Auto repair shops need the right license
Opening an auto repair shop needs to be approached with the same care as opening any other type of business. The first thing that you have to determine is whether the kinds of auto repair you will be performing requires a special license under your city's guidelines. If the repairs that you intend to do consist of nonmechanical work (changing oil, spark plugs, filters and so on) then many cities will exclude your business from needing an auto repair city license. If you do intend on performing mechanical repairs, then you need to check with your local city government for its specific licensing requirements and fees. Some requirements, however, are the same from city to city, so you can save yourself a lot of time by accomplishing the following items before finding out any city-specific items needed to complete your application.
Instructions
1. Gather together all of the paperwork that identifies your business as a legal entity. This will include any doing business as (DBA) registrations, articles of incorporation, prior tax returns and EIN (employer identification number). Organize your paperwork in a sequential order with the most important business identification papers (the legal registration of the name and type of business) in the front and the least important at the end (the articles of incorporation). Make two copies of your paperwork. Keep one set as a record of what will be submitted to your city and one to go with your final application for your auto repair city license.
2. Visit your local city hall and go to the city clerk's office. File the paperwork required by your city to register for a license to do business in the city boundaries. This permit usually consists of a simple form registering the name and ownership of your business with the city and providing the requested fee. This is different from the "doing-business-as" or DBA registration that you have already filed with the city. The city license is a separate permit required to do business, and a DBA is only the registration of the name. After your basic city business license is granted, request an application for an auto repair city license.
3. Fill out your application for an auto repair city license. Like the application for the regular city license, this will include information on the name and legal address of the business, the owner's name, the proposed address of the auto repair business and an indication of the types of repairs that you expect to be performing.
4. Attach the following paperwork to your application: a copy of the lease or proof of ownership for the business property, a copy of the zoning ordinance (and any additional variances) for the property, a copy of the business's floor plan (Step 5), and a hazardous waste materials plan (Step 6).
5. Review your city's specific guidelines for safety regulations as well as OSHA standards before designing your shop floor plan. Carefully and neatly draw a plan that shows how you will locate the primary tools, lifts, waste and hazardous chemical storage of your shop. Make sure all of your plans for placement and storage meet the minimum requirements of your city and the minimum recommendations of OSHA. Make a copy of this plan. Keep one with your records and attach one to your auto repair city license application.
6. Write out a specific plan for the storage and disposal of the hazardous materials involved in the daily operations of your auto repair business. Call the city clerk and your state department of license and registrations to find out what additional permits, if any, you need to operate a business that generates hazardous waste, and find out if any special training or registration is required to comply with state regulations on hazardous materials regulations and registration. When you have all of this together, make a copy and keep one for your records, and attach the other to your application.
7. Attach a check or money order to the front of your application that covers the fee for the license. Retain a copy of the check or money order for your records, and submit your application to your city clerk.
Tags: auto repair, city license, your application, your city, auto repair city
