Starting a Business in Sioux Falls: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Sioux Falls: 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 Sioux Falls, SD
- Form the business: South Dakota Secretary of State
- Register for state taxes: South Dakota Department of Revenue
- Register as an employer: South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation
Startup sequence and prerequisites in Sioux Falls
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 South Dakota
- File formation documents with the South Dakota Secretary of State
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Then, once those are done
- Register for unemployment insurance (South Dakota) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- South Dakota sales tax license (South Dakota) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for and file South Dakota entity-level taxes — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Notify residents and regulators of a data breach within 60 days (South Dakota) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- City business license — Sioux Falls, Lincoln County, South Dakota — 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 Sioux Falls — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Report new hires to the South Dakota new hire directory — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Decide whether to subscribe to workers' compensation insurance (South Dakota; elective) — 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 South Dakota workplace notices — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Known charges: $55.00 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 (South Dakota).
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 Sioux Falls
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 Sioux Falls:
- Real estate licensing: South Dakota Real Estate Commission
- Alcohol licensing: South Dakota Department of Revenue (with local licensing)
- Child care licensing: South Dakota Department of Social Services
- Health facility licensing: South Dakota Department of Health
With your current selections, the licenses and permits are: South Dakota sales tax license (South Dakota); Obtain food service establishment / health permit; Ensure certified food protection manager on staff; City business license — Sioux Falls, Lincoln County, South Dakota; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Sioux Falls. Change the industry above to see yours.
Sources: sdsos.gov, dor.sd.gov, dlr.sd.gov
In your plan for Sioux Falls, requirements come from four levels. South Dakota 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 South Dakota; File Annual Report (South Dakota); Register for and file South Dakota entity-level taxes; South Dakota sales tax license (South Dakota)…
- County (1): Obtain food service establishment / health permit
- City (2): City business license — Sioux Falls, Lincoln County, South Dakota; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Sioux Falls
Sources: sdsos.gov, dor.sd.gov
- Register for unemployment insurance with South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation.
- Workers' compensation: South Dakota Division of Labor and Management. Required when: Optional (not required by state law; uninsured employers can be sued in tort)
- Your plan adds these employer steps: Report new hires to the South Dakota new hire directory; Decide whether to subscribe to workers' compensation insurance (South Dakota; elective); Display required federal labor law posters; Complete Form I-9 for each new hire; Display required South Dakota workplace notices.
Sources: dlr.sd.gov, dlr.sd.gov