Houston
Do you need a business license in Houston?
Houston has no general business license and Texas has no general state business license either, so most Houston businesses need no across-the-board license at all; what they need instead is the Texas sales tax permit for taxable sales, an assumed name filing where applicable, and activity-specific permits from the city or county for regulated operations.
Do you need a business license in Houston?
Houston has no general business license and Texas has no general state business license either, so most Houston businesses need no across-the-board license at all; what they need instead is the Texas sales tax permit for taxable sales, an assumed name filing where applicable, and activity-specific permits from the city or county for regulated operations.
No general license, by design
Neither the City of Houston nor the State of Texas issues a general business license. A consulting firm or online seller can lawfully operate in Houston with nothing more than its entity registration and tax accounts. The licensing question in Houston is always: what does the business actually do, and is that activity regulated by the city, the county, or a state agency?
The state layer
Texas businesses register their entities with the Texas Secretary of State (sole proprietors using an assumed name file with the county clerk), obtain a Texas sales tax permit from the Comptroller for any taxable sales, free to obtain and required before the first sale, and handle franchise tax registration through the same Comptroller. Regulated industries license through TDLR, TABC for alcohol, and the relevant state boards. The full state picture is on our Texas business license page.
Houston's activity permits
The city and Harris County regulate by activity: food establishments permit through the Houston Health Department, alcohol runs through TABC with local certification steps, ground transportation and wreckers carry city permits, and building trades pull permits through Houston Permitting Center. Sign permits, fire code permits for certain occupancies, and health permits for pools and body art round out the common list. If your activity touches health, safety, or the public way, assume a permit exists and check.
How to proceed
Register the entity, obtain the sales tax permit if you sell taxable goods or services, file the assumed name where you trade under one, then check your specific activity against the Houston Permitting Center and Health Department lists. Cornerstone manages the Texas and multi-state layer, entity registrations, sales tax permits, industry licenses, and flags the local permits your model triggers; the city permits themselves issue from the city's departments on their own schedules.
The Texas state layer
City requirements sit on top of Texas's state-level rules: entity registration, tax permits, and industry licenses. Check both layers together.
Texas business license requirementsFrequently asked questions
Does an LLC in Houston need a business license?
Not a general one; no such license exists in Houston or Texas. The LLC needs its Secretary of State registration, a sales tax permit for taxable sales, and any activity permits its operations trigger. Our answer page on whether an LLC needs a business license covers the general question.
How much does it cost to start a business in Houston?
The Texas sales tax permit is free, entity filing fees are set by the Secretary of State, and assumed name filings carry modest county fees. Activity permits vary by department. Texas's lack of a general license keeps the baseline cost low compared with license-everything cities.
Do home businesses in Houston need anything?
Houston has no zoning code in the traditional sense, but deed restrictions enforced by the city and by neighborhood associations can limit home business activity, and the state tax layer still applies. Check deed restrictions before assuming a home operation is unrestricted.
Business licenses by city
- All city guides
- New York City business licenses
- Los Angeles business licenses
- Chicago business licenses
- Phoenix business licenses
- Philadelphia business licenses
- Seattle business licenses
- Atlanta business licenses
- San Antonio business licenses
- San Diego business licenses
- Dallas business licenses
- Denver business licenses
- Miami business licenses
Related resources
Business licensing
Licensed in every market you operate in
Cornerstone runs the state licensing stack across every state you work in, and tells you exactly which local filings each city still requires.