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Business Licenses & Permits

One of the first steps in starting a business is researching what business licenses and permits are required. In addition certain business types obtain certificates or register with the County. Take a few moments to review all of the categories below to see what might apply to specific types of businesses and business activities.

Several Montgomery County departments and offices interact with the business community.  Learn more about licenses & permits, laws & regulations and services & resources by department. 

New! Farmer's Market License Application Now Available Online

Accessing the online forms is a two part process: 

  1. Create a Montgomery County, MD Seamless Docs Account
  2. Complete the Farmer's Market Application Form

Montgomery County licenses a variety of non-occupational for-profit and non-profit business activities

  • Bingo – qualified non-profit organizations must obtain a license before operating a bingo game.
  • Bodyworks Establishment – businesses that provide acupressure, reflexology or other practices that involve using one's hand to apply pressure on an individual's fully clothed body, or bare feet, to affect the electromagnetic energy, energetic field or energy meridians of the human body.
  • Camps – any person, cooperative, association, partnership, firm or corporation planning to operate a recreational camp in Montgomery County must obtain a license.
  • Domiciliary/Assisted Living License – any person, corporation, or entity intending to operate a Domiciliary/Assisted Living Program must obtain a valid license from the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Service, Licensure and Regulatory Services and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Office of Health Care Quality.
  • Enterprise – amusement parks, theaters, dance halls, for-profit swimming pools, parks, carnivals, circuses, roller skating rinks, miniature golf courses, driving ranges, pitch & putt courses or pony rings.
  • Fire Prevention and Code Compliance – contractor licenses.
  • Group Home – issued for twelve months and renewed annually. Fire, environmental, and well & septic inspections and approvals are also required annually. Renewal applications are sent to the provider three months prior to the license expiration date and are due 60 days before the license expires.
  • Hauler and Collector – businesses that collect or transport solid waste within Montgomery County
  • Hospitals – licensed by the Maryland Department of Heath and Mental Hygiene, Office of Health Care Quality and Montgomery County
  • New Home Builders – builders (as defined by Chapter 31C) who construct new homes or condominium units, or act in the capacity of a general contractor for such building projects. Note, if a parent company is licensed, that does not mean that subsidiaries who are also builders under the statute can avoid licensure.  
  • Rental Housing License – includes condominium, single family, multifamily/apartment and accessory apartments.
  • Secondhand Personal Property –  dealers in secondhand personal property (e.g. - consignment stores, pawn shops, sellers of refurbished computers, auction houses, etc.)
  • Tanning facility license – any person desiring to operate a tanning facility in Montgomery County must obtain a license.
  • Transient Lodging License – anyone intending to provide lodging or lodging and meals for transient visitors or anyone operating a rooming house.
  • Vendor Licenses
    • Door-to-Door Vendor License – for individuals that travel from dwelling to dwelling or from office to office to sell goods or services.
    • Regular Route Vendor License – for individuals that sell or offer to sell goods or services along a street on a repeating schedule, stopping only to dispense products (unless otherwise permitted by regulations under Chapter 47 of the Montgomery County Code).
    • Sidewalk Vendor License – required by any person wishing to engaging in the business of sidewalk vending
    • Site Specific Vendor License – for individual that sell or offer to sell goods or services from a stationary location.
  • Video Game License – the owner of a video game is required to obtain a license for each game operated by the public.
Montgomery County Circuit Court
Several types of businesses are licensed through the License Department of the Montgomery County Circuit Court.
  • Trader’s (Retail Stores, Wholesale Car Dealers, and Chain Stores)
  • Construction (New Homes and Commercial Buildings)
    • Per 2019 Maryland Code - Business Regulation - Title 17 - Miscellaneous State Business Licenses Subtitle 6 - a construction license is required for  businesses that pave or curb a sidewalk, street, or other public or private property; excavate earth, rock, or other material for a foundation or other purpose; or do work on or in a building or other structure that requires the use of a building material, including: paint; stone; brick; mortar; wood; cement; structural iron; structural steel; sheet iron; galvanized iron; metallic piping; tin; lead; electric wiring; or any other metal.

  • Garages
  • Junk Dealers
  • Laundry/Dry Cleaners
  • Plumbers and Gas Fitters
  • Storage Warehouses
  • Trade Shows (3 or more)
  • Vending Machines
  • Video, Pinball Games, and Music Boxes
  • Cigarettes
  • Other Tobacco Products
    • Tobacconist
Maryland Business Licenses Online provides public access to business licenses issued by the Circuit Court. Search this licensing system for issued licenses as well as to apply, edit and renew your Maryland business licenses online.