Cleaning Service Permit Requirements in Grand Forks, ND

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. North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner — Sales and Use Tax Permit

   Required for any business selling taxable goods or services in North Dakota. The state sales tax rate is 5% for most retail sales, and cities and counties may levy additional local sales and use taxes that vary by location — check the Tax Commissioner’s local tax rate listings for your address. Apply for the permit in ND TAP, the state’s Taxpayer Access Point.

   Official government source

   Free·Apply through ND TAP at least 30 days before you open for business, as the Tax Commissioner advises.

   Free

   Apply through ND TAP at least 30 days before you open for business, as the Tax Commissioner advises.

2. North Dakota Workers’ Compensation Coverage (WSI)

   North Dakota law requires nearly all employers to insure every employee — full-time, part-time, seasonal and occasional — before that person starts work. Coverage must be bought from North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance: WSI is the sole provider and administrator of workers’ compensation in the state, and North Dakota law does not allow private insurers to underwrite it. A sole proprietor with no employees is not required to cover themselves but may buy optional coverage. Operating without required coverage can bring penalties up to $10,000 plus $100 a day, and premium may never be deducted from an employee’s wages.

   Official government source

   Premium is set by WSI from your payroll and industry classification rather than a fixed schedule; request a quote through WSI.·Coverage must be in place before an employee starts work; accounts can be opened online with WSI.

   Premium is set by WSI from your payroll and industry classification rather than a fixed schedule; request a quote through WSI.

   Coverage must be in place before an employee starts work; accounts can be opened online with WSI.

1. Grand Forks Business License (only if your business type is on the city's licensed list)

   Grand Forks does NOT have a general business license for most businesses. The city requires a license only for specific categories: alcohol sales, body art/tattoo facilities and artists, food establishments (bakeries, grocery/retail meat, restaurants, mobile food vendors, concession stands), childcare facilities, hotels/motels, taxi/towing operators, retail tobacco dealers, and a few other regulated categories. Building-trade licenses (electrician, plumber, mechanical installer, etc.) are issued separately by the Building Inspections Department. Check the city's license list for your specific business type before assuming a license is required.

   Official government source

   Varies by license category - see the city's fee schedule; most businesses need no city license at all·1–3 weeks (only if your business type requires a license)

   Varies by license category - see the city's fee schedule; most businesses need no city license at all

   1–3 weeks (only if your business type requires a license)

2. ND Secretary of State Trade Name Registration (and Grand Forks Home Occupation Zoning)

   North Dakota files trade names (DBAs) only with the Secretary of State through FirstStop; there is no Grand Forks County Clerk DBA filing and no county-level DBA in North Dakota at all. Register the trade name if you run the cleaning service under any name other than your own. Separately, a cleaning service run from a home must meet Grand Forks zoning standards for home-based businesses — Planning and Zoning handles that. Grand Forks has no general business license and no standalone home occupation license among its roughly twenty licensed categories.

   Official government source

   $25 one-time state trade name filing fee. No city business license fee applies.·A FirstStop trade name filing is processed online in the same session.

   $25 one-time state trade name filing fee. No city business license fee applies.

   A FirstStop trade name filing is processed online in the same session.

Official Sources

• City of Grand Forks City Finance Office
• North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner — Sales Tax Permit

Related Guides