Starting a Business in Jackson: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Jackson: 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 Jackson, MS
- Form the business: Mississippi Secretary of State
- Register for state taxes: Mississippi Department of Revenue
- Register as an employer: Mississippi Department of Employment Security
Startup sequence and prerequisites in Jackson
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 Mississippi
- File formation documents with the Mississippi Secretary of State
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Then, once those are done
- Register for unemployment insurance (Mississippi) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for state income tax withholding (Mississippi) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Mississippi sales tax permit (Mississippi) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for and file Mississippi entity-level taxes — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Privilege license — Jackson, Rankin County, Mississippi — 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 Jackson — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Report new hires to the Mississippi new hire directory — 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 Mississippi workplace notices — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
No fee amounts are known for this plan yet.
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 (Mississippi).
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 Jackson
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 Jackson:
- Contractor licensing: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- Real estate licensing: Mississippi Real Estate Commission
- Alcohol licensing: Mississippi Department of Revenue, Alcoholic Beverage Control
- Child care licensing: Mississippi State Department of Health
- Health facility licensing: Mississippi State Department of Health
With your current selections, the licenses and permits are: Mississippi sales tax permit (Mississippi); Obtain food service establishment / health permit; Ensure certified food protection manager on staff; Privilege license — Jackson, Rankin County, Mississippi; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Jackson. Change the industry above to see yours.
Sources: sos.ms.gov, dor.ms.gov, mdes.ms.gov
In your plan for Jackson, requirements come from four levels. Mississippi 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 Mississippi; File Annual Report (Mississippi); Register for and file Mississippi entity-level taxes; Mississippi sales tax permit (Mississippi)…
- County (1): Obtain food service establishment / health permit
- City (2): Privilege license — Jackson, Rankin County, Mississippi; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Jackson
Sources: sos.ms.gov, dor.ms.gov
- Register for unemployment insurance with Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
- Workers' compensation: Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission. Required when: 5 employees
- Register to withhold Mississippi income tax from wages.
- Your plan adds these employer steps: Report new hires to the Mississippi new hire directory; Display required federal labor law posters; Complete Form I-9 for each new hire; Display required Mississippi workplace notices.
Sources: mdes.ms.gov, mdes.ms.gov, dor.ms.gov