Starting a Business in Aurora: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Aurora: 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 Aurora, IL
- Register your business with the City of Aurora · City of Aurora (city)
- Form the business: Illinois Secretary of State, Business Services
- Register for state taxes: Illinois Department of Revenue
- Register as an employer: Illinois Department of Employment Security
Startup sequence and prerequisites in Aurora
This example plan has 28 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 Illinois
- File formation documents with the Illinois Secretary of State, Business Services
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Then, once those are done
- Register for unemployment insurance (Illinois) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for state income tax withholding (Illinois) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Illinois Certificate of Registration (Retailers' Occupation Tax) (Illinois) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for and file Illinois entity-level taxes — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register your business with the City of Aurora — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Municipal business license — Aurora, Will County, Illinois — 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 Aurora — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Report new hires to the Illinois new hire directory — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Carry workers' compensation insurance (Illinois) — 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)
- Give annual sexual harassment prevention training to all employees — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Display required Illinois workplace notices — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Provide paid sick leave (Illinois) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Known charges: $75.00 per year.
Total incomplete: some fees unknown
26 of 28 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 (Illinois).
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 Aurora
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 Aurora:
- Real estate licensing: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
- Alcohol licensing: Illinois Liquor Control Commission
- Child care licensing: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
- Health facility licensing: Illinois Department of Public Health
- Register your business with the City of Aurora (City of Aurora, city)
In the example restaurant plan above, the licenses and permits are: Illinois Certificate of Registration (Retailers' Occupation Tax) (Illinois); Obtain food service establishment / health permit; Ensure certified food protection manager on staff; Municipal business license — Aurora, Will County, Illinois; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Aurora. Change the industry in the form to see yours.
Sources: ilsos.gov, tax.illinois.gov, ides.illinois.gov
In the example plan for Aurora, requirements come from four levels. Illinois 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 (15): Maintain a registered agent in Illinois; File Annual Report (Illinois); Register for and file Illinois entity-level taxes; Illinois Certificate of Registration (Retailers' Occupation Tax) (Illinois)…
- County (1): Obtain food service establishment / health permit
- City (3): Municipal business license — Aurora, Will County, Illinois; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Aurora; Register your business with the City of Aurora
Sources: ilsos.gov, tax.illinois.gov
- Register for unemployment insurance with Illinois Department of Employment Security.
- Workers' compensation: Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. Required when: 1 employee (even part-time)
- Register to withhold Illinois income tax from wages.
- The example plan adds these employer steps: Report new hires to the Illinois new hire directory; Carry workers' compensation insurance (Illinois); Display required federal labor law posters; Complete Form I-9 for each new hire; Give annual sexual harassment prevention training to all employees.
Sources: ides.illinois.gov, labor.illinois.gov, tax.illinois.gov