11 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 restaurants in Rhode Island say.
11 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 11 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 online through the Department of State’s business services portal. The articles name a resident agent with a Rhode Island street address. Separately, every LLC owes the Division of Taxation a $400 annual charge (form RI-1065 or RI-1120S, due March 15) for every year it exists, including the year it is formed, whether or not it earns anything.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Since January 1, 2026 every trade name, whether used by a sole proprietor, a partnership or an LLC, is registered with the Department of State instead of the city or town clerk, in one statewide database. Register before opening under the name and renew it each year.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the Division of Taxation 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 taxpayer portal before the first sale; the same registration opens withholding once you have employees. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops and bakeries also collect the state-administered local meals and beverage tax on prepared food through the same account. Post the permit at the register.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Rhode Island has no statewide general business license. The city or town licensing board (usually the council or a board it appoints, through the clerk) is where the victualling, liquor, entertainment and holiday sales licenses are issued, so ask the clerk what your trade needs before signing a lease.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Ask the zoning officer for a zoning certificate confirming the use is allowed before signing; a change of use or a build-out needs building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits under the state building code, and the certificate of occupancy comes after the final inspections. The Department of Health, the licensing board and the pet shop application all ask for proof the zoning allows the use.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Every place that cooks or serves food for eating on the premises, from a restaurant to a coffee shop with seats, needs a victualling license from the local board before it opens, granted once the Department of Health, fire and building sign-offs are in. The board may also require an entertainment license for music or television.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
The state, not the city, licenses food in Rhode Island. For a new space or a renovation above half the establishment’s value, submit the plan review package (application, three sets of plans, the menu and the fee) at least one month before construction; an existing kitchen files two weeks before opening. Pass the opening inspection, then post the license. The Center for Food Protection is at 401-222-2749.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
An establishment that prepares foods needing time and temperature control employs at least one full-time, on-site manager who holds a Department-recognized food safety manager certificate and is at least 18; one with ten or more full-time equivalent food preparation staff employs two. Inspectors ask for the certificate on the first visit.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
Rhode Island has no statewide population quota; each city or town fixes its own cap on Class B licenses under 3-5-16, and where the cap is full a license changes hands by transfer with the board’s approval. The board advertises the application, holds a hearing and takes objections from neighbors. A Class BV must be a licensed victualler serving food; a tavern license is for a bar without full food service, and the Division of Taxation issues a certificate of good standing each year before renewal.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Register with the Employer Tax Unit when you hire. Workers’ compensation insurance is required from the first employee, with no small employer exemption; sole owners and partners are exempt themselves, and going uninsured can cost $1,000 a day. Report each new hire or rehire within 14 days.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the restaurants already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a restaurant at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The restaurant check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Department of State articles of organization (R.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-6) and LLC annual report form 632 (revised March 2026); Department of State trade name registration page and online filing guide; R.I. Gen. Laws 6-1-1 as amended for 2026; IRS EIN page; Division of Taxation sales tax permit guidance (R.I. Gen. Laws 44-19-1); form BAR; RI.gov business assistant; municipal licensing ordinances; R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-31 (zoning certificate); municipal building and zoning offices; R.I. Gen. Laws 5-24-1; municipal victualling license pages (North Providence, Barrington, Lincoln, New Shoreham); 216-RICR-10-05-2.11 (Department of Health food protection fees); Center for Food Protection new food establishment page and food service application; Rhode Island Food Code (216-RICR-50-10-1); Rhode Island Food Code 216-RICR-50-10-1 (effective January 2025); Department of Health rules on certification of managers in food safety; R.I. Gen. Laws 3-7-7 and 3-5-16; Department of Business Regulation municipal retail license information sheet; Johnston, North Providence, Barrington and Providence licensing pages; Department of Labor and Training 2026 unemployment and TDI rate release; Employer Tax Unit pages; R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-6 and 15-24-2; 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.
11 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the annual report, trade name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), sales tax permit and withholding registration, city or town business registration or license and zoning certificate, building permits and certificate of occupancy, and 5 more.
Rhode Island Department of State, Internal Revenue Service, Rhode Island Division of Taxation, Your city or town clerk or licensing board, Your city or town zoning enforcement officer and building official and Your city or town licensing board, and 2 more.
With articles of organization (llc) and the annual report (Rhode Island Department of State, Division of Business Services), then trade name registration (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: class b victualler (bv) or tavern liquor 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 restaurant in Rhode Island (2026) | DoorWorthy
