Business Law & Regulations

As a small business owner, you are subject to the same regulations as large corporations. Even if you’re starting out on a small level and planning to grow, you must comply with business laws and regulations from the day you open for business.

• Advertising Law

  You’ve got a great product or service to sell, and you’re anxious to begin promoting it to potential customers. To make sure the claims you make about your offerings are truthful and to protect consumers, all businesses have to ...

• Employment & Labor Law

  Bringing employees on board to work in your business is an exciting milestone. You’ll want to ensure that you are conducting employment processes in accordance to the laws. To help you understand and comply with federal and state ...

• Finance Law

  Healthy markets—where businesses can thrive—depend upon fair and open competition. In order to protect the financial interests of small businesses and individual investors, antitrust, bankruptcy, and securities laws have been ...

• Intellectual Property

  If you’ve got a great idea, invention or trade secret, you need to protect it. The steps involved in filing for patents, trademarks or copyrights are covered in this section, along with additional resources that can help you safeguard ...

• Online Business Law

  Doing business online can literally open your business to a world of potential customers. It can also expose your business to legal and financial liabilities, particularly in the areas of privacy, security, copyright and taxation. ...

• Privacy Law

  The promises you make to customers should include how you are going to protect their personal information and reduce the risk of identity theft. In this section, SBA gives you an introduction to privacy laws to make sure your business ...

• Environmental Regulations

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state environmental agencies regulate the impact of businesses on the environment. EPA develops and enforces regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress. Likewise, ...

• Uniform Commercial Code

  If you are conducting business transactions outside of your state, such as borrowing money, leasing equipments, establishing contracts and selling goods, you need to comply with the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). In this section, ...

• Contact a Government Agency

  Contact government agencies to learn about small business programs and how to comply with government regulations. The resources below will help point you in the right direction.