Starting a Business in Toledo: Licenses, Registrations & Checklist
A step-by-step plan to open a business in Toledo: 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 Toledo, OH
- File Toledo municipal net profit tax return · City of Toledo Division of Taxation (city)
- Form the business: Ohio Secretary of State
- Register for state taxes: Ohio Department of Taxation
- Register as an employer: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Startup sequence and prerequisites in Toledo
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 Ohio
- File formation documents with the Ohio Secretary of State
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Then, once those are done
- Register for unemployment insurance (Ohio) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for state income tax withholding (Ohio) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Ohio vendor's license (Ohio) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Register for and file Ohio entity-level taxes — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Notify residents and regulators of a data breach within 45 days (Ohio) — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Municipal income tax registration — Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio — 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 Toledo — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Report new hires to the Ohio new hire directory — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Carry workers' compensation insurance (Ohio) — 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 Ohio workplace notices — after: Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
No fee amounts are known for this plan yet.
Total incomplete: some fees unknown
25 of 26 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 (Ohio).
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 Toledo
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 Toledo:
- Contractor licensing: Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (commercial trades)
- Real estate licensing: Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing
- Alcohol licensing: Ohio Division of Liquor Control
- Child care licensing: Ohio Department of Children and Youth
- Health facility licensing: Ohio Department of Health
- File Toledo municipal net profit tax return (City of Toledo Division of Taxation, city)
In the example restaurant plan above, the licenses and permits are: Ohio vendor's license (Ohio); Obtain food service establishment / health permit; Ensure certified food protection manager on staff; Municipal income tax registration — Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Toledo. Change the industry in the form to see yours.
Sources: ohiosos.gov, tax.ohio.gov, jfs.ohio.gov
In the example plan for Toledo, requirements come from four levels. Ohio 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 Ohio; Register for and file Ohio entity-level taxes; Ohio vendor's license (Ohio); File sales tax returns and remit tax (Ohio)…
- County (1): Obtain food service establishment / health permit
- City (3): Municipal income tax registration — Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio; Obtain certificate of occupancy for premises in Toledo; File Toledo municipal net profit tax return
Sources: ohiosos.gov, tax.ohio.gov
- Register for unemployment insurance with Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
- Workers' compensation: Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Required when: 1 employee
- Register to withhold Ohio income tax from wages.
- The example plan adds these employer steps: Report new hires to the Ohio new hire directory; Carry workers' compensation insurance (Ohio); Display required federal labor law posters; Complete Form I-9 for each new hire; Display required Ohio workplace notices.
Sources: jfs.ohio.gov, com.ohio.gov, tax.ohio.gov