Cities mean business with easier business licensing process

By Scott Slatton, Municipal Association's legislative and public policy advocate

Getting a business license in South Carolina cities just got a little easier thanks to the Municipal Association’s new website that links directly to the standardized business application from its front page. 

The standardized application has been available to businesses since 2014 and more than 80 cities and towns currently accept it. The application can be downloaded from www.masc.sc at the “doing business with the association” link at the bottom of the page.

The application was created by a committee of members from the South Carolina Business Licensing Officials Association who worked closely with several statewide business organizations. 

Businesses, particularly those that work in multiple jurisdictions, can complete a single standardized application, copy it for every city or town where they need a license and present it to a city’s business license office.

The BLOA committee originally set out to make licensing for transient businesses, like contractors, less complex. But after it was developed, licensing officials realized the one-page standardized application contains all of the information they need to license nearly any business. In fact, some towns have replaced their business license application with the standardized application.

Businesses can get a copy of the standardized application from their city’s business license office or they can download a copy from www.masc.sc (scroll to the bottom of the front page to see “doing business with the Association”). Businesses can also find a link to a list of the cities and towns that have agreed to accept the application.

The BLOA, an affiliate of the Municipal Association, is the go-to training source for business licensing professionals across the state. And the standardized application is yet another example of the value the Municipal Association’s 11 affiliate associations present to businesses and member cities and towns around the state.