Licensing (or "I might kill someone today")

I have been on the phone for 3 days with every government building from here to Albany and NO ONE can tell me how to get a business license. I got a business CERTIFICATE, with my business NAME on it so no one can use that name, I got a state tax ID number, but no BUSINESS LICENSE. One person told me there is no license available for face painting. I am ready to pull my hair out. Am I missing something? Am I just THAT ignorant? Please help, oh wise and knowledgeable FP friends!

Where are you located in NY?

Syracuse

Depending on the type of business, some locals don't require a license. Neither my state or town require them for our type of business. I'd say stop worrying about it and have fun painting!

This confused me a lot too. But this is what I understand from asking the same questions: the term "buisness license" is outdated. When you apply for what most people think of as a buisness license, you are actually getting a "local Buisness Tax receipt." That is what you need to set your buisness up as an official buisness. The reason they no longer call it a "license" is because that implies some sort of certification, testing, or education. You need a special license for some buisnesses- hair dressers, contractors. But not for facepainting. For facepainting you just need to be registered as a buisness. (actually, most places don't even require that!)

Awesome, I have all that. Thanks for the clarification. Why couldn't anyone working for the state, county, or village just say that? LOL.

hi, I'm from Dublin, Ireland and i had the same problem, i wanted to facepaint on the streets outside sports matches, i contacted the police and the local council and both said i dont need a licence, because i'm not selling a product and i'm not a charity, what i am doing is providing a service, maybe the same rules apply where you are, so go for it, best of luck, Paddy

In my municipality I am not required to have a business license per se, because i operate out of my home and do not have a storefront. I also don't have to get a tax I.D. as I am not selling a product, but a service. I just need to obtain a "doing business as" so I can set up a business account at the bank so it won't matter if someone makes out a check (moreso for corporate clients) to my name or the business name there are no issues depositing

I'm late to the game here but...

We don't require a tax id. In fact, having one can actually make tax time harder if you haven't sold a tangible item. We are a non-taxable service in NYS. When places as for them I explain that and offer my W9 instead.

We don't require licensing so there isn't any for us. Licensing implies or requires some form of training or a business space outside of the home, or both. Since we are home based businesses with non-tangible products we actually don't even require a DBA if we operate under our names. If you wish to operate under a business name (and not have employees) then all you need is a DBA or a certificate for your county.

Does anyone know about Washington, DC? I wrote to the licensing division and told them I was a face painter. I got a response but it seemed sort of generic...said to get my tax id number, then get a certificate of occupancy, then the business license... why would I get a CO when I don't do business in my home? I'm wondering if I just got some sort of form letter response and they really didnt see what I was asking... I'd also like to face paint outside of the ball games here...but I can't imagine that I can just go set up? Frustrating... red tape...

To every page I turn I learn more & more! Everyone here is so extremely helpful!

I am chiming in here because I just got off the phone with my local tax collector to ask how much the fee is for a business tax receipt for face painting and was told $236. Whereas a makeup artist is only required to pay $33. Certainly there is something wrong with this picture. This has to be revisited, but I haven't a clue how they came to this conclusion or who to start with. Grrrr.

Hi everyone,
Well im in California, City of Duarte. What I did was the same as all yall people and got a business name and a license to sell stuff that is not food, I use xenas face painting under my business license and its legal. So you may want to try that too.