Starting a Business in Frisco: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Frisco: 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 Frisco, TX
- File Denton County business personal property return · Denton Central Appraisal District (county)
- Form the business: Texas Secretary of State
- Register for state taxes: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
- Register as an employer: Texas Workforce Commission
Startup sequence and prerequisites in Frisco
This example plan has 26 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 Texas
- File formation documents with the Texas Secretary of State
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Then, once those are done
- Register for unemployment insurance (Texas) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit (Texas) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for and file Texas entity-level taxes — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Notify residents and regulators of a data breach within 60 days (Texas) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Local permits — Frisco, Denton County, Texas — 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 Frisco — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Report new hires to the Texas new hire directory — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Decide whether to subscribe to workers' compensation insurance (Texas; 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 Texas workplace notices — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
No fee amounts are known for this plan yet.
Total incomplete: some fees unknown
24 of 26 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 (Texas).
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 Frisco
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 Frisco:
- Real estate licensing: Texas Real Estate Commission
- Alcohol licensing: Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
- Child care licensing: Texas HHSC, Child Care Regulation
- Health facility licensing: Texas Health and Human Services Commission
- File Denton County business personal property return (Denton Central Appraisal District, county)
In the example restaurant plan above, the licenses and permits are: Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit (Texas); Obtain food service establishment / health permit; Ensure certified food protection manager on staff; Local permits — Frisco, Denton County, Texas; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Frisco. Change the industry in the form to see yours.
Sources: sos.state.tx.us, comptroller.texas.gov, twc.texas.gov
In the example plan for Frisco, requirements come from four levels. Texas 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 Texas; File Franchise Tax Report and Public Information Report (Texas); Register for and file Texas entity-level taxes; Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit (Texas)…
- County (2): Obtain food service establishment / health permit; File Denton County business personal property return
- City (2): Local permits — Frisco, Denton County, Texas; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Frisco
Sources: sos.state.tx.us, comptroller.texas.gov
- Register for unemployment insurance with Texas Workforce Commission.
- Workers' compensation: Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation. Required when: Optional for most private employers (mandatory for public contractors)
- The example plan adds these employer steps: Report new hires to the Texas new hire directory; Decide whether to subscribe to workers' compensation insurance (Texas; elective); Display required federal labor law posters; Complete Form I-9 for each new hire; Display required Texas workplace notices.
Sources: twc.texas.gov, twc.texas.gov