Part 9: Registration and Compliance

This part of the guide has 35 pages so far. Each page answers one question, shows what to do, and ends with an audit check you can use on your own business.

9.1 Register the Business

• 9.1.1 Formation-State Registration: Learn how to register an LLC or corporation with your state, what the filing needs, what it costs, and how the state record ties to your Google listing.
• 9.1.3 Registered Agent: A registered agent receives legal papers for your LLC or corporation. Learn who can serve, what records to keep, and how to change your agent the right way.
• 9.1.4 Annual Reports: Most states require LLCs and corporations to file an annual or periodic report. Learn what it asks, when it’s due, and what happens if you miss it.
• 9.1.5 State Good Standing: Good standing means your LLC or corporation is current with the state. Learn how to check your status, why it slips, and how to fix it before it costs you.
• 9.1.6 Foreign Qualification: If your LLC or corporation does business in another state, you may need to foreign qualify there. Learn the signs, the steps, and the tax questions to ask.

9.2 Register Where the Business Operates

• 9.2.2 County Registration and Permits: Some counties require business licenses, trade name filings, or permits, especially outside city limits. Learn how to check your county’s rules and what to keep.
• 9.2.3 City Registration and Permits: Many cities require a business license, and some charge a local business tax. Learn how to check city rules, which permits to ask about, and what to keep on file.

9.3 Create the Requirement Matrix

• 9.3 Requirement Matrix: A requirement matrix is one list of every license, permit, filing, and renewal your business owes. Learn the nine columns to track and how to keep it current.

9.4 Check Zoning and Location Rules

• 9.4.1 Zoning: Zoning decides what kind of business can run at an address. Learn how to check zoning before you sign a lease or open, and how it affects your Google listing.
• 9.4.3 Certificate of Occupancy: A certificate of occupancy shows a building is approved for your type of use. Learn when a new business needs one, what inspections to expect, and what to keep.
• 9.4.4 Lease Permissions: Your lease can limit what you do, your sign, your hours, and your listing. Learn which landlord approvals to get in writing before you open or change anything.
• 9.4.5 Signage Permits: Most cities regulate business signs, and Google expects a permanent sign at any address you show. Learn how to get a sign permit and match it to your listing.
• 9.4.6 Parking Rules: Zoning, leases, and accessibility rules all affect business parking. Learn what to confirm for customers, staff, deliveries, and work vehicles before you open.
• 9.4.7 Fire Requirements: Fire rules for small businesses come from OSHA and your local fire code. Learn what applies to extinguishers, exits, alarms, inspections, and occupancy limits.
• 9.4.8 Health Requirements: Food, salon, and other personal care businesses answer to state and local health rules. Learn who sets them, what inspectors check, and what records to keep.
• 9.4.9 Environmental Requirements: Chemicals, waste, fumes, and water runoff can bring EPA and state rules. Learn how to tell if your small business is covered and where to get free, private help.

9.5 Check Licenses and Permits

• 9.5.1 Federal Permits: Most small businesses don’t need a federal license. Learn which activities do, like alcohol, firearms, aviation, and trucking, and which agency to contact.
• 9.5.2 State Licenses: States license many trades and professions, from contractors to cosmetologists. Learn how to find your state’s rules, who needs a license, and what to record.
• 9.5.5 Special Permits: Alcohol, food, firearms, childcare, transportation, and construction often need extra permits. Learn how to spot special permits and get them in the right order.
• 9.5.6 License and Permit Renewals: Licenses and permits expire, and renewing is usually easier than starting over. Learn how to record every renewal date, assign an owner, and never miss one.
• 9.5.7 License Display Rules: Some licenses must be posted at your business, and some states require license numbers on ads, contracts, or vehicles. Learn how to find and follow your rules.

9.6 Review Industry Regulations

• 9.6.2 Product Regulation: Selling products brings safety, labeling, warranty, and recall rules. Learn what the CPSC and FTC expect, when you must report a hazard, and what records to keep.
• 9.6.3 Construction Requirements: Contractors face extra rules on contracts, permits, inspections, lien notices, and payments. Learn what to check in your state before you take the first job.
• 9.6.5 Financial Activity Rules: Moving money, cashing checks, offering financing, or selling insurance can bring federal and state rules. Learn the main triggers, like big cash payments and MSBs.
• 9.6.6 Children and Vulnerable Persons: Businesses serving kids, seniors, or people with disabilities face extra screening, privacy, and safety rules. Learn the key federal rules and what to check locally.

9.7 Review Accessibility Requirements

• 9.7.1 Physical Accessibility: If customers visit your location, the ADA applies. Learn what it says about parking, entrances, paths, counters, and restrooms, and which tax breaks can help pay.
• 9.7.2 Communication Access: The ADA requires businesses to communicate effectively with people who have hearing, vision, or speech disabilities. Learn what aids to offer and how to plan for them.
• 9.7.3 Website Accessibility: The Justice Department says the ADA applies to business websites. Learn what accessible means, from alt text to keyboard use, and how it also helps search engines.
• 9.7.4 Service Animals: Businesses must allow service dogs in public areas. Learn the two questions staff may ask, when an animal can be removed, and how to train your team the right way.
• 9.7.5 Accessibility Complaints: Set up a clear way for customers to report access problems, a person who responds, and a log. Learn how ADA complaints work and when to call an attorney.

9.8 Establish Recordkeeping Requirements

• 9.8.1 Required Records: Learn which records a small business must keep for taxes, employees, safety, contracts, and insurance, and how to build one simple list of what you keep.
• 9.8.2 Record Retention Periods: See the federal minimums for keeping tax, payroll, I-9, hiring, and safety records, why some records need longer, and how to build a simple retention schedule.
• 9.8.3 Record Storage and Access: Set up one controlled home for paper and digital records, limit who can open sensitive files, and protect them with locks, strong logins, and backups.
• 9.8.5 Secure Record Destruction: Learn how to shred paper records, wipe old computers and phones, pick a shredding company, and keep a destruction log so private data can’t be pieced back together.
• 9.8.6 Legal Hold: A legal hold means you stop deleting records tied to a possible lawsuit, audit, or complaint. Learn when it starts, what to save, and how to put one in place.