My plan

Starting a business in Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth's official pages reviewed do not describe a general city business license; the Tarrant County Clerk notes that an assumed name is not a business license and to check with your city. What Fort Worth does require is a Certificate of Occupancy for any building used or occupied in the city, an annual Consumer Health food establishment permit for food businesses, and annual contractor registration for anyone pulling building, mechanical, plumbing or electrical permits. Unincorporated businesses using an assumed name file with the Tarrant County Clerk. Since July 1, 2026, food trucks are licensed by the Texas Department of State Health Services, not the city.

Every item checked November 6, 2026 against the linked official source. Fees are shown only where an official source documents them, and they’re paid directly to the agency listed — FirstBizGuide isn’t a government agency and doesn’t charge fees or file applications. Not legal advice.

About your business (choose all that apply)

  • Register your business

    • File a Certificate of Formation (Form 205 for an LLC, Form 201 for a for-profit corporation); the filing fee is $300 for either. File online through SOSPortal for faster processing, or by mail or in person in Austin. Reserving a name first is optional ($40 for 120 days). [source] [source]

      • Certificate of Formation (LLC or for-profit corporation): $300 [source]

      Agency: Texas Secretary of State

    • Sole proprietors and general partnerships file with the county clerk in each county where they keep a business office. LLCs and corporations file with the Texas Secretary of State instead ($25, Form 503) and no longer need a county filing. A certificate lasts up to 10 years and must be refiled to keep using the name; it does not stop others from using the same name. Texas has no general state business license; this registration fills that role. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: County clerk (sole proprietors) or Texas Secretary of State (LLCs and corporations)

    • The IRS issues EINs free. Sites that charge for this are third parties. [source]

      Agency: Internal Revenue Service

  • State and city tax licenses

    • Required if you sell or lease tangible personal property or sell taxable services in Texas. There is no fee, but the Comptroller may require a security bond. Apply online through eSystems and allow 2–3 weeks for the permit. You need a permit for each active place of business. [source] [source]

      Agency: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

    • LLCs and other taxable entities organized or doing business in Texas file an annual franchise tax report, due May 15. For 2026 and 2027 reports the no-tax-due threshold is $2,650,000 in revenue; at or below it you still file a Public Information Report or Ownership Information Report. Sole proprietorships that aren't legally organized to limit liability are not taxable entities. [source] [source]

      Agency: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

  • If you hire employees

    • Register on TWC's free online Unemployment Tax Registration system within 10 days of becoming liable, generally once you pay $1,500 in wages in a calendar quarter or have an employee in 20 different weeks of a year. Then file quarterly wage reports electronically, report each new or rehired employee to the Texas Attorney General's New Hire Reporting center within 20 days, and display the required workplace posters. [source] [source]

      Agency: Texas Workforce Commission

  • Industry licenses

    • Texas has no statewide license for general contractors or roofers. Specific trades are licensed: electrical work and electrical contractors, and air conditioning, refrigeration and heating contractors, by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR); plumbing by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. Your city may still require contractor registration or permits. [source] [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: TDLR and Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners

  • Food businesses

    • Cities and counties with their own health department permit and inspect fixed and temporary food establishments; DSHS covers the rest of the state. Mobile food vendors (food trucks) are different: since July 1, 2026, DSHS is solely responsible for licensing them statewide, and local mobile food permits no longer apply. Ask your city or county which agency covers a fixed location. [source] [source]

      Agency: Local health department or Texas DSHS

    • Cottage food operations can sell from home up to $150,000 in annual gross income, directly to consumers or through farmers' markets, farm stands and retail stores, with no local license or permit. You must complete a food handler course and label products with the required home-production statement. Registration with DSHS is required only for time- and temperature-controlled foods and for some resellers. [source]

      Agency: Texas DSHS

    • Fort Worth's small business guide says to get Food Manager and Food Handler certifications, your sales tax permit and any assumed name first, then get your Certificate of Occupancy (an "Occupancy Existing Ordinance" CO for a former restaurant, or an "Occupancy Change of Use" permit with plan review if the space wasn't a restaurant), and schedule food inspections for the health permit through Environmental Services. The Consumer Health fee schedule (effective October 1, 2026, revised 9/14/2026) sets the Food Establishment Annual Permit Fee by annual gross sales: $258 ($0-$49,999.99), $515 ($50,000-$149,999.99) or $773 ($150,000 or more). Plan review is $175-$525 by square footage, re-inspection after a closure is $200, a pre-permit request for services is $150, and a $100 re-issuance fee applies to permits paid after expiration. Note: the Consumer Health fee web page still shows an older Fiscal Year 2020 schedule; use the October 2026 schedule. Consumer Health: 817-392-7255, [email protected]. [source] [source] [source]

      • Fort Worth food establishment annual permit (annual gross sales under $50,000): $258 per year [source]

      Agency: City of Fort Worth Environmental Services, Consumer Health

    • Fort Worth Consumer Health says "Beginning July 1, 2026, all mobile food vendors must be licensed with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to operate" and that vendors operating in Fort Worth get the permit from the state, not the City of Fort Worth. Apply through the DSHS Online Licensing Services portal. The city's page doesn't describe remaining city fire, zoning or location rules for food trucks, so ask Consumer Health (817-392-7255, [email protected]) and the Fire Department before operating. The mobile food unit and push cart permit fees on the older Fiscal Year 2020 Consumer Health fee page no longer apply. [source] [source]

      Agency: Texas DSHS / City of Fort Worth Consumer Health

  • Business name

    • File with the County Clerk in the county where you do business; since September 1, 2019 corporations, LLCs and similar entities file with the Texas Secretary of State instead. Every person listed must sign. You can start an unincorporated application online at countyfusion.tarrantcounty.com, but you must appear in person (downtown or at a Tarrant County subcourthouse) to sign and pay; if more than one person is listed, all must be present at the same time, or signatures must be notarized. The clerk acknowledges signatures with a valid photo ID (driver's license, state ID, U.S. passport or military ID). By mail, send the notarized application with original signatures, a check or money order payable to "Mary Louise Nicholson, County Clerk," and a self-addressed stamped envelope to Tarrant County Clerk, Assumed Names, 200 Taylor Street, Suite 301, Fort Worth, Texas 76196. File each assumed name separately. The clerk's fee schedule (effective September 1, 2024) lists $24.00 for one owner plus $0.50 per additional owner (no charge for military veterans), $6.00 for each additional assumed name certificate and $10.00 per name search; confirm before filing. The clerk also reminds new business owners to set up an account with the Tarrant Appraisal District. Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; county operator 817-884-1111. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: Tarrant County Clerk

  • Zoning and home businesses

    • Fort Worth says "Any building used or occupied in Fort Worth must have a Certificate of Occupancy"; one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses fall under the International Residential Code instead. The city's small business guide says every business with a physical location in Fort Worth requires a CO. If a different type of business moves into the space, apply for an "Occupancy Change of Use" permit in Accela Citizen Access (under Building Permits), with or without remodeling; it goes through building and zoning plan review, and other departments may inspect depending on the use. If only the owner or tenant changes and the use stays the same, request an "Occupancy Existing Ordinance" CO online in Accela or at the City Hall 5th Floor Customer Center, with documentation of the existing use (such as a CO dated after July 2001, old permits, or tax or business records from the last five years). Inspections can be scheduled as early as the next business day after approval, and the CO is emailed the business day after final approval. Restaurants also need food (Environmental Services), fire, backflow and grease trap permits or inspections. Fees are on the Development Services fee schedule (not listed on the page). Development Services: 817-392-2222. [source] [source]

      Agency: City of Fort Worth Development Services

    • Fort Worth's zoning ordinance (as published in the city's online code, last amended by Ord. 25380-03-2022) lets home occupations operate inside the dwelling, an attached garage or one accessory building, with residents plus one additional employee (up to five with City Council approval). No direct retail sales to the general public (orders may be filled by prior invitation or if placed by phone, mail, internet or off-site sales parties; cottage food may be sold directly to consumers); no on-site advertising visible from the street or off-site ads giving the street address; no exterior changes, window displays, or equipment visible from the street; traffic and parking must stay reasonable for the neighborhood; and no noise, odor, dust, vibration or glare beyond the property line. Outdoor activities must be in the rear yard, out of street view, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Auto, boat, motorcycle or trailer repair, detail, paint and body shops are prohibited. The section reviewed doesn't describe a home occupation permit. Under HB 2464 (2025), Texas cities may not prohibit or require a license or permit for a "no-impact" home-based business (within occupancy limits, no on-street parking or significant traffic, nothing visible from the street, no meaningful added noise), though they can still enforce fire, building, health and noise rules; confirm with Development Services how Fort Worth applies its standards now. [source] [source]

      Agency: City of Fort Worth Development Services

  • City licenses

    • "Any firm, business, individual or organization obtaining a permit" for building, mechanical, plumbing or electrical work must have a valid Contractor Registration on file (homeowners working on their own homestead are exempt). Building registration needs the application and a valid driver's license; mechanical, electrical and plumbing need the matching Texas license (A/C and refrigeration, electrical contractor, or Master Plumber/Irrigator); illuminated sign contractors need a Texas Master Electrical Sign Contractor license. Parkway and utility work in the right-of-way needs a bond ($25,000 commercial/utility, $10,000 residential) and liability insurance naming the City as additional insured. The page lists fees of $168.75 for building, plumbing, irrigator, sign, moving and wrecking contractors, $562.50 for parkway and utility contractors, and $60 to change the master or registered official; the page is undated, so confirm current amounts. Registration expires one year from issuance. Download the contractor registration application from the page; Development Services: 817-392-2222. [source]

      Agency: City of Fort Worth Development Services

Not yet verified for Fort Worth: No official City of Fort Worth page reviewed states outright whether the city has a general business license (the city's small business guide doesn't address it; the Tarrant County Clerk says only that an assumed name is not a business license); Certificate of Occupancy and change-of-use fees (on the Development Services fee schedule, not reviewed); Whether Fort Worth still applies its home occupation standards (2022 code text) to no-impact home businesses after HB 2464, and whether any home occupation registration exists; Current Tarrant County assumed name fees (the fee schedule reviewed is effective September 1, 2024) and the certificate term (not stated on the clerk's page); Fort Worth contractor registration fees (stated on an undated page); City fire, zoning and location rules that still apply to food trucks after July 1, 2026, and Texas DSHS mobile food vendor license fees; Fort Worth fire permit, backflow and grease trap permit requirements and fees for restaurants (listed in the small business guide but not reviewed); Sign permit and alcohol-related city requirements and fees.
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Sources