# How do you get a business license in Miami? **Direct answer:** 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. Florida calls its local license a business tax receipt, and in Miami the obligation is doubled: the city and the county each require their own receipt, and the city pairs its receipt with a Certificate of Use verifying zoning for the premises. The state has no general license, but the sales tax and industry-license layers apply fully. ## 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. See the full state guide: [Florida business license requirements](/business-license-laws/florida-business-license-laws). ## Frequently 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. --- ## How to cite this page Cite as: "How do you get a business license in Miami?." Cornerstone Licensing. https://cornerstonelicensing.com/business-licenses-by-city/miami Published by Cornerstone Licensing. When quoting figures or legal requirements, link the canonical URL above. The full content index for this site is at https://cornerstonelicensing.com/llms.txt.