Beckley WV Business License: $15 License, Certificate of Occupancy First and the B&O Credits

If you plan to open a business in Beckley, you will hear about a “business license.” The phrase is misleading. West Virginia has no general statewide business license. What you actually deal with is a short sequence of separate steps: a state registration, a city Certificate of Occupancy if you have a physical location, a $15 a year City of Beckley license, and, for most businesses, a quarterly city tax on gross receipts called B&O. This guide puts those steps in the order you should take them and points out where the paperwork and money tend to catch people.

This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Rates and rules change. Confirm every figure with the agency named before you sign a lease or set your prices. For complex situations, talk to a qualified attorney or CPA.

What “license” means in West Virginia

Three different things get lumped together under the license label:

• The State Tax Division Business Registration Certificate. This is the closest thing West Virginia has to a statewide license. It costs $30, is a one-time fee, and stays valid until your business name, location or ownership changes. Each fixed location needs its own certificate.
• Entity filing with the Secretary of State. Forming an LLC with Articles of Organization (Form LLD-1) costs $100 and creates the legal entity. It is a filing, not a license. Registering with the Secretary of State does not replace the Tax Division certificate.
• City licenses and taxes. Beckley issues its own business license, requires a Certificate of Occupancy for physical locations, and levies the B&O tax. Most of your local obligations sit here.

Materials and information to gather first

Having these ready will keep you from stopping halfway through an application:

• Your legal business name. If you will trade under another name, you need a DBA. The Secretary of State handles DBAs, not the county clerk. Individuals, sole proprietorships and general partnerships pay no fee. Other entity types pay $25.00, plus a $1.00 online processing fee if you file through the One Stop Business Portal.
• Your entity paperwork. Articles of Organization (Form LLD-1) for an LLC, or Articles of Incorporation (Form CD-1) for a corporation, along with your filing confirmation.
• Your Beckley address and the lease or deed. The Certificate of Occupancy attaches to the building and its use, so you need the exact street address.
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). Get it from the IRS before you apply. Many state and city forms ask for it.
• A description of your activities and expected sales. B&O is calculated by category, so you need to know whether you are retail, wholesale, service, contracting or something else.

Step 1: Get your West Virginia Business Registration Certificate

Every individual or business entity must obtain this certificate from the WV Tax Division before engaging in business activity. Apply with Form WV/BUS-APP or online at business4.wv.gov, the WV One Stop Business Portal. The one-time fee is $30.00. General information is on the Tax Division site at tax.wv.gov.

Do this first. The Certificate of Occupancy and the city license both assume you are already registered. If you open two locations, you need two certificates. If you later change your name, move or sell part of the business, update the registration so your records match what you actually operate.

Step 2: Get a Certificate of Occupancy from Code Enforcement

If your business operates from a physical location in Beckley, the city requires a Certificate of Occupancy from Code Enforcement before you open. Call Code Enforcement at 304-256-1738 before you sign the lease if you can. Describe the exact use you plan, such as retail, office, food service or light manufacturing, because occupancy approval depends on how the space is used.

Ask three questions on the call: whether the building needs an inspection, whether there is a fee and what it is, and how long approval usually takes. Get the answers in writing or note the name of the person who gave them. Do not assume a building that housed a similar business is automatically approved for yours.

Step 3: Apply for the $15 Beckley city business license

The base Beckley business license is $15 a year. The license year runs July 1 to June 30, and you apply online through the City of Beckley website. The license must be in hand before you open. Opening first and applying later is one of the most common and expensive mistakes.

If you sell alcohol, the city application lists separate fees: beer $100 to $500, wine $150 to $250, liquor Class A or B $1,000, and clubs $325 to $1,250. These amounts come from the city application, so confirm the current figures with the city before you budget. Alcohol also requires a state license from the ABCA, which is a separate application.

If you open in the middle of the license year, ask Tax and Licensing at 304-256-1758 whether the $15 is prorated. Do not assume it is.

Step 4: Add the permits your industry requires

West Virginia licenses many trades at the state level, and those licenses sit on top of the city license. Find your trade in this list and contact the named agency before you open:

• Food businesses: Raleigh County Health Department, 304-252-8531.
• Alcohol: the Alcohol Beverage Control Administration (ABCA).
• Electricians: State Fire Marshal.
• Plumbers and HVAC technicians: Division of Labor.
• Contractors: Contractor Licensing Board. A license is required above $5,000 for residential work or $25,000 for commercial work.
• Cottage food, hemp, kratom and pesticides: West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA).
• Hotels, motels and short-term lodging: you will file a hotel and motel occupancy tax return with the city.

Fees and timelines for these state licenses vary. Confirm them directly with each agency, because several of them change more often than the city license does.

Step 5: Set up B&O tax filing and check the credits

The West Virginia state B&O tax applies only to utilities. The business and occupation tax that hits shops, contractors and service providers is a gross receipts tax levied by cities. In Beckley, you file it quarterly. Returns are due the month after the quarter ends, so the first quarter (January to March) is due in April. Beckley has a $10 a quarter exemption, but confirm with Tax and Licensing how it applies to your numbers.

The rates below come from the city’s 2023 return. Confirm current rates before you set prices:

Category	Rate per $100 of gross receipts
Retail	0.40
Wholesale	0.15
Manufacturing	0.25
Service	1.00
Contracting	2.00
Amusement	0.35
Rents (Class 4 rental property is 1% of gross)	1.00
Banking	1.00

As an example, a retail store with $50,000 in gross receipts in one quarter would owe about $200 at the 0.40 rate, before any credit. A contractor with the same receipts would owe $1,000 at 2.00. If you have more than one activity, ask the city how receipts are split between categories.

Late returns carry a 5% penalty, followed by 1% a month. That adds up quickly, so put the quarterly date on your calendar the day you open.

The city also offers a New or Expanding Business tax credit. It is worth 50% of your B&O for five years in zone B-3 and 30% in other commercial zones. You apply with the Recorder-Treasurer. Confirm your zone before you sign a lease, because the zone determines the size of the credit. If you qualify, the credit should lower your quarterly bill, but it does not change the filing deadlines.

Step 6: Plan the recurring filings

• City business license: the license year ends June 30. Plan renewal before then.
• B&O tax: quarterly, due the month after each quarter ends.
• LLC annual report: filed between January 1 and June 30 each year, for $25. Filings after June 30 cost $75 because of a $50 late fee.
• Hotel and motel occupancy tax return: if you provide lodging, file it on the city’s schedule.
• Registered agent: West Virginia does not require a commercial registered agent. The Secretary of State can accept service for your entity. If you do appoint an agent, changes are filed on Form AAO for $15.00.

Tips and common mistakes

• Opening before the Certificate of Occupancy or city license. Keep the order: Tax Division certificate, Certificate of Occupancy, city license, then open.
• Treating the Secretary of State filing as the license. An LLC filing creates the entity. It does not register you to collect or owe anything at the city level.
• Charging 6% on Beckley sales. The state rate is 6%, and the city adds 1% since July 1, 2016, for a total of 7%. Check your point-of-sale settings.
• Missing the B&O quarter. The penalties start small and grow every month. Set a reminder a week before each due date.
• Assuming there is no per-worker fee. Many West Virginia cities charge a weekly per-worker service fee. The Beckley city pages we reviewed do not list one, so ask Tax and Licensing directly before you hire.
• Filing a DBA with the county. DBAs go to the Secretary of State.
• Skipping the zone check on the credit. If you do not confirm your zone before you lease, you may not get the 50% or 30% credit you planned around.
• Assuming a state license covers the city. Each state license and the Beckley license are separate applications.

What you should have when you finish

If you complete the steps in order, you should end up with a current Tax Division Business Registration Certificate, a Certificate of Occupancy for your location, a paid Beckley license for the current July to June year, a B&O account with a filing calendar, and any trade or alcohol licenses your industry requires. Most owners find the first setup takes a few weeks, depending on how quickly the city and state respond. Once the setup is done, the recurring work is mainly the quarterly B&O return and the June 30 cycle.

Beckley sits in Raleigh County and serves as a gateway to the New River Gorge, so tourism, lodging and outdoor recreation businesses should pay particular attention to the occupancy tax return and to their Certificate of Occupancy.

Before you rely on this guide

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. It does not replace advice from a qualified attorney or CPA, especially if you have employees, multiple locations, an out-of-state owner or a mixed business activity. Verify fees, rates and deadlines with the Secretary of State at sos.wv.gov/business, the Tax Division at tax.wv.gov, and the City of Beckley before you act.