Business license · Missouri

Does Your LLC Need a Business License in Missouri?

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

Missouri 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	Missouri Division of Professional Registration

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked October 4, 2026. See the sources.

Does Missouri Require a State Business License?

Missouri does not issue a general state business license. According to the Missouri Secretary of State, general business licenses are issued locally.

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

City and County Business Licenses

Missouri's Secretary of State says many municipalities and counties require businesses to obtain a business license before opening, and that business licenses are obtained directly from the local government, not from the Secretary of State. State law lets cities levy license taxes on the businesses their statutes list, which for some classes of city include all other businesses, trades and vocations.

Where Missouri points businesses for local requirements.

Professional and Trade Licenses

Missouri's Division of Professional Registration and its boards license regulated professions, licensing only qualified professionals by examination and evaluation of minimum competency. The Secretary of State's starting steps tell businesses to register with other Missouri agencies if their industry requires it. Look up Missouri 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 Missouri Registrations to Check

Missouri articles of organization, the filing that creates the LLC itself.
Missouri Retail Sales License, for a business that sells taxable goods or services.
Missouri 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

: Missouri does not issue a general state business license. According to the Missouri Secretary of State, general business licenses are issued locally. A business in Missouri may still need a license from its city or county, or from a state board if its trade is regulated.
: Missouri's Secretary of State says many municipalities and counties require businesses to obtain a business license before opening, and that business licenses are obtained directly from the local government, not from the Secretary of State. State law lets cities levy license taxes on the businesses their statutes list, which for some classes of city include all other businesses, trades and vocations.
: Missouri's Division of Professional Registration and its boards license regulated professions, licensing only qualified professionals by examination and evaluation of minimum competency. The Secretary of State's starting steps tell businesses to register with other Missouri agencies if their industry requires it.

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 Missouri 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.

sos.mo.gov/business/corporations/faqsMissouri Secretary of State, Business Services FAQs
revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=94.270RSMo 94.270, Power to license, tax and regulate certain businesses and occupations
revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=94.110RSMo 94.110, License taxes on certain businesses
revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=71.610RSMo 71.610, Imposition of tax on business, when
pr.mo.gov/mission.aspMissouri Division of Professional Registration, Mission
sos.mo.gov/business/outreach/starting_stepsMissouri Secretary of State, Steps for Starting a Business

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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.