Business Licenses

Many business must be licensed through the office of the Clerk of Circuit Court. Whether a business must obtain a license from the Clerk depends upon the nature of the business, and can sometimes be a quite complex question.  If you are considering opening a business in Allegany County, or have questions about the licensing requirements for your existing business, please contact the Circuit Court Clerk's Office at (301) 777-5922 to determine what, if any, license you need to obtain from us.  The hours to obtain a license from the Clerk of Court is 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

!!! NEW LICENSES FOR 2011 - OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS !!!

Maryland license laws have been amended to create two new licenses that will be required effective May 1, 2011 for those who sell 'other tobacco products' at retail.  The new licenses are:   
Other Tobacco Products Retailer license;  and
Tobacconist license

'Other tobacco products' includes cigars (blunts, cigarillos, little cigars), pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, roll-your-own ("RYO") tobacco, snuff, snus, and other smokeless tobacco products.

Any business selling tobacco products other than cigarettes may need one of these two licenses.  Refer to the following documents, provided by the Maryland Comptroller of the Treasury, for more detailed information:

          Bulletin TT-68 - Other Tobacco Products (OTP) Retailers Licenses 
          Frequently Asked Questions - Other Tobacco Products (OTP) Retailers Licenses

Applicants must register with the Central Registration Division of the Comptroller’s Office before they apply for a business license at www.marylandtaxes.com. After accessing the web site, Applicants then click on the Combined Registration Application link.

The first step is applying for your license at the Office of the Clerk, License Department. Then you must visit other offices, i.e., Assessments & Taxation, and the appropriate Finance Offices before returning your application to the Clerk's Office.

To complete the business license application, in addition to the Sales & Use Tax number and the amount of inventory in dollars (see chart below), the Applicant will need the following information: (1) full name of corporation or sole proprietor; (2) full location address and mailing address, if different; (3) EIN # (Federal Identification number) [if corporation] or Social Security number; (4) telephone number; and (5) workers’ compensation number (for those who are employers).

If the Applicant has a REGISTERED Trade Name (or fictitious name), this information must be on the application as well and the Applicant must have registered the trade name (or fictitious name) with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation http://www.dat.state.md.us or (410-767-1340).

The license year runs from May 1st through the following April 30th.

Type of Payment

The Clerk’s Office can only accept cash, checks or money orders.

Licenses available are:

Traders
Construction
Restaurant
Plumber & Gas Fitter
Billiard
Vending Machines
Cigarette and Special Retail Cigarette
Cleaning, Dying, Pressing & Laundry
Music Box
Storage Warehouse
Peddler

If you have more than one business location, you are considered a chain store.

Traders license fee is based on the wholesale value of your retail inventory. Please refer to the following chart for the fees. All licenses include a $2.00 issuing fee for each type of license.

A contractor or subcontractor who holds a license under the Maryland Home Improvement Law is not required to hold a construction license issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court. 

The following web sites offer additional information on business licenses and opening a Maryland business:

Business License Information System (includes startup information and an alphabetized list  of all State licenses and permits) 

Comptroller of Maryland - Business Information and Services (includes business license  tips, frequently asked questions, employer withholding information, tax registration)