Quick answer
Nevada requires a state business license issued by the Secretary of State before conducting a business in Nevada, and that includes sole proprietors who report the income on a Schedule C. The license costs $200 a year, or $500 for a corporation, and you apply to the Nevada Secretary of State on a paper form or online. Law checked on 3 Oct 2026; cities and counties add their own licenses, and this page is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, and it does not issue or file licenses. See where Nation fits.
Who needs a Nevada state business license
The Nevada state business license is issued by the Nevada Secretary of State (nvsos.gov) under NRS chapter 76. The rule is broad: a person must hold a state business license issued by the Secretary of State before conducting a business in Nevada. Law checked on 3 Oct 2026 against the statute and the Secretary of State's own pages.
The law counts three kinds of business. One is any person other than an individual that performs a service or engages in a trade for profit. Another is any entity formed under Nevada's business-entity laws, whether or not the entity performs a service or engages in a business for profit. An individual is one when that person files a Schedule C, Schedule E or Schedule F with the IRS for the activity. The Secretary of State puts it plainly: sole proprietors doing business in Nevada must maintain a State Business License, unless exempt by statute. Example: a person who sells candles from a spare room and reports the income on a Schedule C counts as a business under this definition.
A business is also treated as doing business in Nevada when it has an office or other base of operations in Nevada, has a registered agent in Nevada, or pays wages to a person who performs duties in Nevada. The table lists who needs the license and who the law leaves out.
An individual with several side businesses needs no more than one state business license for all of them. The Secretary of State confirms that one State Business License covers more than one sole proprietor business. An LLC or corporation you also own needs a separate State Business License for each corporation or other entity.
Nevada state business license fee, renewal and penalties
The fee is set in the statute, so it changes only when the Legislature changes it. Most businesses pay $200 for the first license and $200 each year after that. Corporations pay $500 for the first license and $500 to renew. An LLC also pays the Secretary of State's formation and list fees, which are filed together with the license.
The Secretary of State charges no additional fee for filing online. If you stop trading as a sole proprietor, notify the Secretary of State at least 10 days before the license expires by filing a certificate of cancellation. Without it, the renewal fee and penalties keep accruing, and no portion of the fee is refunded. A sole proprietor or partnership that did no business in a year can ask for a waiver: the fee and penalty are waived for a person or partnership that shows it did no business in Nevada.
How to get a business license in Nevada
The order matters, because an LLC or corporation gets its state business license in the same filing that creates it, and the Department of Taxation wants the license before it issues a tax permit.
Pick a structure
A sole proprietor or general partnership applies for the state business license on its own. An LLC or corporation files its formation documents first, then the initial list with the license, no later than the last day of the month following the filing of your organizational documents.
Apply to the Secretary of State
Sole proprietors can apply on a paper form or online. The Secretary of State's online filings moved to ORION, the business portal that replaced SilverFlume on September 14, 2026. Its ORION page also says phase 2 will bring business licensing, marks and notary services into ORION, so check the state business license page for the current online link before you file.
Use your own name
A sole proprietor's license is in the owner's name: your own name, not your DBA. A trade name is a separate filing with the county or city, depending on the jurisdiction.
Pay the fee
Pay $200, or $500 for a corporation. The license carries the business identification number assigned by the Secretary of State, which other agencies ask for when you register with them.
Register for sales tax if you sell goods
The Department of Taxation says the state business license comes before the tax permit. Register on My Nevada Tax; the permit fee is $15.00 per location, and online applicants get the permit ID within 24 hours.
Get the city or county license
The state license is in addition to any local business license. Check with the city where you work, or the county if you are outside city limits.
Renew every year
Sole proprietors renew on the last day of the month in which the license was first issued, every year. Entities renew with their annual list. Missing the date adds a $100 penalty.
Other Nevada registrations besides the state business license
The state business license is a registration with the Secretary of State, not a tax permit. What else you need depends on what you sell, whether you hire anyone and how large the business grows. Each item below is run by a different office, and they do not share status changes: the owner must notify the Department of Taxation, city and county of a status change.
Sales tax rates differ by county. In Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, the rate is 8.375%.
Selling online from Nevada
Selling online does not change the state business license rule. A Nevada resident who sells through a website or a marketplace and reports the income on a Schedule C is a business under the law, unless the home-based exclusion in the next section applies.
Sales tax works differently for sellers inside and outside the state. The Department of Taxation says businesses with a physical presence in Nevada register no matter how much they sell. Out-of-state sellers register once they have more than $100,000 in sales or more than 200 separate transactions in Nevada in the previous or current calendar year.
Marketplaces carry part of the load. The Department lists online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay as marketplace facilitators, and says marketplace facilitators collect and remit the sales tax on sales they facilitate. Sales on your own website are your own to collect and report.
Claiming an exemption from the Nevada business license
Falling into an excluded group does not mean doing nothing. Anyone who claims to be excluded or exempt must file an application for a certificate of exemption, submitted every year.
The home-based exclusion is the one small online sellers ask about. It covers a person who runs a business from home with net earnings of not more than 66 2/3 percent of the average annual wage, measured for the most recent calendar year ending before the fee would be due. The statute defines that wage as the average annual wage computed for the preceding calendar year under NRS chapter 612, rounded to the nearest hundred dollars. DETR's unemployment insurance wage base is 66 2/3 percent of the average annual wage for Nevada employees, and DETR publishes it: $41,800 for 2025 and $43,700 for 2026. Confirm with the Secretary of State which year's figure applies to your filing before you claim.
- Customers can come to you. The Secretary of State says meeting clients at home by appointment does not count as open to the general public.
- A second workplace ends it: the home-based exemption does not apply if you also work from an office or storefront.
- Only individuals qualify: corporations, LLCs and other Title 7 entities cannot use the home-based exemption.
- Once your net earnings pass the threshold, you need the license and the $200 fee.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. It does not file state or local licenses for you.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. It is general information about Nevada's rules, not legal or tax advice.
Describe what you makeQuestions about the Nevada business license
How much is a Nevada state business license?
A Nevada state business license costs $200 for a sole proprietor, LLC or partnership, and $500 for a corporation. It renews every year at the same amount. Doing business without one, or renewing late, adds a $100 penalty for each year. City and county licenses cost extra.
How do I get a business license in Nevada?
To get a business license in Nevada, apply to the Secretary of State on a paper form or online and pay $200, or $500 for a corporation. An LLC or corporation gets the license at the time the entity files its initial or annual list. Then register for sales tax if you sell goods, and get your city or county license.
Do I need a Nevada business license for a home-based business?
A Nevada home-based business needs the state business license unless its net earnings are low. The law excludes a person running a business from home with net earnings of not more than 66 2/3 percent of the average annual wage. Even then, you file an application for a certificate of exemption, submitted every year. LLCs and corporations cannot use this exclusion.
Do I need a Nevada business license to sell online?
A Nevada resident who sells online needs the state business license on the same terms as any other seller: if the income goes on a Schedule C, the person counts as a business unless the home-based exclusion applies. Selling goods also means a sales tax permit from the Department of Taxation, which costs $15.00 per location.
Is the Nevada state business license the same as a city business license?
The Nevada state business license is separate from a city or county business license. The statute says the state license is in addition to any local business license. A business may need both: the state license from the Secretary of State, and a local license from the city, or from the county outside city limits.
Is SilverFlume still used for the Nevada business license?
SilverFlume is no longer the Nevada Secretary of State's business portal: online filings moved to ORION, the business portal that replaced SilverFlume on September 14, 2026. The office also says phase 2 will bring business licensing, marks and notary services into ORION. Sole proprietors can still apply for the state business license on a paper form or online, so check the license page for the current online link.