7 items, in order: certificate of formation (llc) and the annual report, fictitious business name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), sales tax permit and withholding account (tap registration), municipal privilege license and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 1 more.
How to open a business in Mississippi
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 Mississippi? 7, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in Mississippi 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: 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. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
Set up the business0 of 3
File online through the Secretary of State’s business filing portal; there is no paper route. The certificate names a registered agent with a Mississippi street address. Fees are set by statute, and the annual report, though free, is still required, since a missed report leads to administrative dissolution.
- Fee
- Premium only
- Renewal
- Premium only
- Official page
- sos.ms.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 business services fee schedule and LLC formation pages; Fictitious Business Name Registration Act (Senate Bill 2003, 2010); Secretary of State fictitious business name filing; IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue business tax FAQ and Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) registration pages; Mississippi Code 27-17-5, 27-17-9 and 27-17-463; city privilege license pages (Bay St. Louis, Ridgeland, Batesville, Natchez); City building and use and occupancy permit pages (Byhalia, Wiggins); State Fire Marshal rules on local fire officials; MDES employer FAQ (taxable wage base and new employer rates); MDHS new hire reporting pages; Workers’ Compensation Commission facts for employers (Mississippi Code 71-3-5). Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.