10 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page, and what the Census counts of bars in Arizona say.
10 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 6Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC), publication and no annual report
0 of 10 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Members keep a dated, noted plan for each saved location in the workspace.
1Set up the business0 of 3
File through the Commission’s online portal. The articles name a statutory agent with an Arizona street address who accepts the appointment. After approval, publish a notice of the filing in a newspaper in the county of the known place of business within 60 days, unless that county is Maricopa or Pima, where the Commission posts the notice itself. Corporations, unlike LLCs, file an annual report.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Optional under Arizona law but expected by banks and by the Department of Revenue when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s legal name or the LLC’s registered name. Register online; renew in the six months before it expires or the name is open to anyone.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the Joint Tax Application. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Arizona’s sales tax is a tax on the seller, called transaction privilege tax. One Joint Tax Application on AZTaxes.gov licenses you for the state, the county and the city at once and opens the employer withholding and unemployment accounts. Restaurants, bars and retailers are all taxable classifications; a salon’s services are not taxed, but its retail sales are. Post the license at the location.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
For most storefronts the city TPT license issued through the Department of Revenue is the only city license, and the clerk is where activity permits (liquor, amusements, kennels and the like) are filed. Ask the clerk before signing the lease.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing; a change of use needs building permits and inspections, and the certificate of occupancy comes before the county health permit and the liquor license. Cities review the liquor application for zoning as the local governing body.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit plans and pay the plan review fee before building out or taking over a space, pass the opening inspection, then post the permit. Outside Maricopa County the county health department (Pima County Health Department in Tucson, for example) issues the permit on its own schedule. Ask the county for its current class table before budgeting; the schedule changed in August 2026 and new applications pay the new rate at once.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Arizona has no statewide manager rule; the counties set it. Maricopa County requires every establishment serving open food that needs time or temperature control to keep at least one certified food protection manager on staff, with the person in charge certified and on site during hours of operation, and the certificate must come from an ANSI accredited exam. Pima and Coconino counties have their own versions.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
A series 12 license has no quota and suits any restaurant whose food sales stay at or above 40% of gross; it is the usual route for a restaurant, pizza shop or cocktail bar that serves food. A series 6 lets a bar sell all spirits with no food rule, a series 7 beer and wine only. Apply through the Department; the city council reviews the application and posts the notice before the state acts. Every owner files a questionnaire and fingerprints.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Workers’ compensation insurance is required for every employer with one or more employees, full time or part time, from the first hire; an owner can reject coverage for themselves in writing. Report each new hire and rehire within 20 days.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the bars already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a bar at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The bar check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Corporation Commission articles of organization instructions (form L010i); A.R.S. 29-3201; Secretary of State trade name registration pages; IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue TPT license and renewal pages; A.R.S. 42-5005; City of Phoenix license services FAQ; city codes; City and county zoning and building codes; Arizona adopts building codes city by city; Maricopa County Environmental Health Code fee schedule (revised August 19, 2026); Maricopa County food and restaurants pages; Maricopa County Environmental Health Code chapter VII (food employees and certified food protection managers); county food pages; Department of Liquor Licenses and Control fee chart and series 12 application; series 12 renewal form; A.R.S. Title 4; DES unemployment insurance tax rate chart for 2026 (UIT-0603A); DES new hire reporting page; Industrial Commission employer pages (A.R.S. 23-902); U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.
Questions about opening here.
10 items, in order: articles of organization (llc), publication and no annual report, trade name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), transaction privilege tax (tpt) license and withholding registration (joint tax application), city business license and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 4 more.
Arizona Corporation Commission, Arizona Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, Arizona Department of Revenue, Your city or town clerk or license office and Your city or county planning and development department, and 4 more.
With articles of organization (llc), publication and no annual report (Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division), then trade name registration (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: restaurant (series 12), bar (series 6) or beer and wine bar (series 7) liquor license. The local license usually comes first.
Each item's fee, renewal cycle and official page are shown to members, as the agency published them on the date checked. Cities and counties add their own fees.
