Starting a Business in Billings: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Billings: 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 Billings, MT
- City/county business license — Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana · City or county clerk: Billings / Yellowstone County (city)
- Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Billings · Billings (Yellowstone County) building department (city)
- Hold a Billings business license · City of Billings Finance Department (city)
- Form the business: Montana Secretary of State
- Register for state taxes: Montana Department of Revenue
- Register as an employer: Montana Department of Labor & Industry
Startup sequence and prerequisites in Billings
Based on your selections, this plan has 10 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 Montana
- File formation documents with the Montana Secretary of State
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Then, once those are done
- Register for and file Montana entity-level taxes — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- City/county business license — Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Billings — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Hold a Billings business license — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
No fee amounts are known for this plan yet.
Total incomplete: some fees unknown
9 of 10 steps have no fee amount in our data. The figures above count only the 1 step with a recorded fee. Check each agency's fee schedule.
Common questions about Billings
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 Billings:
- Contractor licensing: Montana Department of Labor & Industry (contractor registration)
- Real estate licensing: Montana Board of Realty Regulation
- Alcohol licensing: Montana Department of Revenue, Liquor Control Division
- Child care licensing: Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
- Health facility licensing: Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
- City/county business license — Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana (City or county clerk: Billings / Yellowstone County, city)
- Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Billings (Billings (Yellowstone County) building department, city)
- Hold a Billings business license (City of Billings Finance Department, city)
With your current selections, the licenses and permits are: City/county business license — Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Billings; Hold a Billings business license. Change the industry above to see yours.
Sources: revenuefiles.mt.gov, sosmt.gov, mtrevenue.gov, dli.mt.gov
Formation comes first; tax, license and employer registrations wait on it. In your plan the first steps are:
- Maintain a registered agent in Montana
- File formation documents with the Montana Secretary of State
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Sources: revenuefiles.mt.gov, sosmt.gov, mtrevenue.gov
No fee amounts are recorded for your plan yet.
Steps without a recorded fee are not counted, so check each agency's fee schedule before you budget.
Sources: revenuefiles.mt.gov, sosmt.gov, mtrevenue.gov
In your plan for Billings, requirements come from four levels. Montana sets formation, state taxes and employer rules; the city and county add local licenses and taxes.
- Federal (2): Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN); File federal income tax return: Form 1040 with Schedule C
- State (4): Maintain a registered agent in Montana; File Annual Report (Montana); Register for and file Montana entity-level taxes; File the annual unclaimed property holder report (Montana)
- City (3): City/county business license — Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Billings; Hold a Billings business license
Sources: revenuefiles.mt.gov, sosmt.gov, mtrevenue.gov
- Register for unemployment insurance with Montana Department of Labor & Industry.
- Workers' compensation: Montana Department of Labor & Industry. Required when: 1 employee
- Register to withhold Montana income tax from wages.
Sources: dli.mt.gov, wsd.dli.mt.gov, revenue.mt.gov