Photography Business Permit Requirements in Wichita, KS

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC or corporation. Free from the IRS.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Kansas Department of Revenue — Retailer's Sales Tax License

   Required for all businesses selling tangible personal property or taxable services in Kansas. Kansas charges a 6.5% state sales tax; local jurisdictions may impose additional taxes. Register with the Kansas Department of Revenue.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

1. City of Wichita — No General Business License for Most Businesses

   Wichita does not require a general business license. The city's own Business Licenses page states it 'does not require a standard business license for all businesses that operate within the City limits — only for certain businesses,' and lists those categories: adult entertainment, advertising, animals, cemeteries, entertainment, lodging and residential (including Home Occupation and short-term rentals), sales and services (liquor, massage therapy, mobile food vendor, pawnbroker, precious metal dealer, secondhand dealer, tobacco, transient merchant and similar), security, special events, transportation, and wells. Businesses outside those categories need no city business license. Two things this does not cover: contractors and building permits go through MABCD, the joint City of Wichita/Sedgwick County building department, and state occupational licenses (cosmetology, barbering, real estate, insurance) apply regardless of city licensing.

   Official government source

   No fee for business types the city does not license. Published examples for those it does: Home Occupation $35/year, mobile food vendor $350/year per vehicle ($50 per special event per vehicle), massage therapist $75 per 2 years, massage therapy business $200 per 2 years. MABCD trade certificates are $35.·Not applicable for unlicensed business types. Wichita advises about 2 weeks for a Home Occupation renewal and 30 days for massage licenses; MABCD says contractor license review can take up to two weeks.

   No fee for business types the city does not license. Published examples for those it does: Home Occupation $35/year, mobile food vendor $350/year per vehicle ($50 per special event per vehicle), massage therapist $75 per 2 years, massage therapy business $200 per 2 years. MABCD trade certificates are $35.

   Not applicable for unlicensed business types. Wichita advises about 2 weeks for a Home Occupation renewal and 30 days for massage licenses; MABCD says contractor license review can take up to two weeks.

2. City of Wichita Community Event Permit (only if the shoot is itself an event)

   Routine portrait, wedding or commercial photography in a Wichita public park is not one of the city's licensed business categories and is not covered by the community event process, which governs festivals, parades, runs, block parties and similar activities on public property. There is no separate Sedgwick County parks permit for a shoot inside Wichita. If the shoot closes a street, uses city facilities, or is itself a public event, file a community event application with the City Manager's Office.

   Official government source

   No flat permit fee is published — the city charges for the city resources an event uses. A routine shoot that is not an event has no permit cost.·If a community event permit applies, submit the application no less than 45 days before the event; a routine shoot requires no lead time.

   No flat permit fee is published — the city charges for the city resources an event uses. A routine shoot that is not an event has no permit cost.

   If a community event permit applies, submit the application no less than 45 days before the event; a routine shoot requires no lead time.

Official Sources

• City of Wichita City Treasurer
• Kansas Department of Revenue — Retailer's Sales Tax License

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