My plan

Starting a business in Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Lake Havasu City requires a city business license, with an annual fee, before you do business in city limits; home-based businesses also file a Home Occupation Supplemental Application, and food trucks need a separate Mobile Food Vendor Business License for each unit. Taxable businesses add Lake Havasu City (code LH) to their ADOR TPT license; the city rate is 2.00%. Food businesses and food trucks are permitted by Mohave County Public Health Environmental Health.

Every item checked November 5, 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

    • Articles of Organization for an LLC: $50 regular or $85 expedited. Reserving a name first is optional ($10, or $45 expedited). Unless your statutory agent's street address is in Maricopa or Pima County, a notice of the filing must be published in a newspaper after approval. [source]

      • LLC Articles of Organization (regular): $50 [source]

      Agency: Arizona Corporation Commission

    • Optional. It records a business name publicly but does not give exclusive rights to it. Lasts 5 years; renew within the 6 months before it expires. [source]

      Agency: Arizona Secretary of State

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

      Agency: Internal Revenue Service

  • State and city tax licenses

    • Apply on AZTaxes.gov; the license number is issued the same day and the certificate is mailed in about 7–10 business days. Your city's tax license is handled through the same ADOR application. Exempt handymen generally don't need one. [source]

      Agency: Arizona Department of Revenue

    • Some businesses also need a Privilege Tax License, applied for through ADOR. ADOR's Lake Havasu City profile lists a $5.00 license fee and a $0.00 renewal fee. Rates: 2.00% retail and most classifications (since September 1, 1990); restaurants and bars 2.00% plus a 1.00% additional tax (3.00% total, since September 1, 1996); hotels 2.00% plus a 3.00% additional hotel/motel tax; use tax 2.00%. [source] [source]

      • Lake Havasu City tax license (via ADOR; ADOR lists a $0 renewal fee): $5 [source]

      Agency: Arizona Department of Revenue / Lake Havasu City

  • If you hire employees

    • Also required: workers' compensation insurance (paid entirely by the employer), reporting each new or rehired employee within 20 days, and E-Verify for all new employees. [source]

      Agency: ADOR and Arizona DES

  • Industry licenses

    • Generally required for construction work of $1,000 or more in labor and materials, or whenever a building permit is needed. Work under the exemption must be advertised as "not a licensed contractor." Lawn, garden, shrub and tree maintenance only is exempt. [source]

      Agency: Arizona Registrar of Contractors

  • Food businesses

    • Created by HB 2371 (2018): valid statewide, a separate license for each unit, renewed yearly; employees need food handler cards. Confirm current statute text, which may have been amended. [source]

      Agency: County health department

    • Submit a plan review application with a floor plan, intended menu and the plan review fee; construction may begin only after written (or conditional) approval. After construction, schedule a final construction inspection, then submit an Application to Operate with a lease agreement or mortgage statement, U.S. identification and the license fee; an opening inspection follows within 30 days of issuance. Taking over an existing establishment requires a paid consultation inspection, and plan review may still be required. All food workers need a Food Handler Card within 30 days of employment, and each establishment needs at least one Certified Food Protection Manager. The county's licensing time frame for plans is up to 90 days. The county Environmental Health fee schedule (effective June 1, 2026) lists permit fees such as $547 (Type I), $713 (Type II) and $849 (Type III) food service, $633 bar or tavern, $540 bakery or food processor, and $173 / $360 / $510 for packaged retail food by size (plus a technology fee, e.g. $562 / $728 / $864 total for Type I / II / III); the schedule does not state whether these are annual. Lake Havasu City office: (928) 453-0712; [email protected]. The city also requires the business license, and restaurants are prohibited as home occupations. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: Mohave County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health

    • City: a Mobile Food Vendor Business License (City Code Chapter 5.24, Ord. 23-1316) is required before operating in city limits, separate for each unit even if you hold another food business license. Apply online with the Business License Application, Mobile Food Vendor Supplemental Form, Home Occupation Supplemental Form (if based at a home in the city), driver's license, a non-refundable application fee (amount not stated), your TPT license, proof of auto insurance, your Mohave County Health Permit number or ADHS license, evidence of a passed Arizona fire inspection within the preceding 12 months, the commissary location, and color photos of all sides of the unit. Licenses last one year from approval; review takes up to 20 business days after the fee is paid. Operating in the public right-of-way also requires a certificate of insurance naming the city ($1,000,000 general liability per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate, $1,000,000 auto liability, and workers' compensation with $1,000,000 employer's liability). Permitted operating zones are set by City Code 5.24.070(F). Planning & Zoning: 928-453-4148 option 3; Fire Administration: 928-855-1141. County: plan review is required before building a new unit or making major alterations to a Type 1053 (limited preparation) or 1054 (full preparation) unit; Type 1055 (prepackaged only) units may instead have a paid consultation inspection. Units licensed in another Arizona county apply with a copy of that permit, a Mohave County commissary agreement, a menu and a photo, without plan review. Units must operate from an approved commissary, report at least daily, keep a commissary visit log for TCS food, and renew the commissary agreement annually. Permits are nontransferable. The county fee schedule (effective June 1, 2026) lists $592 (Type 1053), $702 (Type 1054) and $166 (Type 1055) mobile food permits ($607 / $717 / $181 with the technology fee); it does not state whether these are annual. [source] [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: Lake Havasu City / Mohave County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health

    • Every food and beverage vendor must apply at least two weeks before the event with a Temporary Food Service Permit application, a floor plan of the booth or mobile unit interior and payment; payments aren't accepted at the event and unpermitted vendors must leave. Fees: $108 per single event (1–5 days) for temporary food service, $96 temporary retail food, $89 sampling permit, with a $65 late fee if received less than 7 business days before the event and $10 for each day beyond 5; non-profits pay $54 / $48. An Annual Temporary permit (January 1–December 31) is $293 ($147 non-profit) and requires a Multiple Event Registration form. The city's Temporary Special Events business license may also apply. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: Mohave County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health

  • City licenses

    • "No person shall engage in business unless issued a valid business license." Apply, track and renew through the city's online business license portal, or use the Business License Application (form FIN-06, 2/23/2024); applications go to the Administrative Services Director and the fee is collected on submission. Every applicant pays the business license fee set in City Code Chapter 3.20, due with each new application and each annual renewal. The city code says renewals follow the calendar year and are due by December 31, and new application fees are prorated by quarter (full fee January–March, three-quarters April–June, one-half July–September, one-fourth October–December); the city's business license page instead says licenses are valid one year from approval. 501(c)(3) corporations can apply without paying the fee by submitting evidence of federal exemption. All business license fees are nonrefundable. The fee schedule in the code lists Business License Processing at a cost-recovery rate rather than a dollar amount, and the dollar amount is in the city's All City Fees and Charges document, which could not be retrieved. The city's Fees & Charges page also announces a proposed 2027 Master Fee Schedule (effective March 1, 2027 if adopted; Council consideration January 12, 2027). Business License: (928) 453-4153, [email protected]. [source] [source] [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: Lake Havasu City Administrative Services

    • Temporary special events: a separate Business License Application for Temporary Special Events (form FIN-7, 4/2026) under City Code Chapter 5.04; no fee amount is stated on the form. Peddlers, solicitors and transient merchants have their own application and license processing fee (set at market rates in the city fee schedule; no dollar amount verified). Liquor licenses: the City Clerk's Office reviews state applications and sends a recommendation to the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (the city charges application processing and posting fees, not stated on the page; the Council has 60 days to act). Extensions of premises carry a $355 city fee plus $100 (permanent) or $50 (temporary) to the state. Bingo licenses: $5 / $25 / $50 city fee for Class A / B / C plus state fees. City Clerk: 928-453-4142. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: Lake Havasu City Administrative Services / City Clerk

  • Zoning and home businesses

    • Home-based businesses file the Home Occupation Supplemental Application with the business license; a zoning clearance is required, and uses not listed as prohibited may need a Zoning Administrator determination (appealable to the Board of Adjustment). Standards: clearly secondary to the residential use; carried on wholly within the home and garage, using no more than 25% of their combined floor area; only immediate family members work on the premises; no goods displayed for sale or rent on site (except garage sales); one customer at a time, no more than one visitor per hour, only between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.; no headquarters or dispatch center where employees report; no business on-street parking or use of required residential parking; ads may not include the property address and no merchandise displayed in windows; no explosives, poisons, or flammable liquids over 5 gallons beyond the listed exceptions. Prohibited home occupations include ambulance services, vehicle/boat/equipment repair or detailing, beauty salons and barber shops, cabinet shops, commercial pesticide applicators, large appliance repair, medical or dental offices, pet grooming, restaurants, taxi services with more than one vehicle, and veterinary uses. A legal nonconforming home occupation ends if the business stops for 60 days, the business license lapses more than 30 days, or the business moves. The city's reference copy says it is for general reference only; confirm with Planning and Zoning (928-453-4148, option 3). [source] [source]

      Agency: Lake Havasu City Planning and Zoning Division

Not yet verified for Lake Havasu City: The dollar amount of the annual Lake Havasu City business license fee (set in the All City Fees and Charges document, which could not be retrieved); call (928) 453-4153; Whether city licenses run on the calendar year (per City Code) or one year from approval (per the city's business license page); Mobile Food Vendor license application fee and the permitted operating zones in City Code 5.24.070(F); Peddler/solicitor/transient merchant and temporary special event license fee amounts, and liquor application and posting fee amounts; Whether the home occupation supplemental application carries a fee; Whether the Mohave County fixed and mobile food permit fees (effective June 1, 2026) are annual, and current plan review and consultation inspection fees (not listed on the fee schedule page); Effect of the proposed 2027 Master Fee Schedule (effective March 1, 2027 if adopted) on city fees; Building permit, certificate of occupancy, sign permit and fire inspection fees.
See progress in My plan

Sources