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Florida Business Licenses: What to Know

Before opening your doors for business, each city and county in Florida requires some type of business license (commonly called, Business Tax Receipts, or Occupational Licenses) and fee paid. The process is different in every city and county, but doing it wrong can delay the opening of your business for months.

Generally, you have to wait until your space is near complete with construction in order to start applying for city licenses. City licenses typically have to be acquired first before going to the county. City licenses could take up to 60 days to obtain, but most are provided within 30 days. In fact, many are able to provide a temporary license the same day you submit your license application. In some cases, you’ll need to bring medical director licenses (if you’re not a physician or APRN yourself), corporate documents, fictitious name filings, and even evidence of closed permits.

Once the city license is granted, you must take that to the county to apply for the county license. Each county has different requirements, but they’re generally similar to city requirements. These can also take between 30-60 days, but are also granted the same day in most cases.

While the process sounds simple, in many cases the city and county are unaware of healthcare related laws such as supervision, ownership, and the types of healthcare businesses.