Starting a Business in Tulsa: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Tulsa: 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 Tulsa, OK
- Form the business: Oklahoma Secretary of State
- Register for state taxes: Oklahoma Tax Commission
- Register as an employer: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
Startup sequence and prerequisites in Tulsa
This example plan has 24 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 Oklahoma
- File formation documents with the Oklahoma Secretary of State
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Then, once those are done
- Register for unemployment insurance (Oklahoma) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for state income tax withholding (Oklahoma) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Oklahoma sales tax permit (Oklahoma) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for and file Oklahoma entity-level taxes — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- City business license — Tulsa, Wagoner County, Oklahoma — 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 Tulsa — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Report new hires to the Oklahoma new hire directory — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Carry workers' compensation insurance (Oklahoma) — 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 Oklahoma 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 24 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. Fees that depend on your situation: File wage reports and pay unemployment insurance contributions (Oklahoma).
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 Tulsa
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 Tulsa:
- Contractor licensing: Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (trade licenses)
- Real estate licensing: Oklahoma Real Estate Commission
- Alcohol licensing: Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission
- Child care licensing: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
- Health facility licensing: Oklahoma State Department of Health
In the example restaurant plan above, the licenses and permits are: Oklahoma sales tax permit (Oklahoma); Obtain food service establishment / health permit; Ensure certified food protection manager on staff; City business license — Tulsa, Wagoner County, Oklahoma; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Tulsa. Change the industry in the form to see yours.
Sources: sos.ok.gov, oklahoma.gov, oklahoma.gov
In the example plan for Tulsa, requirements come from four levels. Oklahoma 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 (12): Maintain a registered agent in Oklahoma; Register for and file Oklahoma entity-level taxes; Oklahoma sales tax permit (Oklahoma); File sales tax returns and remit tax (Oklahoma)…
- County (1): Obtain food service establishment / health permit
- City (2): City business license — Tulsa, Wagoner County, Oklahoma; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Tulsa
Sources: sos.ok.gov, oklahoma.gov
- Register for unemployment insurance with Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
- Workers' compensation: Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission. Required when: 1 employee
- Register to withhold Oklahoma income tax from wages.
- The example plan adds these employer steps: Report new hires to the Oklahoma new hire directory; Carry workers' compensation insurance (Oklahoma); Display required federal labor law posters; Complete Form I-9 for each new hire; Display required Oklahoma workplace notices.
Sources: oklahoma.gov, oklahoma.gov, oklahoma.gov