7 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 gift shops in New Hampshire say.
7 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 4Set up the business. Now: Certificate of formation (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 7 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 NH QuickStart. The certificate names a registered agent with a New Hampshire street address. The first annual report is due the April after the year the LLC was formed; a company formed between December 1 and April 1 skips that first April.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed when a sole proprietor, partnership, LLC or corporation trades under any name other than its own legal or registered name. No newspaper notice is required. A registration not renewed within 30 days after it expires is cancelled and the name is released.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the state tax accounts. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Register through Granite Tax Connect. Apply for the Meals and Rentals operator’s license at least 30 days before opening and post it; every place of business needs its own. Retail shops, salons, gyms and daycares collect no state tax at the register at all, but still file the Business Profits and Business Enterprise Tax returns once they pass the thresholds.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Ask the town clerk and the code office what the town itself requires before signing the lease. Manchester and Nashua, among a few other cities, run their own health departments and license food establishments in place of the state.
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 often needs site plan review by the planning board, then building permits and inspections, and the certificate of occupancy comes before the food license and the liquor license, which both ask for it.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 3
File the Employer Status Report within 30 days of first paying wages in New Hampshire. Workers’ compensation insurance is required from the first employee, full or part time, and should be in place before the hire. Report each new hire to Employment Security within 20 days.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the gift shops already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a gift shop at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The gift shop check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State LLC forms and fees (RSA 304-C:191); Corporation Division annual report FAQs; Secretary of State form TN-1 (RSA 349); IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue Administration Meals and Rentals Tax booklet and form CD-3 (RSA 78-A:4); business tax pages (RSA 77-A, RSA 77-E); Office of Planning and Development municipal guidance; town ordinances; RSA 155-A (State Building Code); RSA 674 (local land use planning); town ordinances; Employment Security employer claims and taxes pages and tax rate chart; Employment Security business compliance page (new hire reporting); Department of Labor workers’ compensation pages (RSA 281-A); 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.
7 items, in order: certificate of formation (llc) and the annual report, trade name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), business tax accounts (business profits tax, business enterprise tax) and the meals and rentals operator’s license, no state business license; local permits and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 1 more.
New Hampshire Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, Your city or town clerk, Your town’s planning board or zoning officer and code enforcement office and New Hampshire Employment Security.
With certificate of formation (llc) and the annual report (New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division), then trade name registration (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits and employer, in that order.
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 gift shop in New Hampshire (2026) | DoorWorthy
