Business Licensing

ULDC – Home occupations
Cottage Food Ordinance
Handyman Can and Cannot List

If you are opening an Assisted Living Facility, Daycare, Foster Care, Group Home, Adult Care or Intermediate Care, you need to follow the checklist for residential and non-residential Home Care Facilities. Please complete the checklist and check the appropriate type of home care business you are starting. This will help us determine which requirements are needed to start.

Home Care Business Checklist

If you are moving your business into a commercial space in North Port, you will be asked to fill out a Change of Occupancy Permit Application. This will allow our inspectors to check fire, electric, and zoning issues at that location. You can email this form to BTRInfo@NorthPortFL.gov.

Change of Occupancy Permit Application

Only after the inspections are complete and approved are you then allowed to open your business and use your business tax receipt.

If you are running a business that requires fertilizer application, please check out the Fertilizer Fact Sheet. All commercial and institutional applicators of fertilizer (except homeowners applying fertilizer on their own property) must receive training and certification in a city-approved training program that is provided by the Sarasota County Extension services (941)-232-6882.

Fertilizer Fact Sheet

To find helpful information on every business, contractor and professional service, search the City’s Business Tax & Contractor Information online feature.

How to use the feature:

1. Access the Business Tax and Contractor Information webpage.
2. When the page opens, a “Business Name” search box will appear. Type in the business name and click “SEARCH.”(TIP: If the business name you searched for is not on the list that displays, click on “Business Information” on the left side menu to return to the search page. Then type in only part of the business name.)
3. When the correct name of the business appears in the Business Search Results, click it.

A new page will open with details about the business, including ownership details, address, phone number, license status, and its current business tax/registration status with the City. The latest information about the business appears in the top line and prior years’ registration renewals are listed below it in chronological order.

“ACTIVE” status means that a business or contractor has paid its annual fee to the City of North Port.

If your selection is a contractor, you should also check to see if the company’s license and insurance are current. You can see if a specific contractor has paid his or her annual business tax and if his or her required professional licenses are active. This valuable information, in the form of the expiration dates of a contractor’s state license and general liability and workman’s compensation insurance, is also provided on the Business Search Results page. The City of North Port strongly advises against doing business with an unlicensed contractor.

** Current license information for dentists, doctors, mechanics, childcare providers, dance studios, restaurants, accountants, cosmetologists, and other service providers also can be found using the search feature. **

Under Florida State Statute, the following persons are exempt from paying local business taxes:

• A veteran of the United States Armed Forces who was honorably discharged and/or their surviving spouse
• A spouse of an active-duty military servicemember
• A person who is receiving public assistance
• A person whose household income is below 130 percent of the federal poverty level.

Information on the renewal is sent twice prior to the renewal due date of September 30th. It is sent to the email your business is registered under. You will need your PIN number, which you can find in your renewal packet.