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 West Virginia 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) and the 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 One Stop Business Portal, which sends the same application on to the Tax Division and WorkForce West Virginia. The articles name a registered agent with a West Virginia address. The formation fee is waived for veteran-owned businesses and the annual report fee is waived for their first four years.
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. The trade name goes on the Tax Division registration and the municipal license, so file it before those.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the business registration certificate. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Every person doing business in West Virginia holds a business registration certificate, which is the state’s general business license, and posts it at each location. Register through the One Stop Business Portal before the first sale; the same application opens the sales tax account (6% state tax, plus a municipal sales tax of up to 1% in the cities that levy one) and the withholding account.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
West Virginia lets municipalities tax gross receipts, so most cities, including Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Wheeling, require a B&O account and a city business license before opening; a city that levies the 1% municipal sales tax under home rule had to cut its B&O rates in exchange. Businesses outside city limits owe neither. Ask the city before signing the lease.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
The State Building Code applies only where the city or county has adopted it, and many rural counties have no zoning or building department at all; in a city, confirm the zoning allows your use before signing, pull building permits for any change of use and get the certificate of occupancy before the health department and ABCA inspections. The Fire Marshal reviews assembly occupancies such as restaurants, bars and daycares.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit plans to the local health department before building out or converting a space, pass the opening inspection, then post the permit. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all food establishments under the rule, which adopts the FDA Food Code.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Every food establishment has at least one certified food protection manager, certified through a program accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board, and a person in charge who can show food safety knowledge at every inspection. Several county health departments also require a food handler card for every employee.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
West Virginia has no ordinary liquor-by-the-drink license: a restaurant or bar serving spirits is licensed as a private club, keeps a membership roll and signs customers in, with the private club restaurant class for places with a kitchen and the private club bar class for places without one. Apply online with the lease, floor plan, owner background forms and the health permit; the ABCA inspects before issuing. Wine or beer alone needs no club membership.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Workers’ compensation insurance is required of every employer from the first hire; West Virginia sets no minimum headcount and has sold coverage through private carriers since 2008. Report each new hire within 14 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 business formation and annual report pages; West Virginia One Stop Business Portal fee schedule; Secretary of State form NR-3 (revised September 2026) and form TN-1; IRS EIN page; Tax Division business registration questions and answers; West Virginia Code 11-12; West Virginia Code 8-13-4 and 8-13-5; City of Charleston B&O tax questions and answers; State Fire Marshal building code pages (87 CSR 4); municipal zoning and building ordinances; Office of Environmental Health Services food safety program; 64 CSR 17 (Food Establishments) and 64 CSR 30 (Fees for Permits); county health department fee schedules; 64 CSR 17 food protection manager requirement; local health department food safety pages; West Virginia Code 60-7-6 (private club license fees), 60-8-3 (wine licenses) and 11-16-9 (nonintoxicating beer); ABCA licensing fee table; WorkForce West Virginia employer handbook and rate pages; West Virginia Code 48-18-125 (new hire reporting); Offices of the Insurance Commissioner employer coverage pages; 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 report, trade name (dba) registration, employer identification number (ein), business registration certificate: sales and use tax, withholding (the state business license), municipal business and occupation (b&o) tax and city business license and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 4 more.
West Virginia Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, West Virginia Tax Division, Your city’s finance office or collector, Your city or county planning and building departments and Your county or district health department, and 3 more.
With articles of organization (llc) and the annual report (West Virginia Secretary of State, Business and Licensing Division), then trade name (dba) registration. The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: private club restaurant or private club bar license (liquor, wine and beer), or private wine restaurant 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 West Virginia (2026) | DoorWorthy
