Churchill County Business License and Fallon City License

September 25, 2026

Last verified: November 5, 2026

Churchill County has two business licenses, and which one you need depends on where the work happens. A business with its office inside Fallon city limits gets a City of Fallon license from the City Clerk. Any work done in Churchill County outside the city limits needs a Churchill County license from the Public Works, Planning and Building Department, even if your office is somewhere else. Both sit on top of the Nevada state business license, which you get first.

Inside Fallon: City of Fallon business license, issued by the City Clerk's Office, 55 W. Williams Avenue, (775) 423-5104.
Outside Fallon, in the county: Churchill County business license through the county's online portal, with zoning checked first, (775) 423-7627.
Fallon fee: $50 to $300 by expected gross receipts for a business under $1,000,000, per the city's application form.
County fee: the county's fee schedule we could read lists $125 per year or $50 per quarter, but it is dated June 13, 2018, so confirm the current fee with the county.
Do first: the Nevada state business license from the Secretary of State. Both offices ask for a copy.

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Which License You Need

Start with where the work happens, not where you live. The county's own business license page sets the rule: an office in Fallon city limits needs the City license first, and any work in the county outside the city limits needs the county license. The county also says all work performed in the county requires a Churchill County business license (Churchill County: Business License, citing Churchill County Code 5.00.020).

Your Situation	License	Issued By
Office or shop inside Fallon city limits	City of Fallon business license	City Clerk's Office
Office or shop in the county, outside Fallon	Churchill County business license (zoning checked first)	Public Works, Planning and Building Department
Office in another county or city, work done in Churchill County outside Fallon	Your home jurisdiction's license, then a Churchill County license	Your home jurisdiction, then the county Planning and Building Department
Home-based business in a residential zone outside Fallon	County business license plus a Home Business Permit	Public Works, Planning and Building Department

The county page does not say whether a Fallon-based business that also works outside the city limits needs both licenses. Based on the county's wording ("all work performed in the county"), plan on both, and ask the Planning and Building Department before your first out-of-town job.

City of Fallon Business License

The City of Fallon: Business Licenses and Building Permits page says the City Clerk's office issues business, gaming, liquor and cabaret licenses. You fill out the application and bring it to the Clerk's Office at 55 W. Williams Avenue. The city sends questions about license duration, renewal and verification to (775) 423-5104 rather than publishing them, so ask there how long a license runs before you budget for renewal.

Fallon License Fee

The fee is set by the gross sales you expect, per the City of Fallon: Business License Application (Fallon Municipal Code Chapter 5.04):

Expected Annual Gross Receipts	License Fee
$0 to $24,999	$50
$25,000 to $99,999	$100
$100,000 to $249,999	$150
$250,000 to $499,999	$200
$500,000 to $749,999	$250
$750,000 to $999,999	$300
$1,000,000 and over	+$125 for each additional $500,000 (the form's example: $1,768,593 is $550)

A change of owner, manager, name or location costs $5. The application also asks whether the business is home based and, if so, says it will be charged the city's small commercial electric rate. A yes on that question means the city's small commercial electric rates apply to the account.

What Fallon Asks You to Bring

The city's license checklist, on the same application, lists these items. Which ones apply depends on your business:

State business license: a copy from the Nevada Secretary of State.
Sales and use tax permit: proof of registration with the Nevada Department of Taxation, or proof of exemption.
Workers' compensation: proof of coverage or the state's affirmation of compliance, even with no employees.
Business name: proof of a fictitious firm name (DBA) if you use one.
Certificate of profession: for contractors, child care, practitioners, cosmetologists and other licensed trades.
Child support statement: sole proprietors and partnerships only.
Health permit: any business handling food, beverages or cosmetics needs one from the Central Nevada Health District, (775) 867-8181.
Location approval form: for a location inside the city, signatures from the Building Department, Engineering Department and Fire Marshal, plus the health district for consumable items. Agencies may charge for inspections.

Door-to-door sellers need a solicitor's permit from the Fallon Police Department. Alcohol, gaming, live entertainment and mobile food sales have their own applications on the city page.

Churchill County Business License

Churchill County Code requires a license for anyone who engages in business, trade or a profession in the county (Code 5.00.020, with penalties in 5.00.070). You apply through the county's Churchill County business license portal, after the state steps below. Zoning comes first: call the Planning and Building Department at (775) 423-7627 or email [email protected] before you sign a lease, because the property has to be zoned for your use.

County Requirements and Limits

State checklist: the county's State Requirements Checklist wants your SilverFlume business and entity registration, a workers' compensation declaration and tax registration done before you apply.
Health permit: a Central Nevada Health District permit is required for food, beverages, cosmetics or tattooing. A permit from another health district or from the state is not valid in Churchill County.
Home business: a home-based business in a residential zone outside Fallon needs a Home Business Permit that runs with the license.
Liquor, peddler and locksmith: these go through the Sheriff's Office after you hold the county business license. The county asks you to allow at least three weeks.
Roadside vendors: a business license is required, you sign an affidavit, and you set up on commercial property with the owner's permission. Roadways and easements are not allowed.

County License Fee

The fee schedule posted on the county site, the Churchill County Planning Department Fee Schedule, lists business licenses at $125 per year or $50 per quarter. That schedule is marked "Revised 6/13/2018", and the portal may show a current figure, so treat $125 as a starting point and confirm the amount with the department. The same schedule says a license issued with a special or conditional use permit for a home occupation may be free if you are a sole proprietor with no employees, no subcontractors, no customer traffic to the home and no signs.

The county Clerk/Treasurer, at 155 N. Taylor Street, registers fictitious firm names for businesses in the city and the county.

State Requirements to Finish First

Both offices want your state paperwork before they issue anything, so do these in order. Nevada's state business license comes from the Secretary of State, not the Department of Taxation, under NRS 76.100. Register on the Nevada SilverFlume portal, which now sits inside the state's Orion system. If you form an LLC or corporation, you get the state license when you file the entity's first list, so the entity filing comes first.

Item	Cost	Source
State business license, LLC, partnership or sole proprietor	$200 per year	NRS 76.100 and 76.130
State business license, corporation	$500 per year	NRS 76.100 and 76.130
LLC articles of organization	$75	NRS 86.561
Corporation articles of incorporation	$75 if authorized shares total $75,000 or less, higher above that	NRS 78.760
Initial list and annual list, LLC	$150	NRS 86.263
Sales and use tax permit	$15 per location	Department of Taxation: start and run a business
City of Fallon license	$50 to $300 under $1,000,000 in sales	City of Fallon application
Churchill County license	$125 per year on a 2018 schedule, confirm	County fee schedule

Skip the entity row if you run as a sole proprietor. A corporation's annual list fee also rises with authorized shares (NRS 78.150). An LLC's first year at the state level is $425 ($75 articles, $150 initial list, $200 license), and the entity needs a registered agent with a physical Nevada address (NRS 77.310 and 77.320). If you would rather not file yourself, our comparison of Nevada LLC services covers the paid options, and the Nevada LLC guide walks through the filing.

Sales Tax Permit and Local Rate

If you sell taxable goods, register for the permit with the Nevada Department of Taxation. The state's base rate is 6.85%, and the Department's sales and use tax rate sheets add a county rate on top. The sheets we could read are dated, so check the current Churchill County combined rate there before you price anything.

Income Tax, Commerce Tax and Payroll Tax

Nevada has no state personal or corporate income tax. A business with Nevada gross revenue over $4,000,000 in a fiscal year files the Commerce Tax, and employers file the Modified Business Tax, 1.17% of quarterly wages above $50,000 for general businesses. A business at or under the $4,000,000 threshold files no Commerce Tax return, and an employer pays Modified Business Tax only on wages above $50,000 a quarter, though every employer still files the return. Our Nevada business taxes guide covers the rest.

Step-by-Step: Getting Licensed in Churchill County

Step 1: Decide Where the Work Happens

Use the table above to pick the city license, the county license or both. If the answer is a home-based business, read our Nevada home-based business guide first, because a residential zone outside Fallon adds the Home Business Permit.

Step 2: Form the Entity and Get the State License

File your LLC or corporation, or register as a sole proprietor or partnership, on SilverFlume. Pay the $200 or $500 state license fee. Check the name on the Nevada Business Entity Search first if you are forming an entity.

Step 3: Register the Name, Taxes and Workers' Compensation

File a fictitious firm name with the Churchill County Clerk/Treasurer if you trade under any name other than the owner's or the entity's (see our Nevada DBA guide). Register for the sales tax permit if you sell taxable goods. Get workers' compensation coverage or complete the state's affirmation form; both offices ask for proof even when you have no employees (our workers' compensation guide explains who is covered).

Step 4: Line Up Trade and Health Permits

Contractors need their state contractor license before a city or county license (see how to get a Nevada contractor license). Food, beverage, cosmetic and tattoo businesses need the Central Nevada Health District permit.

Step 5: Apply With the City or the County

In Fallon, bring the application, the fee and your documents to the City Clerk and collect the location sign-offs. Outside Fallon, check zoning with the Planning and Building Department, then apply in the county portal.

Step 6: Renew on Time

The state license renews each year on the last day of the anniversary month. An entity that files an annual list pays it with the list, and a late payment adds a $100 penalty under NRS 76.130. Conducting business without the license adds a $100 penalty for each year under NRS 76.110. Ask the City Clerk and the county how long each local license runs, since neither page states it.

Local Help

Fallon and the county both point new owners to CEDA, which the county says gives free help with the state requirements at (775) 423-8587 (CEDA website). The Nevada Small Business Development Center offers free advising statewide. For sites, the City of Fallon's Doing Business in Fallon page describes the New River Business Park lots and the city-owned electric utility.

Disclaimer

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. The Fallon fee table comes from the city's current application form. The county fee comes from a schedule dated 2018 and the county's online portal could not be read, so confirm that amount, the local sales tax rate and each license's duration with the City Clerk's Office, the Public Works, Planning and Building Department and the Department of Taxation before you apply.