Where to Go to Start a Business in Your State

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Additionally, I may get commissions for purchases made through other affiliate links in this post.

I get asked for assistance in starting a business all the time. Unfortunately, I can’t answer the questions because the process is different for starting a business in every state, even down to the county and city levels. Also, I caution you about asking on the internet for assistance from other small business owners, unless the person answering you is in the same location.

Today, I’ve compiled a list of websites that will help you answer the question: Where do I go to start a business in my state?

State	Link
Alabama	http://www.alabama.gov/business/starting-a-business
Alaska	http://alaska.gov/businesshome.html
Arizona	http://www.azcommerce.com/small-business/small-business-checklist
Arkansas	http://www.arkansas.gov/services/list/category/business
California	http://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/starting-business/
Colorado	http://www.coloradosbdc.org/starting-your-business
Connecticut	http://portal.ct.gov/en/Services/Business/Start-Your-Business
Delaware	http://delaware.gov/topics/startasmallbusiness
Florida	http://dos.myflorida.com/library-archives/research/florida-information/business/starting-a-business-in-florida/
Georgia	http://www.georgia.org/small-business/start/
Hawaii	http://cca.hawaii.gov/bac/steps-to-starting-a-business/
Idaho	https://labor.idaho.gov/ibrs/ibr.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Illinois	https://www.illinois.gov/dceo/SmallBizAssistance/BeginHere/Pages/StepByStepGuide.aspx
Indiana	http://www.in.gov/sos/business/2428.htm
Iowa	http://www.iasourcelink.com/startup/iowa-business-steps
Kansas	http://www.kansas.gov/businesscenter/#
Kentucky	http://onestop.ky.gov/start/pages/default.aspx
Louisiana	https://geauxbiz.sos.la.gov/
Maine	http://www.maine.gov/portal/business/starting.html
Maryland	http://commerce.maryland.gov/start
Massachusetts	http://www.mass.gov/hed/business/start-business/new-business-steps.html
Michigan	http://www.michiganbusiness.org/start-up/business-assistance/
Minnesota	https://mn.gov/deed/business/starting-business/
Mississippi	http://www.mssbdc.org/i-want-to-start-a-business
Missouri	https://www.sos.mo.gov/business/outreach/starting_steps
Montana	http://sos.mt.gov/Business/Startup
Nebraska	http://www.revenue.nebraska.gov/business/bus_regist.html
Nevada	http://nsbdc.org/how-we-can-help/start_business/
New Hampshire	http://www.revenue.nh.gov/faq/register-business.htm
New Jersey	http://www.nj.gov/njbusiness/starting/
New Mexico	https://gonm.biz/business-resource-center/
New York	http://www.ny.gov/services/start-business-new-york-state
North Carolina	http://www.nc.gov/services-info/starting-business-nc
North Dakota	https://www.nd.gov/businessreg/
Ohio	http://business.ohio.gov/starting/
Oklahoma	http://okcommerce.gov/business/startup/
Oregon	http://sos.oregon.gov/business/pages/starting-business.aspx
Pennsylvania	https://www.pa.gov/guides/starting-a-business/
Rhode Island	https://www.ri.gov/SOS/quickstart/help/
South Carolina	http://www.scsbdc.com/start.php
South Dakota	http://sd.gov/business.aspx
Tennessee	https://www.tnsmartstart.com/
Texas	https://texaswideopenforbusiness.com/start-business
Utah	https://www.utah.gov/business/starting.html
Vermont	http://www.vermont.gov/portal/business/index.php?id=87
Virginia	http://bos.virginia.gov/starting.shtml
Washington	http://business.wa.gov/start.html
Washington D.C.	https://dslbd.dc.gov/page/steps-starting-business
West Virginia	http://www.business4wv.com/b4wvpublic/default.aspx?pagename=startbusiness
Wisconsin	https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/Businesses/New-Business-home.aspx
Wyoming	http://soswy.state.wy.us/business/startabusiness.aspx

Canada	https://www.canada.ca/en/services/business/start.html

Please help me keep this post up-to-date. If a link above becomes broken, simply leave a comment to let me know so that I can update it.

Save this post to Pinterest:

Christine Schinagl, Cutting for Business

Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also enjoys teaching other crafters how to create digital SVG designs, available through the Design with Me series.

cuttingforbusiness.com