Business License Holders
A business operating in the city must obtain an occupational license. This requirement applies to business entities regardless of their size or composition: corporation, partnership, association, company, individual, or any other type of business arrangement. A few professions, which are licensed by the state--most notably doctors, dentists, and lawyers--are not required to have occupational licenses. If you would like to see if a business currently has a business license, you may also use the business license search tool. To verify if you need a business/occupational license, contact the Business License section at (816) 513-1135.
Source Data: Business License Holders
Yearly License Count
The chart to the right displays the number of business licenses issued every year since 2019. Both 2019 and 2020 reported similar number of licenses, while there was a sharp increase in 2021 with almost 6x the amount of 2020. The filter in the top right allows you to specify either the council district or neighborhood and view the number of licenses issued within those boundaries for each year.
Business Type
Each occupational license is categorized by the type of business being applied for. The chart below demonstrates the top 75 most common business types that are currently valid. The filter in the top right allows you to change the valid license year and view multiple years [data is only available for 2019, 2020, and 2021].
Business License Map
For each business license issued, a location of the physical location for the business is taken. The location of all the current valid business permit holders are mapped below. Pop-up windows will show you other information about the permit such as the ID number, business name, 'doing business as' (DBA) name, business type, and the year the license is valid for. The search bar may be used to search up specific addresses within the city to locate any nearby businesses. The filter at the top right allows you to change the valid license year or view multiple years [data is available for 2023, 2022, and 2021 with only 2023 valid licenses currently shown] and specify the map by both council district and neighborhood census.