10 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 Wyoming say.
10 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 license tax
0 of 10 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 Secretary of State’s business center. The articles name a registered agent with a Wyoming street address. Wyoming has no state income tax and no franchise tax; the annual report license tax is the only recurring state charge on the entity, and a report can be filed up to 120 days early.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Registration is voluntary in Wyoming and gives notice rather than exclusive rights, but banks and landlords ask for it when the business trades under any name other than the LLC’s registered name. The application is notarized and the name must already be in use when it is filed.
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 registration. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Register through the Wyoming Internet Filing System for Business (WYIFS) before the first taxable sale and post the license. Wyoming has no state income tax, so there is no withholding account to open; prepared food, drinks and retail goods are all taxable, and some resort towns add a local lodging or resort district tax the Department also collects.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Wyoming has no statewide general business license. Whether the city licenses your kind of business is a question for the clerk, and the clerk is also where the liquor license is filed; a license cannot be used until the city’s inspections are done. Counties do not license ordinary retail businesses.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
The state fire marshal’s department adopts the International Building Codes (the 2024 editions now) for commercial buildings, and cities and counties that enforce their own codes must match or exceed them. Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing; a change of use needs building permits and inspections, and the food license, the liquor license and the child care license all ask for the occupancy approval.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit the plan review with the menu, the floor plan and the equipment list before building out or converting a space, then pass the opening inspection; the application comes from the local inspector rather than online (licensing 307-777-7321). The fee was $100 for two decades before the legislature raised it. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all food establishments under the Wyoming Food Safety Rule; Cheyenne-Laramie County, Casper-Natrona County and Teton County run their own programs under the same rule.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
The state rule requires a person in charge present during all hours of operation who can show the inspector knowledge of foodborne illness prevention, HACCP and the rule, but does not itself require a certificate. Cheyenne-Laramie County, Casper-Natrona County and Teton County do require at least one certified food protection manager with supervisory responsibility, so plan on the certificate in those counties.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
The retail liquor license is the full bar license and the only one that sells to go; towns of 500 people or fewer get two, then one more for each 500 residents up to 9,500 and one per 3,000 above that, and a county gets one per 500 residents outside its towns. A restaurant liquor license has no quota but sells drinks only with food in the dining area and keeps food at 60% of sales. A bar and grill license needs 60% of revenue from food and entertainment, cannot sell to go, and its population cap is being phased out over ten years under the 2023 law (Laws 2023, chapter 20). Apply to the city or county clerk with the lease and floor plan; the authority publishes notice and holds a hearing. Wine and spirits are bought from the Wyoming Liquor Division, the state’s wholesaler. Ask the local licensing authority for its current fee and whether a license is available before signing a lease.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Wyoming sells workers’ compensation only through the state fund, and coverage is required for every employer in the industries listed in W.S. 27-14-108, which includes accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), so restaurants, bars and coffee shops must cover their staff from the first hire. Employers outside the list may elect coverage, and then must cover all employees. Report each new hire within 20 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
Secretary of State Business Division fee schedule (effective July 1, 2026); W.S. 17-29-209; Secretary of State trade name registration application and instructions; W.S. 40-2-104; IRS EIN page; W.S. 39-15-106 (license fee); Department of Revenue sales and use tax license application; Cheyenne City Clerk licenses and permits pages (307-637-6330); City of Casper business and health license pages; Town of Jackson business license; W.S. 35-9-121 (local enforcement of the state building codes); Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety 2024 code adoption; Laramie County building code resolutions; Department of Agriculture Consumer Health Services information page; W.S. 35-7-124 (license required and fees); Wyoming Food Safety Rule (person in charge); Cheyenne-Laramie County Food Safety Rule; Casper-Natrona County Food Safety Rule; Teton County Health Department food safety pages; W.S. 12-4-104, 12-4-201 (population quota), 12-4-411 and 12-4-413; county clerk liquor license pages (Teton, Albany, Platte, Converse); Wyoming Liquor Division licensing pages; Department of Workforce Services taxable wage base page (2026); W.S. 27-14-108 (extrahazardous employments); W.S. 27-1-115 (new hire reporting); 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.
10 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the annual report license tax, trade name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), sales and use tax license, city business license, where the city has one and zoning approval, building permits and certificate of occupancy, and 4 more.
Wyoming Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, Wyoming Department of Revenue, Your city or town clerk, Your city or county planning and building department and Wyoming Department of Agriculture, and 2 more.
With articles of organization (llc) and the annual report license tax (Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division), then trade name registration (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: retail liquor license, restaurant liquor license or bar and grill 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 Wyoming (2026) | DoorWorthy
