9 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the annual report, assumed business name certificate (dba), employer identification number (ein), business registration for sales and use tax and withholding (nc-br), zoning approval, certificate of occupancy and local business registration and food establishment permit, and 3 more.
How to open, North Carolina
How to open a bar in North Carolina
9 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 North Carolina say.
9 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 17, 2026.
Set up the business
Articles of organization (LLC) and the annual report
File online. The articles need a North Carolina registered agent with a street address. Missing the annual report leads to a notice and then administrative dissolution.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Assumed business name certificate (DBA)
Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name. One certificate can cover up to five assumed names and every county where the business operates; the Secretary of State keeps the statewide index.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Register of Deeds in the county where the business mainly operates
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the Department of Revenue registration. Issued at once online.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Internal Revenue Service
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Register for tax
Business registration for sales and use tax and withholding (NC-BR)
Register online before the first sale; the certificate of registration arrives by mail within about 10 business days, so allow for that before opening. Add income tax withholding in the same application once you have employees. Prepared food carries the county’s extra meals tax in several counties.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- North Carolina Department of Revenue
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Approve the space
Zoning approval, certificate of occupancy and local business registration
Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing the lease, pull building and sign permits for the build-out, and get the certificate of occupancy before the health inspection or opening. Business personal property is listed with the county tax office each January.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Your city or county planning, inspections and tax offices
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Get the permits for your kind of business
Food establishment permit
Submit plans and a menu to the county before building out or converting a space; franchised and chain plans go to the state plan review unit as well. The permit is issued after the opening inspection and is not transferable: a new owner applies for a transitional permit. Food eaten on the premises is permitted here; food sold to take away is inspected by the Department of Agriculture, and whichever makes up most of the sales decides.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- The county health department’s environmental health office, under the North Carolina Food Code (15A NCAC 18A .2600)
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Certified food protection manager
The person in charge during operating hours must hold a food protection manager certificate from an ANSI-accredited program; the rule is enforced after the first inspection and scored on every inspection after that.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- County health department, under Food Code section 2-102.12
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Alcohol permits
ABC retail permits
Apply online after the lease, the zoning sign-off and the local government notice; the Commission’s ALE agents inspect the premises and the owners. Mixed beverages are sold only where the city or county has approved them by election, and a restaurant’s mixed beverages permit requires food sales. A temporary permit can issue in weeks; the permanent one takes longer.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Before the first hire
Unemployment insurance account, new hire reporting and workers’ compensation
Register in NCSUITS once you have payroll. Report each new hire within 20 days. Workers’ compensation insurance is required once you employ three or more people, counting officers and LLC members.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- North Carolina Division of Employment Security (NCSUITS); NC New Hire Directory; Industrial Commission
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Bars already in North Carolina
- Establishments, County Business Patterns 2023
- 316
- Per 10,000 residents
- 0.3
- Change since 2018
- +313 (+10433.3%)
Metro areas with the most
| Metro area | Bars | Per 10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | 232 | 0.8 |
| Raleigh-Cary | 149 | 0.9 |
| Wilmington | 95 | 2.0 |
| Asheville | 77 | 1.8 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | 76 | 1.2 |
| Greensboro-High Point | 69 | 0.9 |
How they fare in North Carolina
- Closed in 2023, accommodation and food services
- 7.8%
- Opened in 2023
- 10.5%
Then pick the place
- 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.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The bar check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State fee schedule for limited liability companies; G.S. 66-71.4; Durham and Brunswick County Register of Deeds instructions; IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue online business registration (form NC-BR); Secretary of State business licensing guidance; local ordinances; NC DHHS Environmental Health Section plan review unit; county plan review applications (Rowan, Durham, Forsyth); North Carolina Food Code (15A NCAC 18A .2652); G.S. 18B-902 and 18B-903; ABC Commission retail permit types and renewal pages; Division of Employment Security employer pages and 2026 tax rate table; Industrial Commission employer requirements; 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.