Starting a Business in Evansville: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Evansville: what to file first, what depends on what, and which permits come before opening day. Change the business details to fit yours.
Permits and registrations specific to Evansville, IN
- Form the business: Indiana Secretary of State (INBiz)
- Register for state taxes: Indiana Department of Revenue
- Register as an employer: Indiana Department of Workforce Development
Startup sequence and prerequisites in Evansville
Based on your selections, this plan has 25 steps. What you file first decides what you can do next: later registrations and licenses wait on the ones below.
Do these first
- Maintain a registered agent in Indiana
- File formation documents with the Indiana Secretary of State (INBiz)
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Then, once those are done
- Register for unemployment insurance (Indiana) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for state income tax withholding (Indiana) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Registered Retail Merchant Certificate (Indiana) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for and file Indiana entity-level taxes — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Local permits — Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Obtain food service establishment / health permit — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Ensure certified food protection manager on staff — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Evansville — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Report new hires to the Indiana new hire directory — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Carry workers' compensation insurance (Indiana) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Display required federal labor law posters — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Complete Form I-9 for each new hire — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Display required Indiana workplace notices — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Known charges: $15.50 per year.
Total incomplete: some fees unknown
23 of 25 steps have no fee amount in our data. The figures above count only the 2 steps with a recorded fee. Check each agency's fee schedule. Fees that depend on your situation: File wage reports and pay unemployment insurance contributions (Indiana).
Things the formation documents depend on: a registered agent and any professional approvals.
File the formation documents with the state.
Obtain the EIN (and apply for tax-exempt status, for nonprofits). Most registrations need it.
State tax accounts, trade name, foreign qualification and publication requirements.
Licenses and permits you need before you operate: state, industry, local and professional.
Insurance, employment paperwork, new-hire reporting and workplace notices.
Recurring filings and payments, in the order they fall due.
Common questions about Evansville
The state licenses your industry through its own regulator, and the city and county add local permits. These are the authorities and local items on record for Evansville:
- Real estate licensing: Indiana Professional Licensing Agency
- Alcohol licensing: Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission
- Child care licensing: Indiana FSSA Bureau of Child Care
- Health facility licensing: Indiana Department of Health
With your current selections, the licenses and permits are: Registered Retail Merchant Certificate (Indiana); Obtain food service establishment / health permit; Ensure certified food protection manager on staff; Local permits — Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Evansville. Change the industry above to see yours.
Sources: inbiz.in.gov, in.gov, in.gov
In your plan for Evansville, requirements come from four levels. Indiana sets formation, state taxes and employer rules; the city and county add local licenses and taxes.
- Federal (8): Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN); File federal income tax return: Form 1040 with Schedule C; Deposit federal payroll taxes; File Form 941 (Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return)…
- State (13): Maintain a registered agent in Indiana; File Business Entity Report (Indiana); Register for and file Indiana entity-level taxes; Registered Retail Merchant Certificate (Indiana)…
- County (1): Obtain food service establishment / health permit
- City (2): Local permits — Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Evansville
Sources: inbiz.in.gov, in.gov
- Register for unemployment insurance with Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
- Workers' compensation: Indiana Worker's Compensation Board. Required when: 1 employee
- Register to withhold Indiana income tax from wages.
- Your plan adds these employer steps: Report new hires to the Indiana new hire directory; Carry workers' compensation insurance (Indiana); Display required federal labor law posters; Complete Form I-9 for each new hire; Display required Indiana workplace notices.