Fieldstone and brick storefronts on a tree-lined suburban main street, Montgomery County, PA Business License

Montgomery County, PA Business License: Health Department Permits and Township Business Privilege Taxes

Montgomery County, PA Business License: Health Department Permits and Township Business Privilege Taxes

If you search for a Montgomery County business license, you will not find one. Pennsylvania has no state general business license, and Montgomery County does not issue county business licenses. What you will deal with is a short list of approvals and taxes split between the county and the municipality where your business operates: food licensing through the county health department, building and zoning approvals through your township or borough, and business privilege or mercantile taxes, wage taxes and hotel taxes that vary by township.

This guide walks through each one and tells you which office to contact. Where a figure is not listed, confirm it with the agency named.

What Montgomery County Actually Licenses

The phrase Montgomery County business license usually means one of several different things, and only one of them comes from the county. The county's Office of Public Health licenses food operations. Business privilege and mercantile taxes come from your township or borough, and some municipalities also require an annual license or registration. Building permits and zoning approvals come from the municipality where the property sits. The county does collect a hotel room rental tax, which is covered later in this guide.

Step 1: Handle the State Filings First

Every business that forms an entity in Pennsylvania files with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations. Filings go through Business Filing Services, and the agency's program page is at pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/business.

For an LLC, the Certificate of Organization (Form DSCB:15-8821) is filed with a Docketing Statement (DSCB:15-134A) and costs $125. The Bureau asks filers to allow about 15 business days for processing. Expedited service is available online or in person for an added fee, but not by mail. An LLC's name must contain the term company, limited, or limited liability company, or an abbreviation of one of those terms. It also cannot imply that it is a business corporation, so the word corporation or incorporated is not allowed. The name must be distinguishable on the Department of State's records from any name already registered.

Pennsylvania does not use registered agents. Instead, you must list a registered office with a street and number in Pennsylvania. A post office box alone is not accepted. If your business has no Pennsylvania address, you may contract with a Commercial Registered Office Provider under 15 Pa.C.S. section 109 and list the provider's name and county of venue in place of an address. Listing a provider without a contract can carry civil and criminal penalties, so do not use one casually.

An LLC files an Annual Report for $7 each year from January 1 through September 30, filed online at file.dos.pa.gov. LLCs have no publication requirement. A Pennsylvania corporation files Articles of Incorporation for profit (with the same $125 fee and Docketing Statement), must advertise notice of its filing in two newspapers of general circulation with proof kept in the corporate minutes, and files its Annual Report for $7 from January 1 through June 30.

If you operate under a name other than your legal name, register a Fictitious Name (Form DSCB:54-311) for $70. That filing goes to the Department of State statewide, not to Montgomery County. The same applies to any state tax account: the PA-100 was retired in 2022, and registration now happens on myPATH at pa.gov/services/revenue/register-my-business-for-taxes. Pennsylvania's state sales tax rate is 6%. Income from a pass-through LLC is taxed to its owners at the 3.07% Personal Income Tax rate, and an LLC taxed as a corporation pays the Corporate Net Income Tax, which is 7.49% for tax years beginning in 2026. Pennsylvania has no separate LLC franchise tax or annual LLC tax.

Health Department Permits: Food Licensing Through the Office of Public Health

Food businesses in Montgomery County are licensed by the Montgomery County Office of Public Health, not the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. If you plan to open a restaurant, caterer, bakery or food stand, contact the Office of Public Health before you sign a lease or buy equipment. This guide does not state the county's plan review, inspection or license fees, so confirm the current fee schedule, application forms and inspection timeline directly with the office.

A search for a montgomery county food truck permit is really a question about mobile food units. Before you buy a vehicle, ask the Office of Public Health three things: whether your unit needs its own county food license, what the rules are for where it is stored, prepared and serviced, and whether your home municipality requires a separate permit to park or vend on public or private property. The answers drive both your startup cost and your daily route.

Building Permits and Zoning Are Local Approvals

Searches for montgomery county building permit and montgomery county zoning often lead to county pages, but for most addresses the approval comes from the township or borough where the property sits. Zoning determines whether your intended use is allowed at that address. A building permit covers construction and renovation work. Montgomery County permits for health and food are separate from local building and zoning approvals, so one application rarely covers both.

Confirm with the local zoning or codes office before you sign a lease. A use that is allowed in one township can be restricted a few miles away, and discovering that after you have signed costs far more than a phone call beforehand.

Business Privilege and Mercantile Taxes: A Township Matter

Many municipalities in Montgomery County levy a business privilege tax (BPT) or a mercantile tax, and some require an annual license or registration as well. In the municipalities below, the mercantile tax applies to retail, wholesale and restaurant businesses, and the BPT applies to service businesses. Each levy is expressed in mills, and one mill is one-tenth of one percent. As an illustration only, if a township's taxable base were $200,000, a 1.5 mill levy would produce $300. Confirm the base each municipality uses before you estimate your bill.

Many of Pennsylvania's grandfathered BPT and mercantile levies are in Montgomery County, so rates and deadlines vary from one township to the next. Use the table as a starting point and confirm each entry with the named office.

MunicipalityLevy as verifiedAnnual license or registrationReturn or deadline
Lower MerionMercantile 1 mill on retail, wholesale and restaurants; BPT 1.5 mills on services$20 annual registrationReturns due April 15
Upper Merion1.5 mills, mercantile or BPT$25 annual business licenseReturns due April 15; administered by Tri-State Financial Group
Upper MorelandBPT or mercantile return; confirm the current rate with the townshipAnnual license application due January 15, $10 feeBPT or mercantile return due May 1

Montgomery Township, Abington and Cheltenham also levy business taxes, but this guide does not state their rates. Check with each township tax office before you register, and ask which category your business falls under, because the category usually drives the rate.

Searches for the Montgomery County tax collector tend to turn up the wrong office. These municipal levies belong to the township, so the tax office you deal with is the township's own office or the collector it appoints, not a county office. The county's role in business taxes is the hotel room rental tax, which is remitted to the County Treasurer.

Wage Taxes: EIT and LST Through Berkheimer

If you have employees, you will deal with the earned income tax (EIT) and the local services tax (LST). Berkheimer is the Act 32 collector for both taxes in Montgomery County municipalities. Employer registration, withholding and return schedules run through the collector, so register before your first payroll. Collectors are assigned by municipality, so confirm the collector for your specific township and your registration deadline with the municipality or with Berkheimer directly.

Hotel and Short-Term Rental Tax

The county hotel room rental tax is 4% of the gross room charge on stays under 30 days. It applies to private and online short-term rentals, not only traditional hotels. Remit it monthly to the Montgomery County Treasurer by the 25th. Your township may add its own room tax, so check current rates with each township before you file.

Do not assume that a booking platform's handling of tax covers your obligation. Ask the County Treasurer how any platform collection applies to your property before you rely on it.

Quick Checklist

  1. Form your entity with the Department of State, and register any fictitious name for $70.
  2. Register your state tax accounts on myPATH and calendar your Annual Report: LLCs by September 30, corporations by June 30.
  3. Confirm zoning and building requirements with your township or borough before you sign a lease.
  4. Contact the Montgomery County Office of Public Health before you open or buy a food truck.
  5. Identify your township's BPT or mercantile levy, register, and calendar the return: April 15 in Lower Merion and Upper Merion, and January 15 and May 1 in Upper Moreland.
  6. Register with the EIT and LST collector before your first payroll.
  7. If you rent short-term, remit the county hotel tax monthly by the 25th, and check your township's rate.

Where to Confirm Each Figure

For a multi-location business, a mobile operation that works across several municipalities, or a portfolio of short-term rentals, talk with a qualified attorney or CPA before you register. Local rules can interact with your entity choice and your tax treatment in ways a single guide cannot cover.

This guide is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Rates, deadlines and office responsibilities change. The figures here were verified on 2026-10-13, and you should confirm every figure with the agency named before you file or pay.

Keep exploring: related Pennsylvania guides