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 ice cream shops in Maine say.
9 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 5Set up the business. Now: Certificate of formation (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 9 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
The certificate names a registered agent with a Maine street address. The first annual report is due the June 1 after the year the LLC was formed. The Secretary of State still takes most LLC filings on paper, so allow its posted processing time before you need the filed copy for the bank or a license.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed when the LLC trades under any name other than the one on its certificate of formation. A sole proprietor files an assumed name with the municipal clerk instead.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the Maine Revenue Services registration. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Register on the Maine Tax Portal before the first sale and post the retailer certificate. The state rate is 5.5% with no local sales taxes; prepared food is taxed at 8%, as are drinks sold at a place licensed for on-premises liquor. The same registration opens the withholding account once you have employees.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Maine has no statewide general business license and no longer requires towns to license victualers, but municipalities license by home rule ordinance, and the town also approves every liquor license before the state issues it. Ask the clerk what your use needs 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. In any municipality over 2,000 people that enforces the state building code, nobody may occupy a new or altered building until the code enforcement officer issues the certificate of occupancy. Building, altering or changing the use of a public building, which includes places of assembly such as restaurants and bars and shops over 3,000 square feet, needs a construction permit from the State Fire Marshal or a municipality it has delegated to, with dimensioned plans.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit the application with the floor plan, the menu and the certified food protection manager certificate before opening, then pass the licensing inspection. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all eating establishments under the state food code (10-144 C.M.R. chapter 200). The Health Inspection Program is at 207-287-5671.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Every eating establishment employs at least one certified food protection manager, with limited exemptions; the certificate goes in with the license application, is posted at the establishment and must be replaced within 60 days when the holder leaves. A person in charge must be present whenever the place is open and able to answer the inspector’s food safety questions.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 4
Workers’ compensation insurance is required from the first employee, part time included; only domestic and some seasonal farm work is exempt. Report each new hire within 7 days. Paid leave benefits became payable on May 1, 2026, and an employer with a state-approved private plan may opt out of the state premium.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the ice cream shops already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow an ice cream shop at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The ice cream shop check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
31 M.R.S. 1680 (limited liability company filing fees); Secretary of State LLC forms; Secretary of State form MLLC-5 (statement of intention to transact business under an assumed or fictitious name); IRS EIN page; Maine Revenue Services business guide (December 2025); Maine Tax Portal registration; 30-A M.R.S. 3811 and 3812 (innkeepers and tavernkeepers; the victualer license was repealed by P.L. 1997, c. 446); municipal ordinances; 25 M.R.S. 2357-A (certificate of occupancy); 25 M.R.S. 2448 and 2450 (public building construction permits); municipal ordinances; Health Inspection Program eating and lodging application HHE-602 (revised June 2025) and fee schedule; 22 M.R.S. 2494; 10-144 C.M.R. chapter 201; Health Inspection Program certified food protection manager handout; Maine Food Code (10-144 C.M.R. chapter 200), person in charge sections; Department of Labor 2026 unemployment contribution rate notice and employer FAQ; Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave employer pages (26 M.R.S. chapter 7, subchapter 7); DHHS new hire reporting FAQ; 39-A M.R.S. 401; 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.
9 items, in order: certificate of formation (llc) and the annual report, statement of intention to transact business under an assumed name (dba), employer identification number (ein), sales tax and income tax withholding registration, municipal business licenses and zoning approval, construction permits and certificate of occupancy, and 3 more.
Maine Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, Maine Revenue Services, Your town or city clerk, Your municipality’s code enforcement officer and Maine DHHS Health Inspection Program, and 1 more.
With certificate of formation (llc) and the annual report (Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions), then statement of intention to transact business under an assumed name (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 an ice cream shop in Maine (2026) | DoorWorthy
