How to Start a Scrap Metal Business in Mississippi: Secretary of State Dealer Registration

If you want to open a salvage yard in Mississippi or buy metal from the public, the state requirement you will hear about first is the scrap metal dealer registration with the Secretary of State. People often call it a Mississippi scrap metal license, but it is a registration, not a license. It does not replace the other filings a business needs, and it comes with ongoing recordkeeping and reporting duties that catch many new operators off guard.

This guide follows the order we recommend: form the entity, set up your local and tax registrations, register under the Mississippi Scrap Metal Property Dealer Registration Act, and build a record system before your first purchase. This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Confirm every figure on the agency page before you spend money, and talk with a qualified attorney or CPA if your setup is complex.

What the Registration Covers and What It Does Not

Mississippi issues no single general statewide business license. Forming a company, filing a fictitious name, registering for sales tax, and registering as a scrap metal dealer are separate filings, and cities and counties add their own local requirements. Keep these three layers straight:

• Secretary of State scrap metal registration. The Business Services and Regulation Division registers scrap metal dealers and processors. The fee is $500 for a dealer and $2,000 for a processor. A registration is valid for two years from issue.
• Department of Revenue sales tax permit. This is a tax registration. The Department of Revenue charges no fee for it, although a bond may be required if you have no permanent Mississippi location.
• City or county privilege license. Every city, town and village issues its own privilege license under Miss. Code 27-17. Counties license only businesses located outside municipalities.

The Act covers regulated metals: copper, catalytic converters that are not on a vehicle, utility and railroad materials, cemetery bronze, and manhole covers. Aluminum cans are excluded. Every purchase of a regulated metal is recorded, so if your yard buys mostly aluminum cans, confirm with the Secretary of State at 601-359-9055 whether the registration applies to you before you rely on that conclusion.

The registration does not cover auto salvage yard or dismantler licensing. If you plan to take in whole vehicles, dismantle them, or resell parts, check with your city or county and the Department of Revenue about what else applies. Do not assume that a scrap metal registration also authorizes vehicle dismantling.

Materials and Information to Gather First

Assemble these items before you file anything. Missing one usually delays the registration, not the other way around.

• Formation documents for your entity, such as the LLC Certificate of Formation (Form F0100) or Articles of Incorporation (Form F0001)
• A registered agent with a physical Mississippi street address
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS, needed for your bank account and tax filings
• A business bank account in the company name
• Government-issued photo ID for you and every employee who will buy metal
• A scale suited to the metal you buy, plus a written weighing procedure. Confirm any scale-inspection requirement with the Secretary of State
• A camera or phone that takes clear photos of sellers and the metal at the counter
• A computer with internet access for the state online portals and LeadsOnline reporting
• A transaction log that captures every field listed in Step 9
• Your city or county privilege license application

Step-by-Step: Starting Your Scrap Metal Business in Mississippi

Step 1: Define Your Operation

Write down the metals you will buy, whether you will buy from the public or only from other businesses, where the yard will be located, and whether you will accept whole vehicles. Those answers determine whether you need the dealer or the processor registration, and which local rules apply. The Secretary of State charges more for a processor, so confirm which category fits your operation before you file. Asking the question first costs nothing. Filing the wrong category can mean paying the wrong fee and correcting it later.

Step 2: Form Your Business Entity

Most small yards form a limited liability company. The Certificate of Formation (Form F0100) costs $50 and is filed through the Secretary of State Business Services online filing portal at corp.sos.ms.gov. Online filings for formation are generally approved immediately or within a day, and the Secretary of State lists no expedite fee for formation filings.

Your name must include the words limited liability company, L.L.C., or LLC. It must also be distinguishable on Secretary of State records from every other registered entity and reserved name. If you want to hold a name while you finish paperwork, a name reservation costs $25 and lasts 180 days.

Every Mississippi LLC must keep a registered agent and registered office in the state. The agent can be an individual Mississippi resident or a business authorized in Mississippi. A commercial registered agent must file a listing statement with the Secretary of State for $100 and must accept or decline a representation within 14 days. A noncommercial agent needs your permission before you list them, and they are not registered with the state.

An LLC is usually taxed as a pass-through entity, and its income flows to the members' Mississippi returns. An LLC that elects corporate taxation is subject to Mississippi corporate income tax and the franchise tax. The franchise tax applies to corporations, not to an LLC taxed as a partnership. Confirm your tax classification with a CPA.

Step 3: File a Fictitious Name if You Need One

If your yard will operate under a name other than your legal entity name, file a Fictitious Business Name Registration (Form F0070). The fee is $25, and the filing goes to the Secretary of State, not the county courthouse. Many new operators look for a county assumed-name filing and waste time searching the wrong office.

Step 4: Get Your EIN and Open a Business Account

Apply for an EIN through the IRS. The Department of Revenue, your bank, and the Secretary of State registration process all expect your legal name and EIN to match exactly. Open a business bank account after the entity exists so that payments to sellers come from a company account, not a personal one. Mixed funds are a common source of recordkeeping problems later.

Step 5: Apply for Your Local Privilege License

Mississippi has no statewide business license, so this step is handled locally. Contact the city, town or village where the yard will sit. If the property is outside municipal limits, contact the county instead. Ask the clerk for the current fee schedule, the renewal date, and any zoning or inspection requirement for scrap or salvage use. Fees differ from place to place, so treat any number you find online as a starting point and confirm it with the clerk.

Zoning is where many yards stall. Confirm that the site is zoned for outdoor storage and metal handling before you sign a lease or buy property. A registration does not override a zoning denial.

Step 6: Register for a Sales Tax Permit

Register with the Mississippi Department of Revenue at dor.ms.gov using its sales and use tax registration page. The permit is a registration for the privilege of operating a business in Mississippi, and the Department of Revenue charges no fee for it. If you have no permanent Mississippi location, a bond may be required.

Mississippi's state sales tax rate is 7%. There is no county add-on. City levies apply only in Jackson and Tupelo. Whether your particular sales of metal or parts are taxable is a question for the Department of Revenue or a CPA, not something to assume from the rate.

Step 7: Register as a Scrap Metal Dealer or Processor Online

File the scrap metal registration with the Secretary of State Business Services and Regulation Division. The fee is $500 for a dealer and $2,000 for a processor, and the registration is valid for two years from the date of issue. Set a calendar reminder for renewal well before expiration.

Do not accept regulated metal from the public until you have confirmation that your registration has been issued. Ask the Secretary of State at 601-359-9055 about current processing times, because a review that takes longer than you planned can delay your opening date. Keep a copy of the confirmation with your compliance file.

Step 8: Set Up LeadsOnline Reporting

Customer transactions and dealer-to-dealer transactions are reported online through LeadsOnline, the Secretary of State's designee. Create your account before you open for business so that you can report from the first day. Ask the Secretary of State for the reporting deadlines and the exact transaction types that must be reported, since those details control your compliance schedule.

Step 9: Build Your Transaction Record System

Every purchase of a regulated metal needs a complete record. The Act requires the following for each transaction:

1. The seller's name and address
2. The seller's age, taken from ID
3. The date and place of the transaction
4. The weight and a description of the metal
5. The price paid
6. The vehicle tag of the vehicle that delivered the metal
7. A signed ownership statement from the seller
8. A copy of the seller's ID
9. A photo of the seller and a photo of the metal

Keep these records for at least two years. Store the photos and ID copies with the matching transaction, not in a separate folder where they can drift apart. A paper log works for a very small operation, but a spreadsheet or yard software with locked, dated entries is easier to audit. Whichever you choose, do not edit a closed record. Make a dated correction instead.

Step 10: Calendar Every Recurring Deadline

Your compliance calendar will have several dates, and they do not all fall at the same time:

• Scrap metal registration: renew before the two-year term ends.
• LLC annual report: due April 15 each year, may be filed on or after January 1, must be filed online, and carries no fee. Failure to file can lead to administrative dissolution.
• Local privilege license: the renewal date set by your city, town, village or county.
• Sales tax filings: the schedule assigned by the Department of Revenue when you register.

Expected Results

A complete setup may help you open on schedule, accept regulated metal with a documented trail, and answer an inspector's or auditor's questions from your own records. It is not a guarantee of approval timing, of how a particular city will treat your site, or of how your sales will be taxed. Many results depend on items the state does not control, such as zoning, local clerk response times and the metals you choose to buy.

Operators who keep complete records and renew on time generally experience fewer interruptions. Operators who skip a record field or let a registration lapse may face problems that are harder and more expensive to fix than the original filing.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Calling the registration a license. Using the word license with a city clerk or the bank can cause confusion. Use the exact name of each filing.
• Filing a fictitious name with the county. The $25 Form F0070 goes to the Secretary of State.
• Assuming aluminum cans are covered. Aluminum cans are excluded from the Act, but confirm your full list of metals against the regulated categories.
• Treating the registration as vehicle licensing. Auto salvage and dismantler rules are separate. Check with your city, county and the Department of Revenue.
• Buying before the registration is issued. Start only after confirmation.
• Skipping photos or the signed ownership statement. A missing photo is a missing record. Build the photo step into the counter routine so it cannot be skipped.
• Letting the LLC annual report lapse. The report is free, but a missed April 15 deadline can lead to administrative dissolution.
• Mixing personal and business money. Pay sellers from the business account.

Practical Tips

• Call before you commit to a site. Ask the city or county clerk about zoning and privilege license steps in the same call.
• Train every counter employee on the record fields. The most common gap in a yard is a single employee who skips the photo or the ID copy.
• Staffing rules. Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, so the federal minimum wage applies to covered employees. Check federal wage and hour rules and any local ordinance before you set pay.
• Use the Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network. Its advisers can help you organize your plan at no cost. Find a center at mississippisbdc.org.
• Keep one compliance binder. Store formation filings, the registration confirmation, the privilege license, the sales tax permit, and the LeadsOnline account details together.

Estimated Filing Costs

The table below lists only the fees confirmed so far. Costs not listed here are marked as items to confirm with the named agency.

Filing	Agency	Cost
LLC Certificate of Formation (F0100)	Secretary of State	$50
Name reservation (180 days)	Secretary of State	$25
Commercial registered agent listing statement	Secretary of State	$100
Fictitious Business Name Registration (F0070)	Secretary of State	$25
Scrap metal dealer registration (two years)	Secretary of State	$500
Scrap metal processor registration (two years)	Secretary of State	$2,000
LLC annual report	Secretary of State	$0
Sales tax permit	Department of Revenue	No fee, bond possible
City or county privilege license	Local clerk	Confirm with the clerk
Zoning and any site inspection	City or county	Confirm with the clerk
LeadsOnline reporting account	Confirm with the Secretary of State	Confirm with the Secretary of State

When to Get Professional Help

Talk with a Mississippi attorney before you sign a lease, form a partnership with someone else, or accept vehicles. Talk with a CPA about whether your LLC should be taxed as a partnership or elect corporate treatment, and about how your sales are taxed. A qualified professional who knows your facts will catch problems that a general guide cannot.

Official Resources

• Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services: https://www.sos.ms.gov/business-services
• Secretary of State online filing portal: https://corp.sos.ms.gov/corp/portal/c/page/corpnewfilings/portal.aspx
• Secretary of State business search: https://corp.sos.ms.gov/corp/portal/c/page/corpBusinessIdSearch/portal.aspx
• Mississippi Department of Revenue: https://www.dor.ms.gov/
• Sales and use tax registration: https://www.dor.ms.gov/business/sales-use-tax/registration-information-sales-and-use-tax-applicants
• Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network: https://www.mississippisbdc.org/
• Secretary of State questions: 601-359-9055

Disclaimer

This article is informational only. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client or CPA-client relationship. Fees, deadlines and rules change, and local requirements vary. Verify every requirement with the Secretary of State, the Department of Revenue, and your city or county before you file.