Business license · Mississippi

Does Your LLC Need a Business License in Mississippi?

The short answer. We have not confirmed whether Mississippi requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the Mississippi Secretary of State and the state's revenue department. Your local government may also require a license for certain activities.

Mississippi Business License at a Glance

General state business license	Not confirmed
City or county licenses	Local governments license some activities (see Local licenses)
Trade and professional licenses	State licensing boards (see Trade licenses)

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

Some of Mississippi's sources could not be read directly, so several answers here are marked not confirmed. Confirm them with the state before you open.

Does Mississippi Require a State Business License?

We have not confirmed whether Mississippi requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the Mississippi Secretary of State and the state's revenue department.

City and County Business Licenses

Mississippi's local privilege tax law requires a business engaged in an activity the law lists to buy a privilege license before it starts, from the county tax collector if it is outside a city or from the municipal tax collector if it is inside one.

Professional and Trade Licenses

Mississippi licenses regulated occupations and trades through separate state agencies and boards, such as the State Board of Contractors, the Board of Cosmetology and the Board of Barber Examiners. The Secretary of State's startup guide lists several of them and tells businesses to contact the agency or board for their activity.

Our verified guides for specific trades in this state:

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

Other Mississippi Registrations to Check

Mississippi articles of organization, the filing that creates the LLC itself.
Mississippi Sales Tax Permit, for a business that sells taxable goods or services.
Mississippi 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

: We have not confirmed whether Mississippi requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the Mississippi Secretary of State and the state's revenue department.
: Mississippi's local privilege tax law requires a business engaged in an activity the law lists to buy a privilege license before it starts, from the county tax collector if it is outside a city or from the municipal tax collector if it is inside one.
: Mississippi licenses regulated occupations and trades through separate state agencies and boards, such as the State Board of Contractors, the Board of Cosmetology and the Board of Barber Examiners. The Secretary of State's startup guide lists several of them and tells businesses to contact the agency or board for their activity.

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 Mississippi 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.

billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/pdf/SB/3100-3199/SB3125IN.pdfMississippi Legislature, S.B. 3125 (2025 Regular Session, as introduced; died in committee), reproducing Miss. Code s 27-17-9
sos.ms.gov/sites/default/files/business-services/Business%20Entities%20%28Clean%29.pdfMississippi Secretary of State, Start Your Business in Mississippi (archived copy)

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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.