Starting a Business in Laredo: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Laredo: 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 Laredo, TX
- File Webb County business personal property return · Webb County 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 Laredo
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 — Laredo, Webb 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 Laredo — 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 Laredo
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 Laredo:
- 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 Webb County business personal property return (Webb County 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 — Laredo, Webb County, Texas; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Laredo. 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 Laredo, 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 Webb County business personal property return
- City (2): Local permits — Laredo, Webb County, Texas; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Laredo
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