Miami
How do you get a business license in Miami?
A business in the City of Miami needs two local registrations: a City of Miami Business Tax Receipt (BTR) plus a Certificate of Use for its location, and a separate Miami-Dade County Local Business Tax Receipt on top, with Florida adding state registrations, the Department of Revenue sales tax account, and DBPR industry licenses above that.
How do you get a business license in Miami?
A business in the City of Miami needs two local registrations: a City of Miami Business Tax Receipt (BTR) plus a Certificate of Use for its location, and a separate Miami-Dade County Local Business Tax Receipt on top, with Florida adding state registrations, the Department of Revenue sales tax account, and DBPR industry licenses above that.
The city BTR and the Certificate of Use
The City of Miami requires a Business Tax Receipt for any business operating in city limits, renewed annually, and pairs it with a Certificate of Use confirming the location's zoning allows the activity. Home-based businesses register as well, under Florida's home-based business statute and the city's process. The BTR is a tax receipt in form but functions as the city's business license: operating without it is a code violation, and the application runs through the city's online portal.
The county receipt is separate
Miami-Dade County levies its own local business tax, so a business inside the City of Miami holds two receipts: the city's and the county's, each renewed annually on its own schedule. Businesses in unincorporated Miami-Dade hold only the county receipt, and each of the county's other cities, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah, and more, pairs its own receipt with the county's the same way. The address decides which city's receipt applies; the county's applies almost everywhere.
The Florida layer
Florida has no general state business license. Entities register with the Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), businesses making taxable sales register with the Florida Department of Revenue for a sales tax account, and regulated industries license through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), restaurants, contractors, real estate, and alcohol among them, or through department-specific agencies such as FDACS for certain services. Our Florida business license page covers the state stack in full.
How to proceed
Confirm whether the business address sits inside City of Miami limits, obtain the Certificate of Use and city BTR if it does, add the Miami-Dade County receipt, and file the state layer: Sunbiz registration, the sales tax account for taxable sales, and any DBPR or agency licenses. Cornerstone manages the Florida and multi-state stack and flags which local receipts your locations require; the receipts themselves issue from the city and county offices to the operator.
The Florida state layer
City requirements sit on top of Florida's state-level rules: entity registration, tax permits, and industry licenses. Check both layers together.
Florida business license requirementsFrequently asked questions
Is a business tax receipt the same as a business license?
In Florida, functionally yes: the local business tax receipt is the local license, issued by cities and counties under state law. It does not substitute for state-level registrations or DBPR industry licenses, which are separate.
Do I need both the city and county receipt in Miami?
Yes, if the business sits inside City of Miami limits: the city and Miami-Dade County each require their own receipt with separate renewals. Outside city limits in unincorporated areas, only the county receipt applies.
Do home-based businesses in Miami need a receipt?
Yes. Florida's home-based business statute limits what local governments can restrict, but the business tax receipts still apply, and the city registers home businesses through its normal process.
Business licenses by city
- All city guides
- New York City business licenses
- Los Angeles business licenses
- Chicago business licenses
- Houston 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
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.