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 cocktail bars in Minnesota say.
Draft. These 10 rows were drafted from the agencies' own pages in October 2026 and 1 still waits to be confirmed against the agency; one carries a note on what to check. Open the official page before you pay anything.
10 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Step 1 of 6Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC) and the annual renewal
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 online through the Secretary of State’s business filings service. The articles name a registered office with a Minnesota street address. The annual renewal costs nothing but missing it dissolves the LLC at the end of the year, and a reinstatement fee applies to bring it back.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed whenever the business trades under any name other than the owner’s legal name or the LLC’s registered name. After filing, publish the certificate in a qualified newspaper in the county of the principal office for two consecutive issues and keep the affidavit of publication.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the Minnesota tax ID registration. Issued at once online.
Fee
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Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Register online before the first taxable sale; the same registration opens the sales and use tax account and, once you hire, the withholding account. Restaurants and bars also collect any local sales tax and, in Minneapolis and a few other cities, a local food and beverage tax. A past-due sales tax balance blocks a new account.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Minneapolis, St. Paul and other larger cities license food businesses, liquor, animal care and some other trades; smaller cities often license only liquor and food. Ask the clerk which licenses your storefront needs before signing the lease, since the liquor and food licenses are also filed there.
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 occupancy needs building permits, plan review and inspections from the city building official, and the certificate of occupancy comes before the food license and the liquor license.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit the plan review with the menu, the floor plan and the equipment list before building out, pass the pre-opening inspection, then post the license. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all food and beverage service establishments under the code. Opening without a license adds a penalty fee. Find out first whether your city or county is a delegated agency, since then the application, fee and inspection are all local.
Fee
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Renewal
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Official page
Members
Every food establishment except a low-risk one must employ at least one certified food protection manager who has passed an accredited exam and holds the Minnesota certificate, and the certificate is displayed. A departing manager must be replaced within 60 days.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
Apply to the city with the lease, the floor plan, the owners’ disclosures and proof of liquor liability insurance; the city holds a public hearing, approves, then sends the license to the state for approval. A restaurant with at least 25 seats may hold the cheaper wine license, which also allows strong beer with a 3.2 malt liquor license. A city must give 30 days’ notice before raising a fee.
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 any employee, from the first hire, and the policy must be posted. Register the unemployment account as soon as you pay wages; the same account reports Paid Leave wages. Report each new hire within 20 days.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the cocktail bars already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a cocktail bar at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The cocktail bar check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State articles of organization form and fee notes (Minn. Stat. 322C.0201 and 5.14 expedited service); Secretary of State certificate of assumed name form (Minn. Stat. 333.01 to 333.06); IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue Minnesota tax ID and sales and use tax registration pages; Minnesota eLicense directory of state licenses; city ordinances (Minneapolis Licenses and Consumer Services, 612-673-2080); Department of Labor and Industry state building code pages; city ordinances; Minn. Stat. 157.16 (license fees); Department of Health Food, Pools and Lodging Services license pages; Minn. Rules chapter 4626 (food code); Minnesota food code certified food protection manager requirement; Department of Health CFPM pages; Minn. Stat. 340A.404 (on-sale licenses), 340A.408 (retail license fees) and 340A.413 (number of licenses); city liquor ordinances; Minnesota Unemployment Insurance tax rate page (2026 taxable wage base); Minnesota Paid Leave premium rate page; Department of Labor and Industry workers’ compensation pages (Minn. Stat. 176.021 and 176.181); 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) and the annual renewal, certificate of assumed name (dba), employer identification number (ein), minnesota tax id number: sales and use tax account, withholding tax, city business license, where the city requires one and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 4 more.
Minnesota Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, Minnesota Department of Revenue, Your city clerk or licensing office, Your city’s planning and building departments and Minnesota Department of Health, and 2 more.
With articles of organization (llc) and the annual renewal (Minnesota Secretary of State), then certificate of assumed name (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: on-sale intoxicating liquor license, or on-sale wine 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.
How to open a cocktail bar in Minnesota (2026) | DoorWorthy
