To start a business in an existing building, contact your local planning and zoning department to be certain you can operate the type of business you plan at the location you are considering. Then contact your city clerk's office to find out about obtaining an occupancy permit. Most buildings have to be inspected before the permit is issued.

Adri, If it's just creating the business itself, it's usually a pretty stright-forward process. Of course, it depends on where you are located, but for most dry-goods retailing operations, 'all' you would have to do is register your DBA (or fictitious name) with the municipality, obtain a business license from them, apply for building permits (once again, assuming that the property was zoned for that use) and then, after you've built and obtained a certificate of occupancy, open the doors to the public (yes, I know this is an over-simplification that doesn't include lease negotiations, financing, vendor contracts, etc. but a quick look from 10,000 feet above the process). As was mentioned in earlier posts; always start with the municipality. Never assume that ANY use (dry-goods or not) is 'grandfathered' or is an 'As a matter of Right' use. I hope that helps... Regards, Tony O

Well Im doing research on a hardware store and I need to now what permits I would need if I was starting it in an existing building .

kmphillips, Check out Business.gov's License and Permit tool. This links to the Texas page for general business licenses, tax permits, etc. You can plug in your zip code or city for more local information. Good luck!

Contact your local city hall and then you county city hall; let them know that you plan on starting X type of business and would like more information regarding permits and licenses you would need to operate legally in their city\county. You'll probably need some sort of licences at the state and federal level as well, they should be able to give you this information.