When determining what licenses and permits are required for your specific business, it is essential to determine what federal, state; county and city requirements must be met. This information should be obtained very early in the research process to determine if a particular type of business is allowable in the area you are considering.

Most every person, firm, company, corporation or association engaged in any business, vocation, occupation or profession must obtain a state license, as well as a county license when required.

Title 40-12, Code of Alabama, 1975 covers state license requirements. Additionally municipalities issue business licenses to do business within their limits. Authority of municipalities is covered in Title 11-51, Code of Alabama, 1975.

Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Market Information Division, maintains a website on the “Alabama Comprehensive Labor Market Information System (ACLMIS) that provides detailed information for all Alabama Occupational Licenses.

Go to www2.dir.state.al.us/vlmi and click on Occupations. The next screen will provide access to Occupational License Information.

The Alabama League of Municipalities provides a listing of the professions that municipal clerks must verify the possession of a state license before they may issue a local license. http://www.alalm.org/State%20Licensing%20Requirements.html

Any questions concerning privilege license laws or store license laws should be directed to:

Alabama Department Of Revenue
Sales, Use, and Business Tax Division
50 North Ripley St.
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 353-7827

On the following page is a reference list of agencies and their phone numbers that you can contact to obtain specific information on permits and regulations relating to your particular business.

In addition to this list, it is recommended that entrepreneurs engage the help of a lawyer, preferably a lawyer familiar with the process of starting new businesses. The legal counsel could prove to be invaluable in determining the proper licenses and permits that will be required.