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 wine bars in Missouri 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); no annual report
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 filing system. The articles name a registered agent with a Missouri street address. Only corporations file an annual registration report; an LLC’s record stays as filed until you amend it ($25).
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed whenever a sole proprietor, LLC or corporation trades under any name other than its legal or registered name. Missouri registers fictitious names with the Secretary of State, not the county, and the law asks for the filing within five days of starting to use the name.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the Missouri 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 MyTax Missouri before the first sale; the same application opens the withholding account. The Department will not issue the retail sales tax license until the bond is in, so file the bond form with the application. The license must be displayed, and local sales taxes are collected on the same return.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Most Missouri cities license storefronts, and the city license is also where the liquor, food and other local approvals attach. Kansas City requires the license even with no receipts yet, and restaurants there also collect a 2% city food tax. Ask the city before signing the lease; many counties license only in unincorporated areas.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Missouri has no statewide building code; each city or county adopts its own, so confirm the zoning allows your use and ask which code applies before signing. A change of use needs building permits and inspections, and the occupancy permit comes before the health permit and the liquor license, both of which ask for it.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Missouri delegates food permits to the local public health agency, and the state inspects only where there is no local program. Submit the plan review with the menu, floor plan and equipment list before building out, pass the pre-opening inspection, then post the permit. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all food establishments under the code.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
The state Food Code does not require a certified manager; the person in charge must be able to show knowledge of foodborne illness, HACCP and the code at every inspection. Many local agencies go further and require at least one certified food protection manager per location, among them St. Louis City and County, Kansas City and St. Charles, Clay, Greene and Boone counties, and several also require a food handler card for every employee. Ask your health department before opening.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
Get the city or county liquor license first (Kansas City through Regulated Industries, St. Louis City through the Excise Commissioner), then file the state application with the local license, the lease, the occupancy permit and the managing officer’s details. The state fee is prorated by month in the first year.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Workers’ compensation insurance is required once you have five or more employees, and from the first employee in the construction industry; LLC members and corporate officers count. Register for unemployment through the MyTax Missouri business registration and report each new hire within 20 days.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the wine bars already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a wine bar at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The wine bar check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State corporations FAQ and form LLC-1 (fee schedule); Small Business Startup Guide; RSMo 417.200 to 417.230; Secretary of State fictitious name registration (form Corp. 56) and schedule of fees; IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue business registration pages (form 2643, MyTax Missouri); 12 CSR 10-104.020 (sales and use tax bonds); RSMo 144.087; Kansas City business license FAQ (forms RD-105 and RD-103); City of St. Louis graduated business license fee schedule; Secretary of State Small Business Startup Guide; Secretary of State Small Business Startup Guide (local requirements); city and county building and zoning ordinances; Department of Health and Senior Services retail food program; 19 CSR 20-1.025 (Missouri Food Code); St. Louis County health permit application page; Kansas City Health Department restaurant guide; Department of Health and Senior Services food safety training page; Missouri Food Code (person in charge); local food ordinances; RSMo 311.200, 311.220 and 311.293; Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control fee page and retail by the drink license checklist; Division of Employment Security tax rates page (2026 new employer rates and taxable wage base); Division of Workers’ Compensation employer insurance page; 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); no annual report, fictitious name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), missouri tax registration: retail sales tax license, employer withholding, and the sales tax bond, city or county business license and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 4 more.
Missouri Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, Missouri Department of Revenue, Your city clerk or finance department, Your city or county planning and Your local public health agency, and 2 more.
With articles of organization (llc); no annual report (Missouri Secretary of State, Corporations Division), then fictitious name registration (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: retail liquor by the drink 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 wine bar in Missouri (2026) | DoorWorthy
