Business tax receipts, contractor licensing through PCCLB and DBPR, state professional licenses, and specialty permits, with who issues them and how to apply.
Cosmetologists and barbers are licensed statewide by DBPR. Cosmetology requires 1,200 hours of training (FS 477.019); full barbers need a minimum of 900 hours and restricted barbers 600 hours. Salons and barbershops need separate location licenses.
Food trucks (Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicles, MFDV) are licensed by DBPR statewide. Since 2020, Florida law (FS 509.102) preempts local governments from requiring separate food truck licenses, permits, or fees, and from banning food trucks jurisdiction-wide. Trucks that are not self-sufficient must use a licensed commissary.
Restaurants and most food service businesses in Pinellas County are licensed by the Florida DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants, not the county. New builds and remodels require a DBPR plan review (free) before licensing, plus local building permits for the build-out and a city business tax receipt where applicable. Retail food businesses (grocery, markets, bakeries without on-premises service) are permitted by FDACS instead.
Real estate sales associates are licensed by DBPR under the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC). The path: 63-hour pre-license course, application with fingerprints, and the state exam through Pearson VUE. New licensees must work under a licensed broker.
Alcohol sales require a license from the DBPR Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (ABT). Fees depend on license type and county population; Pinellas is in the top population bracket. Beer/wine licenses are available to any qualified applicant; full liquor (4COP) quota licenses are capped at one per 7,500 county residents and are usually bought on the resale market or won in the annual quota drawing. Local zoning approval is part of the state application.
Operating a vacation rental in Pinellas County involves up to four layers: a state DBPR vacation rental license, state and county tax registrations (6% sales tax + 1% surtax to DOR, 6% Tourist Development Tax to the Pinellas Tax Collector), and city- or county-level rules that vary sharply by location. State law (FS 509.032(7)(b)) bars local governments from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating duration/frequency, except ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011.
Florida Statute 559.955 (2021) preempts local governments from licensing or regulating home-based businesses differently from other businesses. A qualifying home business may operate in any residential zone, but it is still subject to local business taxes under Chapter 205, so a city BTR is still required inside municipalities like St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
The core sequence for launching a business in Pinellas County: register your entity with the Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), get a free federal EIN from the IRS, register for state taxes if applicable, and get a city business tax receipt if you are located inside one of the 24 municipalities. Pinellas County itself does not require a county business tax receipt (repealed in 1995).