City?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 12 records listed for a retail store in Salt Lake City, UT, 6 apply to every business of this type and 6 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 6 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $60.00. That is a floor, not a total. 5 of the 12 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:
Sign Permit: Priced on the same valuation-based Building Permit Fee Schedule as the general building permit, plus a plan-checking fee of $0.15 per dollar of the calculated building permit fee (roughly a 15% surcharge) and a $17 inspection tag fee per inspection.
Retail Food Establishment Registration (grocery, processor or warehouse): $100–$1,250 banded by the size and type of the facility
The other 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Salt Lake City permits page and the UT state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Salt Lake City?
Permits for a retail store in Salt Lake City, UT come from 6 separate offices: City of Salt Lake City Finance Department, Business Licensing Division, City of Salt Lake City, Department of Community and Neighborhoods, Building Services Division, City of Salt Lake City, Planning Division, Utah State Tax Commission, Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Regulatory Services Division. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- City of Salt Lake City Finance Department, Business Licensing DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: General Business License, Business License Add-On — Retail/Wholesale Sales451 South State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 · (801) 535-6644www.slc.gov/Finance/business-licensing
- City of Salt Lake City, Department of Community and Neighborhoods, Building Services DivisionIssues 3 permits on this page: Sign Permit, Building Permit (Commercial), Certificate of Occupancy451 South State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 · (801) 535-6000www.slc.gov/buildingservices/building-permits
- City of Salt Lake City, Planning DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Zoning Verification Letter451 South State Street, Room 406, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 · (801) 535-7757www.slc.gov/planning/zoning
- Utah State Tax CommissionIssues 1 permit on this page: Sales and Use Tax License210 North 1950 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84134 · (801) 297-2200tax.utah.gov
- Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial CodeIssues 4 permits on this page: Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Organization (LLC), General Business License — Utah State Position (Entity Registration), Annual Renewal160 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 · (801) 530-4849corporations.utah.gov
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Regulatory Services DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Retail Food Establishment Registration (grocery, processor or warehouse)4315 South 2700 West, Taylorsville, UT 84129 · (385) 332-1499ag.utah.gov/regulatory-services/retail-food-regulatory-program
What does a retail store need in Salt Lake City that other businesses do not?
2 of the 3 permits particular to a retail store here apply to no other business type we cover in Salt Lake City: Business License Add-On — Retail/Wholesale Sales and Retail Food Establishment Registration (grocery, processor or warehouse).
Sign Permit
Per the Consolidated Fee Schedule (amended 06/16/2026), a sign permit is priced on the adopted Building Permit Fee Schedule plus a $0.15 plan-checking fee per dollar of building permit value and a $17 inspection tag. Starting work before the permit is issued can double the fee, per the same code section. Available as a fillable form on the Building Services applications-forms page.
Business License Add-On — Retail/Wholesale Sales
Risen from $59 before September 2026. This is the generic retail category; a handful of specific retail lines carry their own separate, differently-priced category instead (for example, Clothing Sales is priced at $128) — confirm with Business Licensing (801-535-6644) whether a specific line of retail trade has its own named schedule entry.
Retail Food Establishment Registration (grocery, processor or warehouse)
This is the state's own registration, and it applies only to a grocery, a food processor or a warehouse — never to a restaurant. The fee runs in five bands by size and function, from $100 for a cottage operation up to $1,250 for a large processor or grocer. Anything serving food for immediate consumption is licensed instead by a local health department under a different fee entirely — see the food service permit record.
The other 4 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Salt Lake City, UT; what each one involves is set out on the Salt Lake City permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across UT and are covered on the UT state page.
How does a retail store compare with other businesses in Salt Lake City?
The closest match is a fitness studio, which shares 1 of these permits. A retail store also needs Business License Add-On — Retail/Wholesale Sales and Retail Food Establishment Registration (grocery, processor or warehouse). A fitness studio needs Fitness Studio Business License — City Fee Schedule Position (Salt Lake City), which a retail store does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a retail store | Only a retail store needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitness studios | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Salons and barbers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Veterinary clinics | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Auto repair shops | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Coffee shops | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Restaurants | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Childcare centres | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Contractors and trades | 5 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Food trucks | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
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 Salt Lake City permits page and the UT state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Salt Lake City Consolidated Fee Schedule, Amended 06/16/2026 by Ordinance 2026-29 (business license columns 'Effective Sept '26') — business licensing, building/electrical/plumbing/sign permit, zoning and fire fee tablesCity of Salt Lake City · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food — fee schedule, retail food establishment registration by size tierUtah Department of Agriculture and Food · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food — retail food regulatory program, splitting jurisdiction between the state and local health departmentsUtah Department of Agriculture and Food · 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.