Laptop, calculator and notepad on a tidy desk, White Pine County Business License: What Ely Requires

White Pine County Business License: What Ely Requires

Last verified: November 5, 2026

White Pine County does not issue a general business license. The county repealed that requirement effective March 4, 2019 and kept licensing only for marijuana establishments, according to the White Pine County Clerk. If you are opening in Ely, the license you need comes from the City of Ely, on top of Nevada's state business license. The county's own part of the job is the $25 fictitious firm name certificate at the County Clerk. Do not pay a filing service for a county license: the county says there is none to buy.

Quick answer for a business in Ely:

  • County license: none. Only marijuana establishments need a White Pine County business license.
  • City license: issued by the City of Ely. The application is a one-page PDF on the city's Forms page, and it prints no fee.
  • City office: City Hall, 501 Mill Street, Ely (775-289-2430, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm).
  • County DBA: $25 at the White Pine County Clerk, 801 Clark Street, Suite 4, Ely (775-293-6509), only if your business name differs from the legal name of its owners.
  • State license: Nevada State Business License from the Secretary of State, $200 ($500 for a corporation), renewed every year. Some small home businesses are excluded.
  • Not verified here: the City of Ely license fee and renewal date. Ask the City Clerk before you budget.

Sources are linked in each section and listed at the end. The statewide Nevada business license guide covers the state side in more depth.

Who Issues What in White Pine County

  • State of Nevada: the Secretary of State issues the state business license and forms LLCs and corporations. The Department of Taxation issues sales tax permits.
  • White Pine County: no business license. The County Clerk files fictitious firm name certificates, and the county licenses marijuana establishments.
  • City of Ely: a city business license, with health, building and fire sign-off lines on the application.
  • National Park Service: a commercial use authorization if you sell services to visitors inside Great Basin National Park.

Outside Ely, for example in Baker, McGill or Ruth, the county page lists no business license, and we found no separate town license. Call the County Clerk if you are not sure which jurisdiction your address is in.

City of Ely Business License

The City of Ely posts its Business License Application (PDF) on its Forms page. We read the form, and it is the clearest public statement of what the city asks for:

  • Applicant details: name, trade name, business street address, mailing address, phone and email.
  • Registration numbers: corporation number, sales tax ID, contractor number and federal ID or SSN, where they apply.
  • Business type: you check what applies: retail, wholesale, service, professional, caterer, peddler, civic, temporary, home occupation or company representative.
  • Operating details: start date, full-time and part-time employees, hours of operation and business frontage in feet. A separate question asks whether you are also applying for a liquor license.
  • Sign-offs: a health permit line (yes or no) and sign-off lines for the health inspector, building inspector and fire marshal.

An office-use box on the form classifies the business by frontage, employees, hours, months in operation and zone location, and ends in a total point value. That points to a fee that scales with the size and type of business rather than one flat amount. This is our reading of the form: it prints no dollar figure, and the city's ordinance text on the American Legal Publishing code site was blocked from our server, so we cannot give the fee, the renewal date or the late penalty. Call City Hall at 775-289-2430 or email the City Clerk ([email protected]) before you budget. The Forms page says fillable forms are returned by email, so ask which address the clerk wants.

The form has its own home occupation box, so a home business in Ely goes through the same city application. The state treats some small home businesses differently, as the state section below explains, and our Nevada home-based business guide covers zoning.

County Fictitious Firm Name Certificate

A DBA is a county filing, not a license. Under Chapter 602 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, a business that operates under a name different from the legal name of each owner files a certificate with the county clerk of each county where it operates, as the County Clerk filing instructions explain. An LLC that trades under exactly the name on its articles does not need one.

  • Fee: $25.
  • Form: the Certificate of Business: Fictitious Firm Name (PDF). It asks for the business name, address, type of business, Nevada Business License number and the names and addresses of the owners. Get the state license first.
  • Signing: signatures are acknowledged before a notary. Since June 9, 2021 the clerk can check ID and approve a certificate signed in the clerk's office instead; filings that arrive by mail still need notarization.
  • By mail: send the form and the fee to White Pine County Clerk, 801 Clark Street, Suite 4, Ely, NV 89301. Add a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want a stamped copy.
  • Changes: a change in the owners or partners needs a new certificate within one month (NRS 602.040).
  • Expiry: county Ordinance 489 (April 11, 2018) puts a five-year expiration on certificates on file, counted from the application date. Calendar the renewal.
  • Closing: a certificate of termination ends the filing when the business stops.

Marijuana Establishments Are the County's Exception

The one business the county still licenses itself is the marijuana establishment, under Chapter 10.62 of the White Pine County Code. The county posts a business license application packet for marijuana establishments (PDF) and its zoning and revenue ordinances on the Clerk's fictitious firm and business license page. That process is outside this page. The state licenses cannabis separately through the Cannabis Compliance Board under NRS chapter 678B, so start there.

Nevada State Requirements You Still Need

State Business License

The Secretary of State issues the Nevada State Business License, not the Department of Taxation (NRS 76.100). The fee is $200, or $500 for a corporation organized under chapter 78, 78A or 78B or a foreign corporation that files lists under chapter 80. An LLC or corporation gets the license when it files its initial or annual list. A sole proprietor or partnership with no entity filing gets it before doing business. File through the Secretary of State's Orion business portal; the older SilverFlume address now redirects there. The state license is in addition to any local license, which in Ely means the city license above (NRS 76.100(6)).

The license renews every year, due by the last day of the month in which the business was formed or first registered, according to the Secretary of State license FAQ (Wayback snapshot October 14, 2026).

Not every business needs one. NRS 76.020(2) excludes, among others, a home-based business whose net earnings are not more than 66 2/3% of the state average annual wage, and a natural person whose only business is renting four or fewer dwelling units. The Secretary of State exemption FAQ (Wayback snapshot October 9, 2026) limits the home-based exemption to natural persons and married couples, so an LLC cannot claim it. If your earnings are near the line, ask the Secretary of State or a Nevada CPA before skipping the license.

LLC or Corporation Formation

Formation is separate from licensing. An LLC pays $75 for its articles of organization (NRS 86.561) and $150 for the initial list of managers (NRS 86.263), then $150 for the annual list. The name must contain an LLC designator such as "LLC" or "Limited Liability Company" and be distinguishable from every other name on file (NRS 86.171); check availability in the Secretary of State entity search. Every entity needs a registered agent with a physical Nevada address (NRS chapter 77).

A corporation's filing fee depends on its authorized shares: $75 at the lowest tier, up to $75,000 in authorized shares, and more above that (NRS 78.760). Its annual list fee rises with authorized shares from $150 to a maximum of $11,125 (NRS 78.150). Our Nevada LLC guide and corporation guide cover the filing steps.

Expedited filing costs extra. NRS 225.140 caps the charge at $125 for 24 hours, $500 for 2 hours and $1,000 for 1 hour. Those are statutory ceilings, not the Secretary of State's price list, which we could not read from our server, so confirm the current schedule before you pay for speed.

Sales Tax Permit and Other State Taxes

  • Sales tax permit: needed if you sell taxable goods. The Department of Taxation charges $15 per location, and the permit is issued by the Department, not the county clerk.
  • Sales tax rate: the Department's base state rate is 6.85%, and local add-ons vary by county. Look up the combined rate for your address in the sales and use tax publications.
  • Commerce Tax: only if your Nevada gross revenue is over $4,000,000 in a fiscal year; at or below that you file nothing (Department of Taxation, NRS 363C.200).
  • Modified Business Tax: employers file quarterly. The general business rate is 1.17% of quarterly wages above $50,000, and every employer files even if nothing is due (Department of Taxation).
  • Income tax: Nevada has no state income tax, according to the Department of Taxation.

Tourism Businesses Near Great Basin National Park

If you guide, teach or sell activities to visitors inside Great Basin National Park, which is headquartered in Baker, the question that matters most is not the county or the city. The National Park Service requires a commercial use authorization from every operator who provides goods, activities or services to the public that take place at least partly in the park for pay or profit. The park's commercial use authorization page (updated August 1, 2025) lists these terms:

  • Term: one year, with no subcontracting and no transfers.
  • Insurance: commercial general liability, plus transportation insurance if it applies, verified before the authorization is issued.
  • Fee: a $350 administrative fee billed after you apply, non-refundable whether or not you are approved. Additional annual fees may apply.
  • Timing: review can take more than 30 days. The park's special uses coordinator answers questions at 775-234-7521.

A business based in Ely that serves park visitors still needs the city license, the state license and a DBA where the name differs. The park authorization is on top of those.

What an Ely LLC Start-Up Costs

Item Cost Where to confirm
White Pine County business license None (marijuana establishments excepted) County Clerk
City of Ely business license Not printed on the application; ask the City Clerk City of Ely Forms page
Fictitious firm name certificate, if needed $25 County Clerk instructions
LLC articles of organization $75 NRS 86.561
LLC initial list $150 NRS 86.263
Nevada State Business License (LLC) $200 NRS 76.100
Sales tax permit, if you sell taxable goods $15 per location Department of Taxation

The state cost to form and license an LLC is $425 in the first year ($75 plus $150 plus $200). Add $25 for a DBA and $15 for each sales tax permit location, which brings a one-location retail LLC to $465, plus the City of Ely license fee. After the first year, state renewals are $350 a year ($150 annual list plus $200 license). Expedited filing, a commercial registered agent and the city fee are extra.

Order to Do It In

  1. Check your business name in the Secretary of State entity search.
  2. Form your LLC or corporation and get the state business license in the Orion portal.
  3. Register with the Department of Taxation if you sell taxable goods.
  4. File the DBA with the County Clerk if your name differs. The form asks for your Nevada Business License number, so it comes after step 2.
  5. Complete the City of Ely application. Ask the clerk the fee and which health, building and fire sign-offs your space needs.
  6. If you will serve visitors inside Great Basin National Park, start the National Park Service authorization early.
  7. Calendar the annual list and state license for the last day of your anniversary month, and the DBA renewal for five years out.

Where This Page Stops

This page does not give the City of Ely license fee, renewal date or late penalty. It also does not cover regulated industries such as mining, contracting or food service, which have their own state and federal permits, or the cannabis licensing process beyond the pointer above. For the choice between an LLC and a corporation, ownership agreements or payroll tax setup, a Nevada attorney or CPA is the right person to ask.

Disclaimer

This guide is informational only and does not constitute legal advice, tax advice, or accounting advice. The information provided reflects Nevada Revised Statutes and standard practices as of 2026, but regulations change, and individual situations vary. Before making decisions about your business structure, licensing, or tax obligations, consult a qualified Nevada attorney, CPA, or both. Every business is unique, and what applies to one may not apply to another.

Sources

Keep exploring: related Nevada guides