North Dakota Business License Requirements for an LLC

A North Dakota business license gives your Limited Liability Company (LLC) permission to operate in a certain location or within a specific industry.

We can’t walk you through any applicable license applications step-by-step, because every business is unique. But we do provide helpful resources like:

• information about state licensing rules
• instructions for researching municipal licenses

And if you want to just hire a company to do the research for you, we have a recommendation below.

North Dakota Business License Requirements

After you form a North Dakota LLC, you may need to obtain a business license or permit.

Your requirements are determined by the industry you are in and where your North Dakota Limited Liability Company is located.

Because of the large number of industries and all of the municipalities in North Dakota, it’s not possible for us to explain them all. However, you can use the search tools below, call your local municipality, or hire a company for help.

How to get a Business License in North Dakota

You can obtain a business license in North Dakota by applying with the relevant licensing or regulatory agency. The agency you apply with will depend on where your business is located and what business activities it engages in.

The business license application typically requires basic information, such as your LLC name, EIN Number, business address, and contact information. Many also include a questionnaire that asks about your business activity.

There are three main licensing jurisdictions:

• State licensing
• Local licensing, such as county, city, township, etc.
• Federal licensing

Does North Dakota Require a Business License?

That depends on where your business is located, and what it does.

There are two types of state-level business licenses:

• a general business license
• and an occupational license

North Dakota General Business License

Some states have a general license requirement, which means all businesses operating in those states must have the license, regardless of what they do.

But good news: North Dakota doesn’t require a general license to do business in the state.

Meaning, your North Dakota LLC doesn’t need a general state business license. But depending on what type of business you run, your LLC might need an occupational license (aka “industry-specific license”).

North Dakota Occupational License

Most states have occupational business license requirements. This means a license or permit may be required depending on what your business does or what your occupation is. For example, if you sell used cars, or run a hair salon, you may need an occupational business license. But a license may not be required for other types of businesses.

How to Start: Figure out who issues the license you need. Occupational licenses (industry-specific licenses) are issued by three divisions of the North Dakota government: the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and specific professional licensing boards. This ND.gov Business Licensing page lists which licenses are handled
by which department.

If your LLC needs a license from the Secretary of State, select the industry or occupation from the menu on their Business Services page.

If your LLC needs a license from the North Dakota Attorney General, check out their Licensing page.

If your LLC’s business needs a license from an Occupational License Board, you can review the list of all North Dakota Occupational Licensing Boards to help you determine if your North Dakota business needs an occupational license or permit, and which agency to contact about applying for the license.

North Dakota State University has compiled a list of license applications, forms and other documents that are required for various business licenses: Business Reports, Forms and Licenses Required in the State of North Dakota. You should review this list to see if your LLC needs a license, or needs to submit other reports to the state.

How much is a North Dakota Business License?

North Dakota doesn’t have a general business license at the state level, so there are no fees there.

However, your business may need a state-level occupational license or municipal-level license or permit to operate. The filing fee for these licenses will vary depending on where you’re doing business and what industry you’re in. To be honest, we can’t predict your specific North Dakota business license cost.

For example, licenses issued by a county that contains a large city are usually more expensive than licenses in less populated, rural counties. And licenses for regulated industries, like child care facilities, are usually more expensive than generic business licenses.

But your LLC might not need a license or permit at all. So your North Dakota business license cost could be $0.

See LLC Cost in North Dakota to learn about all the possible LLC fees.

Municipal Business License

Municipal business licenses can be issued by the city, town, county, parish, township, borough, etc. We refer to all of these as a “municipality” to keep things simple.

There are two types of municipal business licenses:

• general business license
• industry-specific license

For example, if a municipality has a general business license requirement, all businesses operating in that municipality must have the license, regardless of what they do.

And if a municipality has industry-specific business licenses, a license or permit may be required depending on what your business does. For example, if you operate a food truck, or run a daycare, you may need an industry-specific municipal business license. Or if you’re purchasing or leasing real estate, you may need a zoning permit.

But a license may not be required for other types of businesses, like making wedding invitation templates or offering marketing consulting.

You can contact your municipality to check on their local licensing requirements:

• North Dakota Association of Counties: County Contact Information
• ND.gov: City Website List

North Dakota Sales Tax License

If you sell products to consumers in North Dakota, you may need to collect sales tax and file a Sales and Use Tax Return.

If your business activities are subject to sales and use tax, your LLC must register with the Office of the State Tax Commissioner. You can register for a sales tax license online using ND Taxpayer Access Point.

Note: This requirement will apply whether you sell products online or in a physical location in North Dakota.

For additional information about the Sales Tax License, check out these resources from the State Tax Commissioner:

• Starting a New Business
• Tax Guidelines
  • select Sales and Use Tax, then click your industry/occupation to download a PDF
• Sales and Use Tax

Do I need any federal business licenses?

Most businesses in North Dakota don’t need a federal business license. However, certain industries do need federal licenses:

Check out the Small Business Administration’s Licenses and Permits page for a full list of industries with federal license requirements.

If your business isn’t one of these special cases, then the only federal requirements are that your LLC get a North Dakota EIN Number (aka Federal Employer Identification Number) and that you file taxes.

North Dakota Business License FAQs

Matt Horwitz

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz is the leading expert on LLC education, and has been teaching for 15 years. He founded LLC University in 2010 after realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to start an LLC. He's cited by Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and the US Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.
 
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.