I registered my LLC with the Ohio Secretary of State last month. The business is entirely online, digital products, no physical storefront, no inventory stored anywhere except my laptop. Do I need any additional licenses from Columbus or Franklin County? I keep seeing conflicting info about a vendor's license and a general business license. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who's actually done this.
Ohio LLC
Does a Columbus LLC need a separate license for an online business?
Columbus doesnn't have a general business license, so you can ignore that. The vendor's license comes from the state, not the city. If you're selling taxable goods to Ohio customers, you'll need to register with the Ohio Department of Taxation.
What grommet said. Also check whether your products are taxable at all. Digital downloads in Ohio can be tricky depending on what exactly you're selling.
the SOS registration is just the LLC. desn't license you to sell anything. vendor's license is separate and it's free through the state. took me ten minutes online.
I'd also look at whether Columbus requires a home occupation permit if you're operating from your residence. Technically an online business from home might fall under that, and people overlook it constantly. Most home-based digital operations don't trigger it, but if you have any client traffic or equipment that changes things. Worth a quick call to the city's code enforcement office rather than guessing.
Home occupation is usually about Visible signs of business—customers coming to the door, signage, employees. A laptop-only operation is almost never an issue. But sablehatch is right that it's worth confirming.
Everyone always says "call the city" but I've called Columbus 311 about this exact thing twice and got two different answers. One person said no permit needed, the other transferred me to a line that never picked up.
That's the real answer honestly. The rules are simple on paper and nobody at the city knows them cold.
Not an online seller but I did have to get a vendor's license for my Etsy shop a couple years ago. It was free, the state sends it quickly, and you file your sales tax through the same portal. Don't overthink that part.
Respectfully, a lot of this thread is conflating city and state requirements. Columbus has no general business license. The state has the vendor's license. Those are different levels of government and people mix them up in every thread like this. OP, the only thing I'd verify beyond the vendor's license is whether your specific product category is regulated—certain digital goods, courses, or anything adjacent to financial advice can have separate requirements. That's where the real surprises live.
fair point on product category. what are you selling exactly?
OP said digital products but not what kind. Makes a difference. Templates are different from e-books which are different from software licenses.
For what it's worth, i've been running a digital download shop out of Columbus for three years with just the LLC and the vendor's license. No city license, no home occupation permit, no problems. That's one data point, not legal advice.
Three years without a problem isn't the same as three years in compliance. Not saying you're wrong, just that "nobody came after me" isn't a standard I'd build on.
This is why I stopped asking forums. Half the answers are "I did it and survived." Anyway, the vendor's license and sales tax question is the one that actually has teeth. The rest is low risk.