Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Running a Web Hosting Business : Legal

[xerhosting]

Do i need a lincuenese?

[Dan L]

To run a business? In the United States, you are required by law to have a Business License. You can take the form of a Sole Proprietorship, LLC, LLP, S-Corp, or C-Corp, all which can be done through the state or online. You'll also need an FEIN, and a handful of other things.

[cdgcommerce]

If you are based in the U.S., I'd suggest contacting your local County Clerk or Chamber of Commerce for the specific requirements for your state as it does vary state-by-state.

[JayC]

Originally posted by DanX
To run a business? In the United States, you are required by law to have a Business License.

No, in most places in the US you are not required to have a business license, in particular to operate a hostng company. There are specific business and professions for which licenses are required in some jurisdictions.

You can take the form of a Sole Proprietorship, LLC, LLP, S-Corp, or C-Corp, all which can be done through the state or online.

None of those are business licenses, they are forms of business entitie. Nothing formal needs to be done in any state to form a sole proprietorship, if one person starts doing business they simply are that. You can't form an S-Corp through any state; it's a classification that can only be given by the IRS after a standard corporation ("C-Corp") is created by a state.

You'll also need an FEIN, and a handful of other things.

You may need an FEIN. A sole proprietorship does not, unless it has other employees besides the owner. A corporation does, even if it has no employees, because it's the tax id for the entity. An LLC may or may not, depending on its tax status.

[Dan L]

Ah you're right on all of those JayC, I was probably over-generalizing. Then again, the question was very ambiguous. As for requiring a license, in my state, you are required to have one for Hosting, which my opinion was based on. Those are business entities, however, if you have a business license, you are one of those, no? I know that personally as an LLC I have an FEIN, though you are right that you may not need one. A Sole Proprietorship wouldn't really be good for a long-term business IMHO as you're a bit more liable than you are with an LLC.

Thanks for the correction, though, I need to make sure I'm more specific from now on!

[gglobehost]

In the U.S. you are required to have a license. You can reg. your business online thru your state's website. What state are you in? When I reg. my business I want to paopen4business.state.pa.us which is for the state of PA. Do a search on Yahoo! for your states website. A license is free, all you pay for is a fictitoious name which is $70 in PA.

[JayC]

Originally posted by gglobehost
In the U.S. you are required to have a license.

In general, again, that is untrue.

You can reg. your business online thru your state's website. .

Not always true. Not all states require registration.

What state are you in? When I reg. my business I want to paopen4business.state.pa.us which is for the state of PA. Do a search on Yahoo! for your states website. A license is free, all you pay for is a fictitoious name which is $70 in PA.

That resource for Pennsylvania does not grant you a license.

Pennsylvania requires business entities to register with the Departments of Labor & Industry, Revenue, and State -- which you can do through that website.

Many states do not have that separate registration requirement.

It may seem pedantic to keep hammering on the differences between licenses, registration, and the formation of business entities -- but if you're bordering on giving legal advice it's a good idea to be accurate about it.

[gkitching]

Me and a partner plan to launch our hosting company on the 21st of the month. We are in Ontario, Canada and our servers are housed in San Jose. Is anyone aware of any legal issues we should take care of (in Canada) to stay safe?

[marcustr]

In most states you don't need to have a license to do business online. Just contact a lawyer and they can point you in the direction you need to go.

[Amish_Geek]

I'm located in Minnesota. I filed as an LLC with the Minnesota Secretary of State. I do not have a FEIN, as I use my SSN and file schedule C come tax season. Check with your states offices to get the details on what you need to do to legally run a business in that state.


If you shoot deer during deer season, why cant we shoot the IRS Auditors during tax season?

[amc-james]

I'd highly recommend learning how to spell license before you attempt to become an entrepreneur