Business license · Maine

Does Your LLC Need a Business License in Maine?

The short answer. Maine does not issue a general state business license. According to Maine.gov, general business licenses are issued locally. A business in Maine may still need a license from its city or county, or from a state board if its trade is regulated.

Maine Business License at a Glance

General state business license	No general state license
City or county licenses	Local governments may require one (see Local licenses)
Trade and professional licenses	Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 30, 2026. See the sources.

Does Maine Require a State Business License?

Maine does not issue a general state business license. According to Maine.gov, general business licenses are issued locally.

A business in Maine may still need a license from its city or county, or from a state board if its trade is regulated.

Maine's own guide to business licenses and permits is Maine Business Answers.

City and County Business Licenses

Maine's state business portal says general licenses to operate a business are handled by towns and cities, so contact your town office. The state's Business Answers service also tells new businesses to contact their municipal office for any permits and local ordinances.

Where Maine points businesses for local requirements.

Professional and Trade Licenses

Maine licenses many regulated professions and occupations through the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation in the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, which runs boards such as the Board of Accountancy and the Real Estate Commission. Other licenses, such as eating and lodging, liquor and gaming licenses, come from other state agencies. Look up Maine license requirements.

Our verified guides for specific trades in this state:

See trade and business license requirements by state for every trade we cover.

Other Maine Registrations to Check

Maine articles of organization, the filing that creates the LLC itself.
Maine Retailer Certificate, for a business that sells taxable goods or services.
Maine resale certificate, to buy inventory for resale without paying tax on it.
How to get an EIN, the federal tax ID most LLCs need to open a bank account or hire.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Maine does not issue a general state business license. According to Maine.gov, general business licenses are issued locally. A business in Maine may still need a license from its city or county, or from a state board if its trade is regulated.
: Maine's state business portal says general licenses to operate a business are handled by towns and cities, so contact your town office. The state's Business Answers service also tells new businesses to contact their municipal office for any permits and local ordinances.
: Maine licenses many regulated professions and occupations through the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation in the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, which runs boards such as the Board of Accountancy and the Real Estate Commission. Other licenses, such as eating and lodging, liquor and gaming licenses, come from other state agencies.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and agencies say about a general state business license, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you which licenses your own business needs: that turns on what the business does, where it operates, and what its city or county requires, and fees and exemptions change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the state agency named on this page, the city or county where the business is located, and any state board that licenses your trade before you open.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Maine sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

maine.gov/portal/business/licensing.htmlMaine.gov, Business Licensing
apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/businessanswers/index.plMaine Department of Economic and Community Development, Business Answers (Consultant result)
maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.