Starting a business is fun right up until you hit the paperwork, which is a section nobody includes on the vision board. Somewhere between naming your company and actually opening for business, there’s a stretch of registrations, filings, and small business licensing steps that don’t take long but are very easy to miss, especially if you’re setting up in the Philly suburbs where four different towns can mean four different sets of rules. Here’s the rundown, minus the jargon.

Start with the EIN

Most businesses, whether you’re an LLC, a partnership, or a freelancer who’s ready to stop using your Social Security number on invoices, need an EIN. That’s an Employer Identification Number from the IRS, and it’s free, done entirely online, and takes about ten minutes. Do this one first, since a few of the other steps ask for it.

Register your entity, or don’t

If you’re forming an LLC or corporation, you’ll register with the Pennsylvania Department of State before you can do much of anything else. Sole proprietors operating under their own legal name can usually skip this step entirely. But if you want to do business as something other than your own name, say “Suburban Design Co.” instead of “Jamie Alvarez,” you’ll need to file a fictitious name, also known as a DBA. It’s a state filing with a fee (it’s hovered around $70), and it’s worth searching Pennsylvania fictitious name database first so you’re not accidentally squatting on someone else’s name.

Pennsylvania doesn’t have a business license. Your township might.

Here’s the part that catches people off guard: there’s no general statewide business license in Pennsylvania. What there is, is a patchwork of local requirements that change borough by borough and township by township. West Chester, Media, Aston, and Wayne each sit under different municipalities, and each can have its own rules around a Business Privilege Tax or Mercantile Tax, which is a small annual tax on gross receipts, sometimes paired with a flat registration fee. Some townships also collect a Local Services Tax directly from paychecks.

None of this is complicated once you know it exists. It’s just the kind of thing nobody tells you to look for. The move is to call your specific township or borough office, not the county, and ask what registration applies to your business before you open your doors. Five minutes on the phone now beats a letter from a tax collector later.

Permits you might not think about

Depending on your industry and location, you might also need a zoning permit, a signage permit if you’re putting anything up outside, a health permit if food is involved, or a building permit if you’re renovating a space. None of these are universal, so this is the one step where a quick call to your township actually gets you a straight answer.

The quick reference version

  • Get an EIN from the IRS. Free, online, about ten minutes.
  • Register your entity with the PA Department of State if you’re an LLC or corporation.
  • File a fictitious name (DBA) if you’re operating under a name that isn’t your legal one.
  • Call your specific township or borough to ask about Business Privilege Tax or Mercantile Tax registration.
  • Check on zoning, signage, or health permits before you sign a lease or open your doors.
  • Keep a folder, digital counts, with all of it. You’ll need it again next year.

Where a registered address fits in

A few of these filings ask for a business address, and putting a home address on a public record isn’t something every owner wants to do. That’s a separate decision, but it’s worth knowing the option to use a registered business address exists before you’re stuck filling out a form at 11 PM trying to decide what goes in that box.

None of this is thrilling. It’s a couple of afternoons of tasks that make the rest of running your business a lot less stressful, and future you will be relieved it’s handled before things get busy. If you’re setting up shop in Chester or Delaware County and want to talk through what a local business address actually involves, we’re around and happy to walk through it. No dashboard, no hold music.