Direct answer
How do you register a business?
To register a business, choose a structure, file the entity with the secretary of state (articles of organization for an LLC or incorporation for a corporation) with a registered agent, get a free EIN from the IRS, open the state tax accounts your operations trigger such as a seller's permit and employer accounts, and then file the general and industry licenses your city, county, and state require.
"Register a business" sounds like one errand. It is actually a short series of registrations with different government offices, entity, federal tax, state tax, and licensing, and the offices do not coordinate with each other. Done in the right order, the whole sequence is straightforward; done out of order, each later filing sends you back to fix an earlier one.
Step 1: Choose the structure
The structure decision comes first because it determines what you register. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships exist without entity filings; you register a trade name (a DBA) if you use one, and your licenses attach to you personally. LLCs and corporations require formation filings and give you the liability shield. If you are weighing the entity against the license itself, our post on business license vs LLC untangles them: you will likely need both.
Step 2: Register the entity with the state
File articles of organization (LLC) or incorporation (corporation) with the secretary of state in your formation state, name a registered agent, and pay the filing fee. Businesses operating in additional states add foreign qualification in each, with a registered agent in every state on file. This is the layer our entity formation and registered agent practices run.
Step 3: Get the EIN
The federal employer identification number is free from the IRS and takes minutes online. Nearly everything downstream, bank accounts, tax registrations, license applications, payroll, asks for it, so get it as soon as the entity exists.
Step 4: Open the state tax accounts
Register with the state revenue agency for the accounts your operations trigger: a seller's permit for taxable sales, employer withholding and unemployment accounts if you hire, and franchise or gross receipts registrations where the state has them. Several license applications require these account numbers, which is why tax accounts come before licenses in the sequence.
Step 5: File the licenses
Now the licensing layer: the general business license from your city, county, or state, and the industry licenses your activity requires. Where you apply depends entirely on where you are, the models differ sharply even among big cities, as our city guides show, and the state-level reality for all fifty states is mapped in the state hub. The full licensing sequence, with the zoning and renewal steps this summary compresses, is in our guide on how to get a business license.
What comes after
Registration is the start of a calendar, not the end of a project: annual reports, license renewals, and tax filings all recur. Our post on the annual compliance checklist lays out the recurring layer, and Cornerstone's business licensing practice runs the whole sequence, entity to licenses to renewals, for companies that would rather not chase four offices themselves.
Found This Useful? Let's Get You Set Up.
Start an application and an expert will tailor the next steps to your situation.
