Business licenses and permits in West Virginia

What applies everywhere in West Virginia

15 requirements are set by West Virginia 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. West Virginia Secretary of State — annual reports, the filing window and penaltiesWest Virginia Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
2. West Virginia Secretary of State — fee schedule for services and registrationWest Virginia Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
3. West Virginia Secretary of State form CD-1 — articles of incorporation, with filing instructions, fee waivers and expedite optionsWest Virginia Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
4. West Virginia State Tax Division — TSD-360, the Business Registration Certificate, $30 and permanentWest Virginia State Tax Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
5. 78 CSR 1 — child care centre licensing, up to a two-year termWest Virginia Department of Human Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
6. West Virginia Code of State Rules section 28-2-5 — the $90 annual contractor license feeWest Virginia Contractor Licensing Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
7. West Virginia Code section 30-42-3 — the $5,000 residential and $25,000 commercial contractor licensing thresholdsState of West Virginia · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
8. West Virginia Code section 16-2-16 — food handler permits, capped at $10 and valid statewideState of West Virginia · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
9. 64 CSR 51 appendix B — food manufacturing facility permit fees, banded by gross salesWest Virginia Bureau for Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
10. 64 CSR 30, Fees for Permits — repealed, leaving ordinary restaurant permit fees to local health departmentsState of West Virginia · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
11. West Virginia Division of Labor — HVAC technician certification feesWest Virginia Division of Labor · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
12. West Virginia Division of Labor — plumber certification feesWest Virginia Division of Labor · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
13. West Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists — salon license feesWest Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
14. West Virginia Code section 30-27-17 — salon licensing, covering both cosmetology and barbering, renewed annually by 1 JulyState of West Virginia · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
15. West Virginia Veterinary Practice Act and Rules — facility registration and inspection fees under 26 CSR 4 and 26 CSR 6West Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04

Which West Virginia city are you opening in?

• Huntington, WVHuntington runs a flat $20.00 General Business License (annual, July 1-June 30) alongside a genuine Business and Occupation (B&O) Privilege Tax — but the classification reaching restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, and food trucks ('Retailers, Restaurants, and Others') is currently taxed at 0% under a mayoral waiver confirmed on the City's own current B&O Tax Return form, effective September 13, 2021; Contracting remains taxed at 2%, and Service/All Other Business (the most plausible fit for childcare, fitness studios, auto repair, veterinary practices, and salons) at 0.5%. A separate $5.00-per-week City Service Fee (Article 772) applies to every worker in the city, higher than Charleston's $3.00. The food-permitting authority is the Cabell-Huntington Health Department — but unlike Charleston's KCHD, it publishes no fee schedule for its Food Service Establishment, Mobile/Temporary Food, or Daycare Facility permits on its program pages or application forms. The City's own Fee Schedule and its own codified Zoning Ordinance Article 1357 independently confirm a $75.00 Certificate of Occupancy and a $160.00 Conditional Use/Special Permit fee — the latter specifically required for any day care facility located in a residential zoning district. A $50.00 City Mobile Food Vendor Permit applies on top of the Health Department's own separate food-truck permit. Sign permits are priced ($5.00 under 100 sq ft, $10.00 at or above). The City's Fee Schedule lists no additional local license for auto repair, veterinary practices, fitness studios, or — unlike Charleston's 1938-era barber ordinance — salons.20 published records
• Morgantown, WVMorgantown runs a flat $20.00 Municipal Business License (fiscal year, expires June 30) alongside a Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax and a separate Municipal Service Fee on every worker in the city; the City's only documents stating either dollar figure (its Annual/Quarterly/By-the-Job B&O Tax Return forms) are published as scanned, image-only PDFs, so neither rate is stated here. A Certificate of Occupancy is $65.00 (Development Services), plus a separate $50.00 Fire Marshal Certificate of Occupancy Inspection fee — the Fire Marshal's Division publishes an itemized fee table including a construction-value-based Fire and Life Safety Plan Review formula. A Zoning Verification Letter is $60.00/hour with a $15.00 minimum; the City's own Plan Review and Permitting Fee Schedule (effective September 16, 2026) lists that figure and separately prices a Sign Permit's zoning review at $20.00, a Conditional Use Application at $150.00, and a Variance Application at $150.00. The real food-permitting authority is the Monongalia County Health Department (monchd.org), whose own current fee schedule prices a Food Establishment Permit banded by seating ($150.00-$600.00, plus a $250.00-$400.00 plan review fee and a $150.00 ABCC liquor add-on), a Mobile Food Unit ($150.00 plan review plus $150.00 permit), and — a genuine, clearly priced local childcare fee — a Child Care Center inspection banded by enrollment ($72.00/$150.00/$222.00). A distinctive local food-truck layer prices a Downtown Vending parking permit at $14.00/night ($13.00/night for three-plus consecutive nights) through the Morgantown Parking Authority, layered on top of the City's own general business license and the County's own Mobile Food Unit permit. No additional local license for auto repair, veterinary practices, fitness studios or salons is recorded here beyond the general licensing and tax layer.19 published records
• Charleston, WVWest Virginia's state capital runs both a flat $20.00 General Business License (Charleston City Code § 18-31, confirmed by the City's own current Business Registration Application) and a genuine, broadly-worded Business and Occupation (B&O) Privilege Tax on gross income/proceeds, filed quarterly, with a fourteen-classification rate table (Retailers 0.5%, Service/All Other Businesses 1%, Contracting 2%, and eleven others) reprinted in the City's own current New Business Handbook — plus a separate $3.00-per-week City Service Fee on every employee and self-employed individual working in the city. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (KCHD) — confirmed under that exact joint city-county name on its own fee-schedule letterhead and inside Charleston's own codified vending ordinance — is the real food-permitting and daycare-facility-permitting authority, pricing Food Service Establishment permits from $125 (0-20 seats) to $500 (81+ seats), a $125 Mobile Food Permit, and Daycare Facility permits from $60 (7-12 children) to $185 (26+ children). Food trucks separately need a City Collector-issued Vending Permit ($20/year plus a $15 returned-check fee, $1,000,000 liability insurance for street vendors) under Charleston City Code § 18-1037. A genuine 1938-era Barbers and Beauticians ordinance prices a $2.00 individual license and a $20.00 shop/school license, both expiring June 30 annually. The City's own current Zoning Ordinance prices a uniform $125.00 filing fee across Conditional Use Permits, rezonings, text amendments, variances, and administrative appeals alike, but states no dollar figure for sign permits or its own zoning 'Certificate of Compliance' (both deferred to a separate Schedule of Fees kept on file with the Planning Department), and the Building Department's own Administrative Manual is published only as a non-searchable scanned PDF, so no standard building-permit, certificate-of-occupancy, or contractor-registration dollar figure is published in searchable form. Chapter 54's own Fire Protection Service Charge prices commercial buildings from $42 to $12,643 by square footage. Auto repair shops, veterinary practices and fitness studios meet the general licensing and tax layer recorded here.18 published records

Is there a single West Virginia business license?

Who issues permits in West Virginia?

• West Virginia Secretary of State, Business and Licensing DivisionEntity formation · Annual reports3 permits
• West Virginia State Tax DivisionBusiness registration certificates · Sales and use tax3 permits
• West Virginia Bureau for Public HealthFood safety rules · Food manufacturing facility permits2 permits
• West Virginia Division of LaborPlumber and HVAC certification2 permits
• West Virginia Board of Barbers and CosmetologistsSalon licensing1 permit
• West Virginia Board of Veterinary MedicineVeterinary facility registration · Veterinarian licensing1 permit
• West Virginia Contractor Licensing BoardGeneral and specialty contractor licensing1 permit
• West Virginia Department of Human ServicesChild care centre licensing1 permit
• West Virginia State Fire Marshal's OfficeElectrical contractor and electrician licensing1 permit

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