How to Get a WV Business License: Registration, EIN, and Permits

Getting a business license in West Virginia comes down to one core document: the Business Registration Certificate issued by the State Tax Department for a $30 fee. But depending on how your business is structured and what it does, you’ll usually need to complete two or three steps before that filing, and possibly a few after. Here is how to get a WV business license, start to finish, along with the extra licenses and local permits many businesses discover they need on top of it.

Step 1: Form Your Business Entity With the Secretary of State

Most businesses need to formally exist as a legal entity before they register for taxes. That step happens at the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, and the fee depends on your structure:

Domestic LLC: file Articles of Organization. $25 if filed by June 30 of the year, $75 if filed after June 30.
Domestic for-profit corporation: file Articles of Incorporation for $100.
Domestic nonprofit corporation: file Articles of Incorporation for $25.

Online filings carry an additional $1 processing fee.¹ Sole proprietors operating under their own legal name can skip this step, though they still need the Tax Department certificate. Think of it as two separate identities: the Secretary of State creates your business as a legal entity, and the Tax Department registers that entity for tax purposes. You need both.

Once you’re registered as an entity, you’ll also owe an annual report and $25 filing fee to the Secretary of State each year between January 1 and June 30.² Miss that deadline and the state can dissolve the entity administratively.

Step 2: Get a Federal EIN

Before you apply for the state registration, most businesses need an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. An EIN is required if your business has employees, operates as a partnership or corporation, or pays excise taxes.³ The state’s registration application asks for either your EIN or a Social Security Number, and the IRS recommends forming your legal entity with the state before applying for the EIN.

The fastest route is the online application at IRS.gov/EIN, which issues the number immediately. Fax and mail applications using Form SS-4 also work, just more slowly. Sole proprietors with no employees can generally register using their SSN, but getting an EIN keeps your Social Security Number off business paperwork.

Step 3: Apply for the Business Registration Certificate

The Business Registration Certificate is the document most people mean when they say “West Virginia business license.” State law prohibits anyone from conducting business activity in West Virginia without one.⁴ The application is Form WV/BUS-APP, and it asks for:

Your business structure (LLC, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship).
Your EIN, or SSN if you’re a sole proprietor without an EIN.
Your NAICS code, which the state uses to determine your tax obligations.⁵
Your start date, meaning the first day you will conduct, or already conducted, business in the state.
Names, Social Security Numbers, and residential addresses for each person in control of the business.

Be honest about the start date. If you’ve already been operating, use the actual date activity began; the state uses it to calculate taxes and late-registration penalties.

Filing Online

The West Virginia One Stop Business Portal at business4.wv.gov is the fastest way to file. It walks you through the application, validates fields as you go, and takes debit or credit card payment for the $30 fee.⁶ You’ll set up an account that lets you save an in-progress filing and check on submissions later.⁷

Filing by Mail

You can also download Form WV/BUS-APP and mail it with a $30 check or money order to the West Virginia State Tax Department. This takes longer, and it also means contacting each relevant state agency separately, since the paper process doesn’t bundle filings the way the online portal does.⁶

Who Qualifies for a Fee Waiver

Not every business pays the $30. If your gross income from business activity was $4,000 or less during the tax year immediately before your registration period, you may qualify for an exemption. In some cases the exemption covers both the fee and the registration requirement; in others you still need the certificate but skip the $30. Tax-exempt organizations under IRC Section 501, government entities, and certain agricultural operations qualify for fee waivers while still being required to register.⁸

What Happens After the Tax Department Processes Your Application

After processing, you’ll receive your Business Registration Certificate along with your state tax account numbers. Online filers can typically download the certificate from the portal or receive it by email. Paper filers get a physical certificate by mail.

You have to post the certificate in a visible spot at your place of business. If you sell products or services from a vehicle, keep a copy in each vehicle and display it while you’re doing business. Contractors keep a copy at each construction site until the work is complete.⁹

The certificate itself is permanent. You don’t renew it. What you do have to keep up with are the tax returns tied to it, filed on the state’s tax calendar to stay in good standing.¹⁰

Professional and Occupational Licenses You May Still Need

The Business Registration Certificate does not authorize you to practice in a regulated industry. Many trades and professions require a separate license from a state board, and this is where people get tripped up: they get the certificate, open for business, and only later find out they were supposed to have something else.

Construction businesses working on projects worth $2,500 or more in combined materials and labor need a contractor license from the West Virginia Division of Labor. Businesses that install or service elevators need a specialty contractor license, and their mechanics must be individually licensed.¹¹

Accountants, architects, attorneys, chiropractors, dentists, engineers, physicians, psychologists, social workers, and veterinarians must have their licensing board complete a Verification of Eligibility form (Form VOE) as part of their Secretary of State business registration. Restaurants and grocery stores, vehicle dealers, lottery and alcohol sellers, and oil, gas, and timber operations all trigger additional license requirements.¹¹

Local City and County Permits

Your state registration doesn’t cover local licensing. The city or county where your business physically operates will likely require its own permit, plus a home occupation permit if you’re running the business from a residence. Local governments use these permits to enforce zoning and collect Business and Occupation (B&O) tax, which is calculated on gross receipts and varies by municipality and by the type of activity. A retailer, a contractor, and a bank in the same city can face very different rates.

Contact the clerk’s office in your city or county for the specific rates and permit requirements that apply to your location. Most municipalities will ask for your state registration number before they’ll process a local application. Skipping the local step can bring municipal fines or even denial of utility services, so handle both layers before you open.

If Your Business Was Formed in Another State

Businesses formed outside West Virginia don’t file formation documents here. Instead, they apply for a Certificate of Authority from the Secretary of State, a process called foreign qualification. The fee for a foreign LLC is $150, and the application must include a certificate of good standing from your home state.¹² An additional $1 online processing fee applies for electronic filings.

Some out-of-state businesses with limited activity here can apply for an exemption from the Certificate of Authority requirement. The exemption application for an LLC costs $25.¹² Either way, if you’re conducting business activity in the state, you still need the $30 Business Registration Certificate from the Tax Department.

If You’ll Have Employees

Hiring in West Virginia adds a few requirements on top of the license. All West Virginia employers must maintain workers’ compensation insurance, arranged through the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner.¹³

Federally, you’ll need a valid EIN before filing employment tax returns or making tax deposits electronically. New employers who indicate a federal tax obligation when requesting their EIN are automatically pre-enrolled in the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).¹⁴

You also have to verify each new hire’s employment eligibility using Form I-9. Employees complete their portion on or before their first day of work, and you must examine their identity and work authorization documents within three business days of that first day.¹⁵ Keep completed I-9 forms for either one year after employment ends or three years after the hire date, whichever is later.

Penalties for Operating Without a Certificate

Operating without a valid certificate is expensive. The Tax Commissioner can impose a $50 penalty for each month or partial month you were in default, and you’ll owe all back registration taxes, interest, and any other penalties going back up to three years.¹⁶

The state can also get an injunction in circuit court forcing you to stop operating until you’re registered.¹⁶ On top of that, operating without a business franchise registration certificate is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine between $1,000 and $10,000 on conviction.¹⁷

Tax-exempt organizations that fail to register face a reduced penalty of $15 per business location if they apply within 15 days of getting written notice from the Tax Commissioner.⁸ Given the $30 fee, there’s no scenario where waiting to register saves money.

1
WV Secretary of State. Fee Schedule for Services and Registration
2
WV Secretary of State. Annual Reports
3
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
4
Legal Information Institute. West Virginia Code of State Rules 110-12D-4 – When a Business Registration Certificate Is Required; Posting
5
West Virginia Tax Division. Business Registration
6
One Stop Business Portal – WV.gov. Register Your Business
7
State of West Virginia. Business4WV – Online Business Registration System
8
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-12-3 – Business Registration Certificate Required; Tax Levied
9
West Virginia Tax Division. Business Registration Frequently Asked Questions
10
One Stop Business Portal – WV.gov. Licenses, Permits, and Renewals
11
One Stop Business Portal – WV.gov. Occupational, Professional, and Special Licenses and Permits
12
WV Secretary of State. Register an Out-of-State (Foreign) Business
13
One Stop Business Portal – WV.gov. Insurance Requirements
14
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
16
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code Chapter 11, Article 12
17
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-9-12 – Engaging in Business Without a Business Franchise Registration Certificate