7 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the annual report, trade name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), state sales tax and withholding accounts (latap), plus the parish sales tax account (parish e-file), occupational license tax (the parish or city business license) and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 1 more.
How to open a business in Louisiana
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page.
What licenses do you need to open a business in Louisiana? 7, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in Louisiana takes. A license specific to your kind of business comes from the agency that regulates it; if one of the twenty named businesses is close to yours, its page lists those too.
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 4Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (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. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
Set up the business0 of 3
File online through geauxBIZ, which also starts the Department of Revenue and Workforce Commission registrations. The articles name a registered agent with a Louisiana address and an initial report is filed with them at no extra charge. Check the fee schedule on the day you file; guides written before October 2026 show the old amounts.
- Fee
- Premium only
- Renewal
- Premium only
- Official page
- sos.la.gov
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Before the first hireOpens after step 3
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the businesses already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a business 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 business check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State forms and fee schedule page and the fee change notice effective October 1, 2026 (Act 921 of the 2026 Regular Session); Secretary of State trade name registration pages and fee schedule (R.S. 51:281 and following); IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue LaTAP and business registration pages; Parish E-File; R.S. 47:341 to 47:363 (occupational license tax); Louisiana Municipal Association occupational license tax manual; parish and city ordinances; Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code (R.S. 40:1730.21 and following); parish and city zoning ordinances; Louisiana Workforce Commission 2026 unemployment insurance contribution rate table; Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration employer coverage pages; DCFS New Hire Registry. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.