Indiana LLC Business Licenses — Step 7 of 8
Indiana has no general statewide business license — but if you sell taxable goods or services, you'll need a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate, and some industries and municipalities layer on their own requirements.
Indiana does not require a general state business license. If you sell taxable goods or services, you'll need a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate from the Indiana Department of Revenue. Indiana's 7% state sales tax applies statewide with no local sales taxes layered on top — a genuine simplification compared to most states. Beyond that, licensing needs vary by industry and municipality — Indiana's INBiz portal is a good resource for researching specific requirements.
- General state license
- None required
- Sales tax rate
- 7% flat, statewide
- Local sales tax
- None
- Retail Merchant Cert.
- Required if selling
- Groceries taxed?
- Exempt
- License resource
- INBiz
- Next step
- Step 8 →
Indiana's Licensing Landscape
Indiana keeps its licensing footprint relatively light, with a handful of statewide requirements layered on local and industry-specific rules:
- No general statewide business license — Indiana doesn't require every LLC to hold a basic statewide operating license.
- Registered Retail Merchant Certificate — required if you sell taxable goods or services, obtained through the Indiana Department of Revenue.
- Flat 7% sales tax, no local add-ons — unlike most states, Indiana doesn't allow cities or counties to layer additional sales tax on top of the state rate.
- Industry-specific state licensing exists — professions like cosmetology, contracting, healthcare, and childcare have their own licensing boards separate from LLC formation.
- Local licensing varies — very few Indiana municipalities impose general business licensing, though certain activities (like specific types of daycares in some counties) may need a local permit.
License Finder Checklist
Select what applies to your business, and we'll flag what to look into:
Getting Your Retail Merchant Certificate
- Register through INBiz or the Indiana Department of Revenue — the Registered Retail Merchant Certificate functions as your sales tax permit.
- Flat 7% rate statewide — no local sales taxes to track, since Indiana municipalities don't add their own rates on top.
- Most groceries are exempt — along with newspapers, prescription medication, lottery tickets, and postage stamps.
- Gasoline has a separate use tax — equivalent to the 7% sales tax rate, but collected differently at the pump.
No local sales tax is a genuine advantage in IndianaMost states require tracking different combined rates depending on the buyer's city and county. Indiana's flat 7% rate applies everywhere in the state — a real simplification if you sell to customers across multiple Indiana locations.
- ✓Forms your Indiana LLC for $39 + the $95 state fee
- ✓Tracks your biennial Business Entity Report for you
- ✓Free Indiana registered agent the first year
- ✓No upsells · No data selling · Privacy by Default
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Indiana Business Licenses — FAQ
Ahmad Adil is the founder and CEO of LLC School. The guidance here — the absence of a general state license, the flat 7% sales tax with no local add-ons, and the Registered Retail Merchant Certificate requirement — reflects current Indiana Department of Revenue and Secretary of State guidance. This is educational information, not legal or tax advice.
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