Do You Need a Local Business License to Sell Microgreens?

A general business license is a separate document from the food license, and whether you need one depends on where you grow and where you sell. Start with the city and county office where your trays sit, then check your state, because the answer can change at each level. Some places license nearly every business, some tax it through a registration, and some leave it to activity-specific permits.

An LLC or a DBA filing does not settle the question either. Those filings create a business or a name; they are not the same thing as an operating license. A farm or market exemption from the food license may not carry over to a city or county business tax, so that is the question to put to each office.

For the food side, read Do I need a license to sell microgreens.

Which level of government do you check first?

Check the city and county where you grow, then the places where you sell, then your state. Cities and counties are where most of the variation sits, so a call to those offices tells you what to do this week.

Counties matter most if you live outside city limits. Some counties license businesses in their unincorporated areas, and others do not. San Mateo County, California, requires a county business license for businesses in its unincorporated areas, with a $50 nonrefundable application fee, according to the county's business license page. Maricopa County, Arizona, says it does not require a general business license in unincorporated areas, though food and other activity permits can still apply, according to Maricopa County's licenses and permits page.

If you live inside a city, you may owe both. Miami-Dade County says a business inside a municipality can need a county receipt and a municipal receipt, per its local business tax information. The fee depends on the business category, so ask the county tax collector what category a home-based microgreens grower falls under.

Does a state require its own general business license?

Some do and some do not, so look up your own state before anything else. Four examples show the range.

Alaska requires a business license under AS 43.70.020, with a standard $50 yearly fee and a $25 fee for qualifying sole proprietors who are 65 or older or qualifying disabled veterans, according to Alaska's business licensing FAQs. Washington requires a state business license too; the Department of Revenue charges $50 to open a business and $5 for annual renewal, per its processing fee page. Trade-name and local endorsement fees may be extra.

Nevada works differently. NRS 76.100 requires a state business license before you do business, at $200 for most entities, according to Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 76. Delaware says all businesses operating in the state need a general business license from the Division of Revenue, and the fee depends on your activity and tax category per the state's general business license page. Use the Division of Revenue rate schedule for your exact category.

Other states hand the job to local government. Tennessee issues no single statewide license; it requires county and, where applicable, city licenses when receipts exceed the applicable thresholds, with a $15 standard local registration fee, per the Tennessee Department of Revenue. Oregon has no general state license, and cities and counties may impose their own, according to the Oregon Secretary of State. North Carolina issues no state general license, and requirements follow the activity and the local jurisdiction, per Charlotte's small-business guide.

What do cities actually require?

City rules do not follow one pattern, even among the largest cities. Some use a general license, some use a business tax certificate, and some rely on licenses tied to a specific activity.

• San Diego: Every business, home-based ones included, registers for a Business Tax Certificate, per the city's application page. The annual business tax is $34 for businesses with 12 or fewer employees, plus a $4 state fee, per the city's fee page.
• Seattle: A general business license tax certificate is required unless a business is specifically exempt. The 2026 Tier 1 fee is $73 for taxable revenue under $20,000, per Seattle's business license page.
• Phoenix: A Transaction Privilege and Use Tax license is required when the activity is subject to the city's privilege tax. The initial fee is $50, and renewal is $50 a year, per Phoenix's fee page.
• Philadelphia: A Commercial Activity License is required before doing business, and the license carries no fee, per the city's tax account page.
• San Antonio: The city's small-business guide states there is no "General Business License" requirement in the city, per the San Antonio guide.

Chicago's code, §4-4-010, requires a license for every business that needs one, and each location is licensed separately, according to Chicago Municipal Code Chapter 4-4. Los Angeles requires a Business Tax Registration Certificate unless a business is exempt. For New York, Houston, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Washington, DC, El Paso and Boston, ask the city's business licensing or tax office what applies to a home-based produce grower before you sell. In Los Angeles, San José and Portland, ask the city tax office for the current fee.

Does selling your own crop at a market take you out of it?

Sometimes, and the exemption is written very differently from one place to the next. Read the exact wording for your jurisdiction and ask the issuing office whether it covers a business tax or only food licensing.

Washington has the clearest statewide protection. RCW 36.71.090 says any farmer, gardener or other person may, without license, sell, deliver or peddle fruits, vegetables, berries, eggs, or any farm produce or edibles raised, gathered, produced or manufactured by that person. Dairy, meat, poultry, fish and shellfish are carved out where a license is required for them, according to RCW 36.71.090.

St. Louis exempts local farmers who sell their agricultural products, and products made from them, directly to consumers solely at farmers markets from its graduated business license tax, per Ordinance 70862. The word "solely" matters: a grower who also sells off-market is outside that sentence, so ask the license office how your mix of sales is treated.

Oklahoma City's guidance says vendors selling whole produce, milk, eggs or butter from their own farm need no city license for those products at farmers markets, according to the Oklahoma County farmers-market licensing page. That page is administrative guidance, not a code section, and it says some other market vendors do need a city license. Philadelphia runs the other way: its guide says every farmers-market vendor needs a Commercial Activity License, except nonprofit organizations, per the city's farmers-market page.

Minneapolis shows why the question matters. The city defines "product of the farm" vendors as growers selling what they grow, raise or harvest on land they own or lease, with no off-farm ingredients added, per Minneapolis farmers-market guidance. That definition governs food licensing. A food-license exemption does not automatically create an exemption from a separate city or county business tax, so ask about the tax directly.

Is an LLC or DBA a business license?

Not automatically. Each filing does a different job. Name every document by the agency that issues it and what it does:

• Entity formation sets the business structure, such as an LLC.
• A DBA or assumed-name filing gives you authority to use a business name.
• A sales tax permit authorizes you to collect tax, or registers you for it, when your sales are taxable.
• A general business license or business tax certificate covers the local or state operating requirements.
• Your food license is separate again; see the food license post.

Massachusetts says directly that a business certificate, commonly called a DBA, "is not a business license"; it creates a public record of the owner and business name, per the state's DBA page. Nevada keeps its state business license separate from the LLC filing, so a Nevada LLC may need both, according to the Nevada Secretary of State.

Texas is the case where a filing does fill the role. Texas says it has no general business license, and it describes a certificate of formation or assumed-name certificate as satisfying the general-license function used in other states, according to the Texas Business Permit Office. That is a Texas structure, not a national rule. Austin points to activity-specific permits beyond that, per Austin's start-a-business guide.

A sales tax permit is its own thing. The Texas Comptroller says a permit is required for taxable sales of tangible personal property or taxable services, and that it does not settle every other license or fee, per the Comptroller's permit FAQ. San Diego makes a similar point about its own certificate: it acknowledges payment of business tax and does not authorize other required permits, per the city's application page.

What happens if you sell without a required license?

Penalties vary by place and can include the license fee, back taxes, late fees, civil penalties and closure. Back fees and fines are separate charges.

Nevada's NRS 76.110 charges the $200 fee plus a $100 penalty for each year of unlicensed operation, and NRS 76.180 allows a civil fine of $1,000 to $10,000 for willful failure to obtain or renew, per Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 76. Chicago's penalty is $500 to $1,000 per offense, and each continuing day counts as a separate offense, per Chicago Municipal Code Chapter 4-4. San Diego bills retroactively for up to three years and adds late fees and surcharges, according to its rates and fees page.

Call the licensing office before your first sale and ask what applies at your address.

What should you do this week?

Work from the state down to your own address, and write down each answer with the name of the person who gave it.

1. Read your state's statute or agency page for a farm sales exemption.
2. Call the business license or tax office in the city where you grow, and again for any city where you sell.
3. Call the county office for where you grow, especially if you live outside city limits.
4. Ask each office: "Does the farm or farmers-market exemption cover a business tax or certificate, or only food licensing?"
5. Ask the fee for a home-based grower of your size, and when it renews.

Then return to the national food license post so both layers are covered before your first sale. Whether an exemption applies to you is a decision for the issuing office, so get its answer in writing or by email.

FAQ

Does a home-based microgreens grower need a business license? It depends on the city and county. San Diego says all businesses, including home-based ones, must register for a Business Tax Certificate, according to the city. Other places, such as San Antonio, state they have no general business license, so ask the office for your address.

Do I need a city license and a county license? You can. Miami-Dade County says a business inside a municipality may need both a county receipt and a municipal receipt, per its tax information. Ask both offices which applies to your address.

Does my sales tax permit count as a business license? Not by itself. The Texas Comptroller says its sales tax permit does not determine every other license or fee responsibility, per its permit FAQ. Confirm with the agency that issued yours.

Do I need a separate state license if I form an LLC? Possibly. Nevada's Secretary of State separates the LLC filing from the state business license, and a Nevada LLC may need both, per its LLC page. Check your own state's agency for the same split.

The office to call

The licensing question comes down to one phone call per jurisdiction and one specific question: does the exemption you are counting on cover the business tax, or only the food license? Ask it of the city, ask it of the county, and keep the answer. Then you can sell knowing which papers you hold and what each one does.

Sources

Prices, stock and specifications are as the linked pages showed them on 2026-11-09.

• the county's business license page
• Maricopa County's licenses and permits page
• its local business tax information
• Alaska's business licensing FAQs
• its processing fee page
• Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 76
• the state's general business license page
• the Tennessee Department of Revenue
• the Oregon Secretary of State
• Charlotte's small-business guide
• the city's application page
• the city's fee page
• Seattle's business license page
• Phoenix's fee page
• the city's tax account page
• the San Antonio guide
• Chicago Municipal Code Chapter 4-4
• RCW 36.71.090
• Ordinance 70862
• the Oklahoma County farmers-market licensing page
• the city's farmers-market page
• Minneapolis farmers-market guidance
• the state's DBA page
• the Nevada Secretary of State
• the Texas Business Permit Office
• Austin's start-a-business guide
• the Comptroller's permit FAQ