Indiana business license and registration process

After creating your business plan and securing financing you are ready to apply for your necessary Indiana business license and register your business for local and state taxes.

The first step is to find out if the name you've chosen for your business has already been chosen. You can do that at the Indiana name availability page.

Then you'll need to determine the type of business you are going to start.
Guide to starting a business in Indiana. This is mostly just an outline of the types of business, LLC, corporation, sole proprietor, etc. You may wish to consult with an accountant and an attorney to determine which structure offers the best protection and most tax advantage for your particular business.

For most business types you'll also need a federal tax id or EIN number. You can apply for that at this page from the IRS site.

The next step is to register your business with the state.
Starting a business in Indiana
Here are the tax and registration forms you'll need to file. The BT-1 form is the place to start. Every business doesn't need to fill out every form. Many are specific to a particular type of business. A comprehensive list of business and occupational license requirements can be found here.

You'll also need to check with county and local government to determine requirements for your specific business.

Indiana business laws and regulations
This site also includes information about available grants, business facts and figures for the state and links to county and local resources related to business.

Indiana Labor Law posters.
Not an official government site. Just another place to buy labor law posters, for both federal and state.

State of Indiana Labor Laws

The Indiana business climate.
As of October 2006 the unemployment rate in Indiana was 5.0%. This is a downward trend but still slightly above the national average. The minimum wage rate is $5.15 and is automatically replaced if the federal rate is higher. The Tax Foundation ranks Indiana 12th among the 50 states in business climate. This is signficantly better than two of the surrounding states, Illinois is 29th and Ohio near the bottom of the list at 49th.

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