I filed my Articles of Organization with the SCC last month and got the approval letter yesterday. I thought I was done with paperwork but then I called the county business license office to ask about a separate permit and they told me I need to register the LLC with the county too. Something about a business license and a separate registration for the LLC itself. I'm running a small landscaping operation out of my house, no storefront. Is this normal in Virginia? I don't want to pay for two things if one covers it.
Local Licensing
My Virginia LLC was approved, but the county wants another registration
County business license is normal. The SCC is state level. The county registration is separate. You almost certainly need both. What county are you in? Some have online portals, some still want paper forms.
Yes this is correct. SCC approval is just state. Every county and independant city has its own business license requirement. I'm in Chesterfield and had to get a county license after my LLC was approved. It's a tax on gross receipts usually.
Landscaping from your house. Check if your county requires a home occupation permit too. That got me. Had to get the business license and then a separate home occupation permit cuz I was operating out of a residential zone. Both separate from the SCC.
Right, home occupation is a zoning thing, not the same as the business license. So the OP might be looking at three separate things: SCC, county business license, home occupation permit.
What county? I've dealt with Henrico and Richmond city, they're different.
Also the county might call it a BPOL license depending on where you are. In some counties it's just "business license." In others it's BPOL. Same basic thing, different paperwork. Don't assume one application covers the other tbh.
Plumbdog is right about the home home occupation. I didn't need one because I rent a shop space but my neighbor who runs a lawn care business from his garage had to get one. Zoning office handled that, not the commissioner of revenue.
Wait so the county business license and the home occupation are different departments? I'm not the OP but I'm in a similar spot. I thought I just needed to register with the couunty and be done.
Different departments. Commissioner of revenue or treasurer handles the business license. Zoning or planning handles the home occupation permit. Some counties won't issue the business license until you show you've cleared zoning. Others don't check. Depends on the county
Just go to the county website and search business license. Most have a checklist. Don't rely on what the persn on the phone told you, half the time they leave stuff out.
Also watch the gross receipts threshold. Some counties only require a license above a certain amount, but you still have to file the BPOL return even if you owe zero. In Richmond you file annually regardless. Don't skip the filing just because you're small.
That's what got me confused. The SCC letter makes it sound like you're done. Nowhere on it does it mention county.
The SCC doesn't care about county requirements. They approve the entity and that's it. Your county cares about local revenue and zoning. Two completely separate systems that don't talk to each other.
Not the OP but I'm in Fairfax County and just went through this this. SCC approved in January. County business license application was online and took like twenty minutes. But then I got a letter saying I needed a home occupation permit because my address was residential. Took another six weeks. Start the zoning part early if you're working from home.
Fairfax is strict about home occupation. Signs, parking, number of clients. Landscaping might be different though since there's no customer traffic at the house. Probably fine.