My plan

Starting a business in Miami, Florida

A business in the City of Miami needs two local tax receipts: a City of Miami Business Tax Receipt (BTR) and a Miami-Dade County Local Business Tax Receipt. Most businesses must first finalize a City Certificate of Use (CU), which includes zoning review and code, fire and DERM inspections; a home office gets an "accessory of use" instead. Food trucks and peddlers skip the CU and apply for the BTR directly.

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 Articles of Organization for an LLC online at Sunbiz: a $100 filing fee plus a required $25 registered agent fee, $125 in total. For a for-profit corporation, Sunbiz lists a $35 filing fee and a $35 registered agent designation fee ($78.75 total as listed on its corporate fee schedule, which includes an optional $8.75 certified copy). [source] [source]

      • LLC filing fee + required registered agent fee: $125 [source]

      Agency: Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)

    • The annual report is due by May 1 each year: $138.75 for an LLC, $150 for a for-profit corporation. Filing after the deadline adds a $400 late fee (Sunbiz lists $538.75 for a late LLC report). An entity that hasn't filed by the 3rd Friday of September is administratively dissolved. [source] [source] [source]

      • LLC annual report: $138.75 per year [source]

      Agency: Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)

    • Florida requires any person or business entity to register a fictitious name before doing business under it. Advertise the name at least once in a newspaper in the county of your principal place of business first (you certify this; no proof is filed). Registration lasts 5 years and expires December 31 of the fifth year; renew between July 1 and December 31 of that year. It is public notice only: it gives no ownership of the name and doesn't stop anyone else from registering the same name. [source] [source]

      • Fictitious name registration (5-year term): $50 [source]

      Agency: Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)

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

      Agency: Internal Revenue Service

  • State and city tax licenses

    • Register before you begin doing business in Florida. Apply online with the Florida Business Tax Application, an interactive wizard that also tells you which other state taxes you need to register for; a paper Form DR-1 is also accepted. [source]

      Agency: Florida Department of Revenue

    • Under Chapter 205, Florida Statutes, counties and cities may levy a local business tax, and they issue a Local Business Tax Receipt for the privilege of doing business in their jurisdiction. Your county and your city can each require one, so check with both. Receipts go on sale July 1, are due by September 30 and expire September 30 of the following year; late renewals carry a 10% penalty for October plus 5% for each later month, up to 25%. [source]

      Agency: County and city tax collector or business tax office

  • If you hire employees

    • Register for reemployment (unemployment) tax with the Florida Business Tax Application, online or on the paper Form DR-1; its interactive wizard determines which state taxes you need to register for. [source] [source]

      Agency: Florida Department of Revenue

  • Industry licenses

    • General, building, residential, roofing, plumbing, mechanical and several other contractor categories need a state license from DBPR's Construction Industry Licensing Board. A certified contractor passes the state exam and can work anywhere in Florida without meeting local competency requirements. A registered contractor holds a local county or city license, registers it with the state, and is limited to that locality (plus adjoining ones that accept it). Work such as cabinets, countertops, paint, wallpaper, carpet, tile and window treatments doesn't need a CILB license, and casual, minor handyman jobs under $2,500 total are exempt—but work that requires a permit doesn't qualify. Check with your local building department. [source]

      Agency: Florida DBPR, Construction Industry Licensing Board

  • Food businesses

    • New restaurants and other public food service establishments, and new owners of existing ones, must pass inspection and get a license from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants before serving the public. Plan review is required first if the space is newly built, remodeled, converted from another use, or reopening after 18 months or more closed. Licenses renew every year. Check local zoning, building and business tax rules before signing a lease. [source]

      Agency: Florida DBPR, Division of Hotels and Restaurants

    • Food trucks and other mobile food dispensing vehicles are public food service establishments licensed by DBPR. State law preempts licensing to the state: cities and counties may not require a separate license, registration or permit, or charge a license or permit fee, beyond the DBPR license, and may not ban them from their whole jurisdiction. Local governments can still regulate them in other ways. [source] [source]

      Agency: Florida DBPR, Division of Hotels and Restaurants

    • The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services requires a food permit for any food establishment that processes, stores, prepares or sells food at wholesale or retail and isn't licensed by DBPR as a public food service establishment. Permits renew annually. Some very small outlets are exempt, such as those selling only commercially prepackaged, non-time/temperature-controlled foods from 12 linear feet of shelf space or less. [source]

      Agency: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

    • Cottage food operations are exempt from the FDACS food permit if annual gross sales stay at or below $250,000. You can sell directly, online or by mail order (no wholesale). Products must be prepackaged and labeled, including the statement "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations." Cities and counties can't prohibit cottage food operations, but home-based business conditions still apply. [source]

      Agency: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

    • Food trucks skip the CU and apply for the BTR directly. As adopted, City Ordinance 13796 (October 2018) required a BTR and a peddler's-type BTR for each truck, showing a Miami-Dade Department of Health inspection certificate, a DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants inspection certificate, proof of insurance, the vehicle identification number and a valid Miami-Dade County peddler's BTR. As adopted, it bars trucks within 500 ft of a food service or fuel establishment (except on private sites over 250,000 sq. ft.), in T3 and T4-R zones and in Commission District 3; allows up to two trucks as an accessory use on a property with an active CU no more than three times a week and not overnight; requires a Temporary Event Permit for gatherings of three or more trucks; and sets $250/$500 fines. Florida law has since limited local regulation of mobile food dispensing vehicles, so confirm which ordinance rules still apply with the City. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: City of Miami

  • Zoning and home businesses

    • The City requires a CU when you open a new business, move to a new location, or are cited for not having one. Check the address with the City's online zoning tool before signing a lease, and finish any construction under permits first (new or renovated spaces need a Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Completion). Have your Sunbiz-registered name (and fictitious name, if used), exact address with suite, the space's size and, for assembly areas of 50 or more occupants such as restaurants and bars, an Occupant Load Certificate. Apply online through MiamiBiz; you're emailed an invoice for a non-refundable $50 application fee (credited toward the total CU cost only if the application passes initial screening; unpaid applications aren't reviewed). The City contacts you within five business days; after open tasks you get an inspection invoice that includes Fire and Code Enforcement inspection fees (outside agencies such as DERM charge separately). Email the application to [email protected] for DERM, and call 311 to schedule fire and code inspections; the City's guide says to have a solid waste hauler contract first, since a missing hauler causes most failed code inspections. Food businesses also need Health Department and DBPR approvals, and grocery or packaged-food stores need Department of Agriculture approval. Finish all inspections within 90 working days of starting the application or start over and pay again. The CU runs through September 30 of the fiscal year it was issued and is renewed by paying the Finance Department's invoice by September 30 to avoid late fees (renewal also covers your Fire Safety Permit). CU line: (305) 416-1495. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: City of Miami Zoning / Building

    • The City's CU page says that if you will use a home office, you apply for an "accessory of use" rather than a certificate of use, by making that selection at the end of the online MiamiBiz application. You still need the City BTR and the Miami-Dade County receipt. [source] [source]

      Agency: City of Miami Zoning

  • Local business tax

    • The City says every business operating in the City needs a BTR (formerly called an occupational license). Most businesses must finalize their CU first; peddlers, food trucks and businesses with no physical City location apply directly. You'll need your EIN (or SSN if your legal name is the business name); hotels, restaurants and convenience stores show State of Florida licensing, and state-regulated businesses provide the state business license, each professional's state license and SSN, a government photo ID and (per the City's guide) a notarized City affidavit, if applicable. Apply through the MiamiBiz portal, answer any City questions by email, pay the emailed invoice by credit card, and receive an interim BTR by email. The BTR page does not list amounts. BTR office: (305) 416-2087. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: City of Miami Business Tax Receipt office

    • Both the City and the County say a business inside a municipality needs a city receipt and a County receipt. The Miami-Dade Tax Collector issues a receipt for each place of business and each separate tax classification at the same location. Apply online through BTExpress (strongly encouraged) or print the application and submit it by mail or in person; check your business tax category for extra requirements or exemption eligibility, and include the Fertilizer Applicant Affidavit the page lists. Receipts run October 1 to September 30, must be displayed in public view, and can be transferred with a change of ownership, location or trade name. The page does not list amounts. [source] [source]

      Agency: Miami-Dade County Tax Collector

Not yet verified for Miami: City of Miami BTR and Miami-Dade County Local Business Tax amounts (neither official page reviewed lists them); Total City of Miami CU fee and inspection invoice amounts beyond the $50 application fee (the CU fee page was not reviewed), and whether the $50 is charged per application only; Which parts of the 2018 food truck ordinance (Ordinance 13796) remain enforceable after Florida's preemption of local mobile food dispensing vehicle regulation; Whether the City of Miami or Miami-Dade County cites section 559.955, Florida Statutes, for home-based businesses (no official Miami page reviewed mentions it); Miami-Dade County Tax Collector renewal penalties and due dates beyond the September 30 expiration; Occupant Load Certificate, sign permit and building permit fees.
See progress in My plan

Sources