24 published records
Business licenses and permits in Salt Lake County, Utah
Salt Lake County, seat Salt Lake City, stacks three different jurisdictional footprints under one county name. The Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District (MSD) runs business licensing, building permits, plan check, zoning/land-use permitting, and alcohol-consent-fee collection 'on behalf of and under the direction of Salt Lake County,' but only for unincorporated Salt Lake County plus six contracting municipalities: Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City. The county's other 17 incorporated municipalities — Alta, Bluffdale, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Herriman, Holladay, Midvale, Millcreek, Murray, Riverton, Sandy, Salt Lake City, South Jordan, South Salt Lake, Taylorsville, West Jordan, and West Valley City — each run their own business-license, building, and zoning regime that stands in place of MSD's within that city's own limits. The Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD), by contrast, is genuinely county-wide, reaching all 23 municipalities and the unincorporated area alike under Utah Code §26A-1-103. Salt Lake County Animal Services runs a third, different footprint again: the same six MSD municipalities plus Bluffdale, Holladay, Midvale, Millcreek, Murray, and Salt Lake City — Sandy, West Jordan, Draper, Taylorsville, West Valley City, Riverton, Herriman, Cottonwood Heights, South Jordan, South Salt Lake, and Alta are outside its coverage and rely on their own city's animal control instead.
What are you opening in Salt Lake County?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Salt Lake County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Business License — Home-Based, With On-Site Visitors or Customersonly if it applies to you | Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Planning & Development Services | $150 a year (12-month license term) | 12 months | 2026-09-30 |
| Building Permitonly if it applies to you | Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Planning & Development Services | Valuation-based, minimum $70.00 for work valued at $2,000 or less, scaling up through the fee table to $6,531.00 for the first $1,000,000 of valuation plus $4.50 for each additional $1,000 beyond $1,000,001. A 1% state surcharge applies on top of the building-permit fee. A single mechanical, plumbing, or electrical system with one on-site inspection is $70.00, plus $20.00 for each additional appliance or fixture. Per the FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County, adopted and effective September 22, 2026. | one-time, per permit | 2026-09-30 |
| Plan Check Feeonly if it applies to you | Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Planning & Development Services | 40% of the building permit fee for residential work; 65% for commercial work and for any parcel in a Foothills & Canyons Overlay Zone. A flat $150.00 fee applies to smaller projects (this tier also includes residential solar plan check). An hourly rate of $80.00 per hour applies where neither tier fits. Per the FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County, adopted and effective September 22, 2026. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-30 |
| Site Plan Reviewonly if it applies to you | Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Planning & Development Services | $990.00 for a parcel under 3 acres; $1,640.00 for a parcel of 3 acres or more. Per the FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County, adopted and effective September 22, 2026. | one-time, per application | 2026-09-30 |
| General Business License — Commercial Location | Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Planning & Development Services | $150 a year (12-month license term) | 12 months | 2026-09-30 |
| General Business License — Home-Based, No On-Site Visitors or Customersonly if it applies to you | Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Planning & Development Services | No fee | 12 months | 2026-09-30 |
| General Business License — Per-Employee Feeonly if it applies to you | Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Planning & Development Services | $6 per employee, billed alongside the base license fee | coincides with the 12-month business-license term | 2026-09-30 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in Salt Lake County?
General Business License — Home-Based, With On-Site Visitors or Customers
A home-based business in the MSD footprint (unincorporated Salt Lake County plus Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City) that receives on-site visitors or customers pays the same $150.00 annual fee as a commercial-location license, per the FY2027 Fee Schedule, adopted and effective September 22, 2026 — a higher tier than the no-visitors tier listed separately here. This split tracks Utah Code §17-53-216(5)(a), which bars a county from charging a home-based-business fee unless the combined offsite impact of the home business and the residential use materially exceeds the residential use alone; MSD treats a business that draws visiting traffic as clearing that bar. Outside the MSD footprint, each of the county's other 17 municipalities sets its own home-based-business rule.
Building Permit
Any of the ten covered industries building, remodeling, or doing mechanical/plumbing/electrical work in the MSD footprint (unincorporated Salt Lake County plus Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City) needs a building permit from MSD, priced by declared construction valuation from a $70.00 minimum up through the FY2027 Fee Schedule's table, plus a 1% state surcharge. The county's own code index names Title 15 as 'Buildings and Construction,' the authority cited here; the specific chapter that adopts the state construction code within Title 15 is not published in that index and is not cited here. Outside the MSD footprint, each of the county's other 17 municipalities issues its own building permit.
Plan Check Fee
Alongside the building permit fee listed separately here, MSD charges a plan check fee in the MSD footprint (unincorporated Salt Lake County plus Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City) equal to 40% of the building permit fee for residential work or 65% for commercial work and for any parcel in a Foothills & Canyons Overlay Zone, a flat $150.00 for smaller projects (including residential solar plan check), or $80.00 per hour where neither tier fits, per the FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County, adopted and effective September 22, 2026. Outside the MSD footprint, each of the county's other 17 municipalities runs its own plan-check process.
Site Plan Review
Any of the ten covered industries siting a new development in the MSD footprint (unincorporated Salt Lake County plus Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City) pays $990.00 for a Site Plan Review on a parcel under 3 acres, or $1,640.00 for a parcel of 3 acres or more, per the FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County, adopted and effective September 22, 2026. The county's own code index lists 'Title 19. ZONING' as a title name, consistent with the fee schedule's own cross-reference to §19.94.070 for zoning civil penalties. Outside the MSD footprint, each of the county's other 17 municipalities runs its own site-plan-review process.
General Business License — Commercial Location
Any of the ten covered industries operating from a commercial location needs this license, priced at $150.00 for a 12-month term, per the FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County, adopted and effective September 22, 2026. This requirement reaches only the MSD footprint — unincorporated Salt Lake County plus Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City, the six municipalities that contract with the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District for business licensing. The county's other 17 incorporated municipalities issue their own business license instead. Late renewal adds no penalty within 30 days, 25% of the fee at 31-60 days, and 100% beyond 60 days; a withdrawn application is charged 25% of the fee. A separate per-employee fee and, for a home-based operation, a different fee tier, are listed elsewhere here.
General Business License — Home-Based, No On-Site Visitors or Customers
MSD charges no fee for a home-based business in its footprint (unincorporated Salt Lake County plus Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City) that receives no on-site visitors or customers, per the FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County, adopted and effective September 22, 2026. Utah Code §17-53-216(5)(a) bars the county from charging any home-based-business fee unless the combined offsite impact of the home business and the residential use materially exceeds the residential use alone, and MSD's own fee table implements that limit by setting this tier's charge at zero. Once the business begins receiving visitors or customers on-site, the $150.00 fee listed separately here applies instead. Outside the MSD footprint, each of the county's other 17 municipalities sets its own home-based-business rule.
General Business License — Per-Employee Fee
On top of the base business-license fee, MSD bills $6.00 per employee for any of the ten covered industries operating in the MSD footprint (unincorporated Salt Lake County plus Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City), per the FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County, adopted and effective September 22, 2026. This fee is billed with the general commercial or home-based (with-visitors) license listed elsewhere here, scaling with headcount at the time of application or renewal. Outside the MSD footprint, each of the county's other 17 municipalities sets its own employee-based or flat business-license fee structure.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- FY2027 Fee Schedule for Salt Lake County (Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District), adopted and effective September 22, 2026Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
- MSD — Starting a Business (states the MSD-municipality list and the 12-month license term)Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
- Utah Code §17-53-216, county business-licensing authority, including the home-based-business fee limit at §(5)(a)law.justia.com (Utah Code mirror) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
Who issues business permits in Salt Lake County?
Permitting in Salt Lake County is split across 3 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Salt Lake County issuing agencies
- Salt Lake County Health DepartmentCountywide — all 23 incorporated municipalities plus the unincorporated area, no exceptions. Governed by the Salt Lake County Board of Health under Utah Code §26A-1-103, which requires every Utah county to maintain a local health department that 'includes and serves all incorporated and unincorporated areas in the county.' · Runs food, mobile/temporary food, cosmetology, body art, massage, tanning, pool/spa, and vehicle-emissions inspection/maintenance permitting county-wide.12 permits
- Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Planning & Development ServicesBusiness licensing, building permits, plan check, and zoning/land-use permitting 'on behalf of and under the direction of Salt Lake County' — but only for unincorporated Salt Lake County plus six municipalities that contract with MSD for these services: Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, and White City. The county's other 17 incorporated municipalities run their own business-license, building, and zoning departments entirely outside this scope. · Collects the fee for the county's alcohol-related license/permit local-consent classifications (County Code Title 6, §6.10.040) within the same MSD footprint; actual consent is granted by the County Council for unincorporated territory, or by each city's own council elsewhere, per Utah Code §32B-1-102(71).10 permits
- Salt Lake County Animal ServicesA third, distinct footprint, different from both the MSD and SLCoHD footprints: the six MSD-contracting municipalities (Brighton, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, White City — the department's own pages still use the legacy term 'Metro Townships,' plus 'County Islands') plus Bluffdale, Holladay, Midvale, Millcreek, Murray, and Salt Lake City. · Sandy, West Jordan, Draper, Taylorsville, West Valley City, Riverton, Herriman, Cottonwood Heights, South Jordan, South Salt Lake, and Alta are outside this department's coverage; a business there uses its own city's animal control.2 permits
Other Utah jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.