Opening a Small Business in Miami-Dade: Registration, Business Tax Receipt and State Licenses

You have the idea, the van or the storefront, and maybe the first clients lined up. Before you open, Florida and Miami-Dade County expect a few registrations. None of them is complicated on its own, but the order matters, and skipping one can hold up the next. This is a general checklist with links to each official source; your business type may add steps.

1. Choose a structure and register with Sunbiz

Corporations, LLCs and partnerships are formed through the Florida Division of Corporations, known as Sunbiz (Start a Business). A sole proprietor working under their own legal name does not file a formation document there. Which structure fits you is a question for an accountant or attorney; the choice affects taxes and personal liability.

If you will trade under a name other than your legal name, say “Sunrise Pressure Cleaning” instead of your own name, you need a fictitious name registration first. Under s. 865.09, you must register the name before doing business under it, certify that it was advertised at least once in a newspaper in your county, and, if you are an entity, be active with the Division.

2. Get the local business tax receipt

Miami-Dade County requires a Local Business Tax Receipt for each place of business and for each type of business you operate there (Miami-Dade Tax Collector). Some points owners often miss:

• City and county. If your business is inside a city such as Homestead or Florida City, you need the city’s receipt and the county’s. Florida law lets cities levy their own business tax (s. 205.042).
• It renews every year. Receipts run from October 1 to September 30.
• Your category may add requirements. The tax collector lists extra documents for certain business types, so read the page for your category before you apply.
• Late renewal has penalties. Receipts not renewed by September 30 become delinquent, and the county’s mailed renewal notice is only a courtesy reminder.

3. Check for a state professional license

Many trades need a license from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) before you can work: construction and electrical contractors, cosmetology and barbers, restaurants and other food service, real estate and others. DBPR keeps a list of services requiring a DBPR license. Some activities are regulated by other agencies instead, so if your trade is not on the list, search the relevant agency before you start.

4. Register for sales tax if you sell taxable items

If you will sell taxable goods or services, you need a certificate of registration from the Florida Department of Revenue before you start (s. 212.18(3)). The department can tell you whether your sales are taxable.

5. Plan for employees and insurance

Hiring changes the picture. Florida’s workers’ compensation law generally applies once you have four or more employees, or one or more in the construction industry (s. 440.02). Landlords, general contractors and some clients also ask for a certificate of insurance before you start a job, and a lease or contract may set specific coverage requirements. Read those clauses before you sign.

For the types of coverage a small business usually looks at, see our commercial insurance page. Contractors can find the trade-specific rules on our contractor insurance page.