Clark and Floyd County Business License: Jeffersonville, New Albany and the Louisville Metro

If you plan to run a business from Jeffersonville or New Albany, you will deal with three layers of government: the State of Indiana, the county, and the city. Most of the formation paperwork goes to the state. The permits and contractor licenses that decide whether you can actually do the work usually come from the city. This guide covers what each layer requires, what we could confirm, and what you need to check with the agency yourself.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change. Items marked for confirmation below were not verified against an official source when this was written. For complex situations, consult a qualified attorney and a CPA.

Start with the state: Indiana has no single business license

Indiana does not have one comprehensive state business license. Whether you need anything beyond formation depends on your industry and what you sell. Formation runs through the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division, and the online filing portal is INBiz at inbiz.in.gov. General business information is at the Secretary of State business page.

For a Jeffersonville or New Albany LLC, the core state costs are:

• Name reservation: $10, held for 120 days, filed through INBiz.
• Articles of Organization (State Form 49459): $95 filing fee. You complete and pay for it in one online INBiz session. The state does not publish a processing time, and no expedited option is offered.
• Assumed business name (DBA): $20 per name filed online through INBiz. File one if you operate under any name other than your LLC's registered name.
• Business Entity Report: $32, due every other year in the anniversary month of its formation. The first report is due two years after formation. Paper filing costs $50.

If you form a corporation instead, the Articles of Incorporation (State Form 4159) carry the same $95 filing fee and the same $32 biennial report.

Your LLC name must include “Limited Liability Company” or an abbreviation of it. It must also be distinguishable from names already in the Secretary of State's records. Adding Inc., LLC or LLP, changing capitalization or punctuation, or adding the words “the,” “a” or “an” does not make a name distinguishable. Search the records at the Indiana Business Search before you file.

Every entity must continuously maintain a registered agent and registered office in Indiana. The agent can be an Indiana resident whose business office matches the registered office, or a business entity authorized to do business in Indiana. The office must be a street address, since a P.O. Box alone is not enough. A business cannot act as its own registered agent.

State taxes that affect Jeffersonville and New Albany owners

Indiana has no franchise tax. A single-member or multi-member LLC that is taxed as a partnership or disregarded entity passes its income through to its owners, who pay the individual adjusted gross income tax. That rate is 2.95% for 2026 and is scheduled to fall to 2.90% in 2027. Owners also pay a county local income tax, which follows the county where the owner lives. An LLC that elects corporate treatment pays the 4.9% corporate adjusted gross income tax instead.

If you sell taxable goods, you need a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate from the Indiana Department of Revenue, which costs $25. The state sales tax rate is 7%. You can start the registration at the Department of Revenue business registration page, and the agency's main site is in.gov/dor.

Jeffersonville: building permits and contractor licensing

Jeffersonville licenses contractors locally. Contractor licensing in Indiana is city by city, with no single county license covering Clark County. A license from Jeffersonville does not automatically carry you into New Albany or other cities, so check each jurisdiction before you bid work there.

The Jeffersonville Building Commission, located at 500 Quartermaster Court, Suite 200, can be reached at 812-285-6413. Its published rules say:

• Contractors must be licensed locally and must be insured.
• Licenses cover general contractors, plumbers, heating and air technicians, electricians and stormwater inspectors.
• All licenses expire annually on December 31, so calendar your renewal before year end.
• Applicants must show proof of passing the required exam.

The Commission's page does not publish license or exam fees. A state business license directory of unclear date lists $50, but that figure is unverified, so do not budget around it. Ask the Commission for the current fee schedule.

Before you apply for a jeffersonville building permit, ask the Commission which permit type your project needs and what it costs. Permit requirements depend on the scope of work, and we did not verify a Jeffersonville fee schedule for this guide.

New Albany: permits and contractor licensing

New Albany's contractor requirements are not settled in this research. We did not find the license requirements, exam passing score or fees on an official New Albany page. A dated 2022 PDF lists a 70 percent passing score and $50 and $100 fees, but those figures are unverified and may be out of date. Confirm them with the New Albany Building Department at 142 East Main Street, Suite 206 before you schedule an exam or pay anything.

Whether New Albany accepts licenses issued by neighboring cities is also unverified. If you plan to work in Sellersburg or another Clark County city, confirm reciprocity with that city directly rather than assuming a New Albany or Jeffersonville license will be accepted.

For New Albany new-construction or renovation work, ask the Building Department which permits apply to your project and whether any fees are due at application or at inspection.

Clark County and Floyd County: what the counties levy

Clark and Floyd Counties both levy a county local income tax. Under Departmental Notice 1 (R46 / 01-26), effective January 1, 2026, the rates are:

County	County income tax rate (effective January 1, 2026)	County food and beverage tax
Clark County	2.00%	None listed
Floyd County	1.89%	None listed

The county income tax follows your county of residence, not the county where your business is located. An owner who lives in Floyd County and runs a shop in Jeffersonville pays the Floyd County rate on their individual income. The Department of Revenue's Food and Beverage Tax table has no row for Clark or Floyd County, so neither county levies a county food and beverage tax. If you open a restaurant or bar, check that table directly before you price your menu.

We did not find a Floyd County business license in this research. County involvement usually comes through local permits, zoning, and the county tax. For a Clark County site outside city limits, confirm with the county whether zoning or permit authority rests with the county or with a city.

Kentucky commuters and the Louisville Metro

Louisville is in Kentucky. An Indiana LLC or an Indiana contractor license does not authorize work across the Ohio River. Louisville contractor licensing runs under Kentucky and Louisville Metro rules, which this research did not cover. Before you bid Louisville work, confirm the licensing requirements with Louisville Metro Government and check whether your business must register with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

Kentucky residents who work in Indiana have a separate tax question. Under the same Departmental Notice, a person who lives out of state on January 1 but has a principal place of work in an Indiana county on January 1 is taxed at that Indiana county's rate. A Kentucky resident working in Clark or Floyd County is therefore taxed at that county's rate. Whether Kentucky gives a credit for that Indiana tax was not researched. Ask a CPA or the Kentucky Department of Revenue before you assume either outcome.

HVAC, electrical and plumbing work

Indiana does not have a single statewide HVAC license. Heating and air work in Jeffersonville falls under the Commission's local licensing, as noted above, and other cities set their own rules. Plumbing is one of the trades handled at the state level through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, so confirm the current plumbing requirements there. Electrical and general contractor work is also local, so the city where you work controls the license you need.

Steps to take, in order

1. Search the name in the Indiana Business Search and reserve it through INBiz for $10 if you need time to decide.
2. File the Articles of Organization in INBiz for $95.
3. Appoint a registered agent with an Indiana street address for the registered office.
4. Obtain a federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS if you have employees or a multi-owner entity.
5. File a DBA for $20 if you trade under a name other than the LLC name.
6. Register for a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate for $25 if you sell taxable goods.
7. Confirm the local contractor licenses, permits and zoning with the city where you will work.
8. Calendar the $32 Business Entity Report for two years after formation, and calendar any December 31 contractor license renewals.

Who to contact for each question

Question	Agency	Contact
Formation, name, DBA, biennial report	Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division	in.gov/sos/business
County income tax, sales tax, food and beverage table	Indiana Department of Revenue	in.gov/dor
Jeffersonville contractor licenses and permits	Jeffersonville Building Commission	500 Quartermaster Court, Suite 200, 812-285-6413
New Albany contractor requirements, exam and fees	New Albany Building Department	142 East Main Street, Suite 206
Small business counseling	Indiana Small Business Development Center	isbdc.org
Federal and Indiana small business resources	U.S. Small Business Administration, Indiana district	sba.gov/district/indiana

When to bring in a professional

A single-owner shop that works only in Jeffersonville is usually simpler than a business with several owners, employees in Kentucky, or contractor work on both sides of the river. Bring in a qualified attorney when you draft an operating agreement, choose between an LLC and a corporation, or face a dispute over a contractor license. Bring in a CPA when you decide whether to elect corporate tax treatment, when Kentucky residents work on your Indiana payroll, or when you need to plan for the county income tax on owner distributions.

Clark and Floyd County requirements change, and the figures in this guide reflect the Department of Revenue notice and agency pages available when it was researched. Confirm each fee and deadline with the agency before you file, pay or commit to a project.