I filed my LLC with the state back in March and felt pretty proud of myself. Got my EIN, opened a business bank account, even made a little logo and everything. Then last week a guy from the city stopped by my shop (I do small-batch woodworking/furniture refinishing out of a detached garage) and asked to see my home occupation permit and my business license. I just stared at him. Apparently filing with the state is not the same as being cleared to operate in the city, and nobody told me I needed a separate permit for the garage, plus some kind of sign-off on the spray booth situation. I'm not trying to be sketchy here, I genuinely didn't know. Where do I even start untangling this? Do I go to the city first or hire someone? I'm a one-man operation, I can't afford a $400/hr consultant to tell me I filled out the wrong form.
I formed an Oregon LLC but didn't realize I needed local permits
Yeah, the state registration is basically just "you exist as a legal entity." It says nothing about whether your city/county will let you do the thing. Super common mixup. What city are you in? Rules vary wildly even within Oregon.
The spray booth thing is the part that would worry me more than the permit fee. Fire code and ventilation stuff is where cities get real serious real fast. Not trying to scare you, but I'd sort out the booth before anything else.
Salem area, unincorporated county technically but the city guy said he'd been getting complaints. Which maybe explains the visit.
Complaints, ah. So a neighbor ratted you out. Classic. The permit proccess is annoying but the complaint part means you probably want to look cooperative real fast, otherwise it escalates.
Before you panic: go to the city/county planning counter in person and just ask what a home occupation for woodworking requires. Ask about "home occupation" specifically, not "business license." Those are different animals and half the time the front desk person will hand you a one-page handout that answers most of it. Bring your address and describe exactly what you do. Free.
wait, you made a logo before you checked permits? love the optimism
@spatula_wizard tbf the logo is the fun part. permits are the part where your soul leaves your body.
Small clarification since I went through this in another county: "unincorporated" matters a lot. If you're actually in unincorporated county, the city guy may have zero jurisdiction, and you might be dealing with county planning instead. Verify which authority actually covers your parcel before you fill out anything. There's a county parcel lookup tool usually.
Good point above. I assumed city but they said they're unincorporated. Also OP, do NOT tell them you "already started operating" in a way that sounds like you're asking permission retroactively. Frame it as "I'm setting up and want to make sure I'm compliant." Tone matters.
Tone matters but lying about timeline doesn't. If there's a complaint on file, they already know roughly when you started. Just be honest and boring about it
you can also call the Small Business Development Center. free advising. they won't do the paperwork for you but they'll tell tell you which counter to go to and what order. saved me from two wrong forms.
"one-man operation, can't afford $400/hr consultant" — honestly the city employees are free and usually less scary than people assume. bring a notebook and act like a nervous student. works.
Also worth checking whether your county requires a separate business license on top of the planning permit. Oregon has no statewide general business license, so it's county-by-county and city-by-city and it's a mess. But county clerks are used to the question.
unrelated but "spray booth situation" should be a band name
OP u still around? curious what the county says once you call. update us.
Called the the county planning line this morning. Turns out the parcel is county, not city, so the guy who visited was city and probably overstepped, but the county does have a home occupation permit I need, and yes theres a separate fire review for the finishing side. Appointment Wednesday. Also the person on the phone was way nicer than I expected.
nice. lol at the city guy just wandering onto county jurisdiction. typical.