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Can I Run a Business From Home in Florida Without a Permit?

Use the free tool — Local Permit Finder

The short answer

Working from your home does not make a permit disappear. Florida law limits what a city or county can require of a home-based business, but it does not erase every requirement. Some paperwork is still usually required.

What state law limits

Fla. Stat. 559.955 sets limits on what a local government can require of a business run from a home. This is a state-level protection, not a blanket exemption — confirm with your local zoning office what still applies to you.

What can still apply anyway

Even with this state limit, a few things are common:

• A home occupation permit from your city or county — confirm with your local office.
• HOA rules, if you live in a community with a homeowners association — these are separate from government permits.
• Local zoning approval — zoning still applies to home-based work.
• If you bake and sell food from home, Florida's cottage food law lets home-baked, non-refrigerated goods be sold without a license up to the statutory sales cap, but labeling rules under Fla. Stat. 500.80 still apply. Confirm the current cap with FDACS.

The paperwork most Florida businesses still need

Working from home usually does not remove these steps:

1. Register the entity or fictitious name (DBA) with Sunbiz (Fla. Stat. 865.09 for DBAs).
2. Get a Florida business tax receipt from the county tax collector, and usually the city too, under Fla. Stat. ch. 205.
3. Register for a Florida sales and use tax account with the Department of Revenue if you sell taxable goods or certain services.
4. Get an EIN from the IRS if you have employees or are an LLC or corporation.
5. Check workers' compensation rules under Fla. Stat. ch. 440 — required from 1 employee in construction, from 4 employees in most other industries.

If your work needs a state professional license — cosmetology, contracting, childcare and others — that license comes from DBPR regardless of where you work.

Order to do it in

1. Register the entity or DBA (Sunbiz).
2. Get an EIN.
3. Get any state professional license needed (DBPR).
4. Check zoning and the home occupation permit.
5. Get the county business tax receipt.
6. Get the city business tax receipt.
7. Register for sales tax with the Department of Revenue, if needed.
8. Pass any required inspections.
9. Get a sign permit, if you plan to put up a sign.
10. Arrange insurance, including workers' compensation if required.

Confirm this order with the issuing offices or the Florida SBDC, since local requirements differ by county and city.

What to do next

This page is general guidance. It can be wrong, and it is not legal, tax or financial advice. Requirements differ by county and city — confirm with the issuing office, the Florida SBDC, or a Florida business attorney.

The free tool reads what you describe about your own business — the type, the location, and whether it's home-based — and lists the permits that most likely apply, who issues each one, and the order to do them in. Nothing you paste is stored.

Local Permit Finder gives general guidance about Florida business licensing in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not legal, tax or financial advice. Requirements differ by county and city — confirm with the issuing office, the Florida SBDC, or a Florida business attorney. Nothing you paste is stored.