Biloxi Business License: Certificate of Occupancy, Privilege License and Home Occupation Rules

If you searched for a biloxi ms business license, you probably expected one state document that covers everything. Mississippi doesn't issue one. The state registers your company, collects sales tax and licenses certain industries, but the general local permission to operate comes from the city. In Biloxi, that means the Community Development department, which handles the Certificate of Occupancy and the city privilege license. This guide walks through what to gather, what to file and where, and which home-based and special-use rules catch people off guard.

What Biloxi Requires and What It Doesn't

Mississippi has no state general business license. Three things that people often call a license are actually something else:

• Your LLC or corporation filing with the Mississippi Secretary of State is a registration that creates the entity. It is not a license to operate.
• The sales tax permit from the Mississippi Department of Revenue is a tax registration. There is no fee for it, although a bond may be required for applicants with no permanent Mississippi location.
• Industry licenses come from the relevant state board, and only certain trades need them.

Every city, town and village issues its own privilege license under Miss. Code 27-17. Counties license only businesses located outside municipal limits. If your Biloxi business is inside city limits, the city is the agency you deal with for the local license.

Materials You Need Before You Start

• Entity paperwork. If you formed an LLC, have your Certificate of Formation (Form F0100, $50). If you operate under a name other than your own, you need a Fictitious Business Name Registration (Form F0070, $25). That filing goes to the Secretary of State, not the county.
• A registered agent with a Mississippi street address. LLCs must keep one continuously.
• The physical business address and written permission from the property owner if you lease.
• A simple site sketch or floor plan. Show square footage, parking spaces, and where business activity happens. This matters most for home-based businesses.
• Owner identification and contact information.
• Any state board or health permits that apply to your trade, such as an MSDH permit for food work.
• The current fee schedule. Biloxi's privilege license fee depends on business type, so get the current schedule from Community Development before you go. Do not rely on a figure from an old article, including this one.

Step-by-Step: Getting Your Biloxi License

Step 1: Confirm your address is inside Biloxi

Ask whether the address is inside city limits before you file anything. A business just outside the line deals with the county, and filing with the wrong office costs time. Call Community Development at 228-435-6270 or visit 676 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Biloxi, MS.

Step 2: Form your entity and register your name

File your LLC Certificate of Formation online through the Secretary of State's Business Services portal at corp.sos.ms.gov. The name must include "limited liability company," "L.L.C." or "LLC." Use the business search at the state business search page to check that your name is available. Filings made online are usually approved immediately, or within 24 hours if staff review is needed.

Step 3: Start with the Certificate of Occupancy application

Biloxi's process begins with the Certificate of Occupancy application at Community Development. Give the staff your address, your business type and your site sketch. Ask them to confirm the Certificate of Occupancy fee, if any, and how long their review takes, because the city does not publish those figures in the materials this guide relies on.

Step 4: File the privilege license application in person

Once the Certificate of Occupancy is in process, file the privilege license application in person at Community Development. Pay the fee that matches your business type from the current schedule. Keep the receipt and the approved paperwork with your business records.

Step 5: Get your state tax registration

If you sell taxable goods, register for a sales tax permit with the Department of Revenue at the DOR registration page. Mississippi's state sales tax rate is 7 percent. Biloxi is not one of the cities with a local sales tax levy, so the state rate is the rate you collect. Confirm that with the Department of Revenue before you set prices.

Step 6: Check zoning for your specific use

Some uses have their own rules. Home occupations, short-term rentals and mobile food vending each have requirements that are covered below. Ask Community Development whether your use needs approval before you open.

Step 7: Renew every year

A home occupation must renew its privilege license annually, and most privilege licenses are renewed on a yearly basis. Put the renewal date on your calendar. Your state filing has its own deadline: the LLC annual report is due April 15 each year, may be filed on or after January 1, must be filed online, and carries no fee.

Home Occupation Rules

Biloxi's home occupation rules are based on the city's revised form, updated in May 2026. A home occupation must:

• Hold a privilege license and renew it every year.
• Take place entirely inside the dwelling, with no outside activity.
• Keep no outside storage of materials, equipment or products.
• Use no more than 20 percent of the heated floor area of the home.
• Provide off-street parking.

Measure the heated floor area before you apply, and mark the space you plan to use on your site sketch. A home office that stays within 20 percent and never spills into the yard is the simplest version of this approval.

Short-Term Rentals

Biloxi's 2016 council amendment sets where short-term rentals are allowed:

• By right in the CB, RB, DT and WF districts.
• Conditional in the RM-20 and RM-30 districts, which means you need approval first.
• Not allowed in single-family districts.

Check your parcel's zoning district with Community Development before you list the property. Confirm that the 2016 language is still current, because a later amendment would control.

Mobile Food Vending

Biloxi's mobile food vending rules come from Ordinance 2534. A mobile food operator generally needs:

• A privilege license from the city.
• A city permit for each vehicle, valid for up to 90 days and renewable for another 90.
• An MSDH permit.
• A state tax number from the Department of Revenue.
• Approval from the Development Review Committee.

Plan for the approval step. Ask Community Development how far in advance the committee meets before you buy a truck or sign a lease on a vending spot.

Expected Results

Following these steps in order will probably put you in front of the right offices with the right paperwork, which is where most delays start. Many applicants find that a complete packet reduces back-and-forth with staff, though timelines depend on the review your application needs. Treat the city's review period as something to confirm, not a guarantee. This guide does not promise approval, and a use that doesn't fit the zoning will not be approved by filing it correctly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming a state license covers the city. Mississippi's entity registration does not replace Biloxi's privilege license.
• Filing the county paperwork for a city address. Confirm the boundary first.
• Treating a home business as exempt. The 20 percent, no-outside-storage and parking rules apply, and the license must be renewed each year.
• Listing a short-term rental in a single-family district. It is not allowed there.
• Buying a food truck before approval. Vehicle permits and committee approval come first.
• Using an old fee number. Get the current schedule from Community Development.

Other Rules Worth Knowing

Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, so any wage floor you apply comes from federal law. The state's franchise tax applies to corporations, not to an LLC taxed as a partnership. If you are unsure which tax treatment fits your company, ask a CPA before you make that election.

For free help with planning and paperwork, the Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network has 19 locations statewide. Visit mississippisbdc.org.

Disclaimer

This article is informational only. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client or accountant-client relationship. Ordinances, zoning districts and fee schedules change, so confirm every figure and requirement with Biloxi Community Development, the Mississippi Secretary of State and the Mississippi Department of Revenue before you file. For complex situations, such as a multi-location business, a franchise or a mix of home and commercial use, consult a qualified Mississippi attorney and a CPA.