How to Register a Business in Utah

Published October 1, 2026 by Inkdrop Bookkeeping, West Jordan, Utah

Starting a business in Utah means a handful of separate registrations: the state, the IRS, your city and, depending on what you sell and whether you hire, the Tax Commission and Workforce Services. Here is who handles each one, with a link to the agency.

Inkdrop Bookkeeping does bookkeeping only and doesn't prepare or file taxes. This page points you to the right office. Questions about your own tax position belong with that office or your tax professional.

1. Register the business with the Division of Corporations

LLCs, corporations and other entities are registered online through the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, and you log in with a UtahID to do it. The form asks for a registered agent, and the Division says you can list yourself. Reserving the name first is optional.

A sole proprietor trading under a name other than their own registers a DBA (assumed name) with the same Division, also online with a UtahID. The Division's DBA page points out that the owner of a sole proprietorship is personally liable for the business's debts.

2. Keep the state registration current

Every registered entity files a yearly renewal to stay active. For a Utah LLC, the Division explains that a delinquent status is fixed by renewing online, while an expired one needs a reinstatement. An expired DBA can't be reinstated at all; it has to be registered again as a new DBA.

From the books' side, a renewal is a recurring date like any other bill. Put it on the same calendar as the city license renewal so neither one surprises you.

3. Get an EIN from the IRS

An Employer Identification Number is free and the IRS issues it online. The IRS warns about websites that charge for one. It also says to form an LLC or corporation with the state first and apply for the EIN after, or the application may be delayed. In Utah that state filing is the Division of Corporations, which does not issue EINs itself, as its renewal page notes.

4. OneStop: one application, three state agencies

Utah's OneStop Business Registration registers a new business with the Tax Commission, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Workforce Services in a single application. It asks for your federal EIN, so have that number ready when you register.

5. Get a business license from your city

State registration is not a business license. The Division says a business also needs a license from the city, town or county where it is located or operating. West Jordan, for example, licenses its own businesses.

In unincorporated Salt Lake County the county itself no longer issues licenses. The Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District handles them for Kearns, Magna, Copperton, Brighton, Emigration Canyon, White City and the unincorporated county. Each of our town pages covers how that city handles licenses and home businesses.

6. The Tax Commission's side

A sales and use tax account is applied for on the Tax Commission's Taxpayer Access Point, called TAP. New businesses estimate their sales tax when they apply and are given a filing status. Employer withholding accounts also sit with the Tax Commission; its own pages set out who needs one.

Whether your business needs a sales tax account or a withholding account is a question for the Tax Commission or your tax professional. Inkdrop Bookkeeping doesn't prepare or file taxes. What the books can do is keep sales tax collected apart from your income, so the amount you owe is plain to see.

7. If you hire: Workforce Services

The Department of Workforce Services treats a business as a subject employer for unemployment insurance once it employs one or more people for any part of a day in a calendar year. New businesses file a Status Report or register online, and a registered employer files a quarterly wage report every quarter, even one with no wages paid, until the account is closed.

If you're about to hire, that registration and your payroll setup come first, and the books then record what payroll produces. Inkdrop offers payroll processing support; whether you need a withholding account is still a question for the Tax Commission or your tax professional.

Where a bookkeeper fits

None of these registrations is bookkeeping, but every one of them leans on clean records: a business bank account kept apart from personal spending, categories that make sense, statements that match the books, and a calendar of renewal dates. That is the work in new business bookkeeping setup and monthly bookkeeping.

Cara Strong runs Inkdrop Bookkeeping from West Jordan, and Inkdrop takes on work anywhere in Utah by phone and email. Call (801) 448-3672 or email [email protected] for a free call about where your books stand.

Utah business registration FAQs

Is an EIN free?

Yes. The IRS issues EINs online at no charge and warns about websites that charge for one.

Who issues business licenses in Kearns or Magna?

The Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District. Salt Lake County no longer issues business licenses itself.

What if my Utah LLC renewal was missed?

A delinquent LLC is fixed by renewing online. An expired one needs a reinstatement through the Division of Corporations.

Does Inkdrop Bookkeeping register my business or file my taxes?

No. Registrations are made with the agencies above, and tax questions belong with the Tax Commission or your tax professional. Inkdrop sets up and keeps the books those filings draw on, with Cara as your point of contact.

Sources

Agency pages read on October 1, 2026. The Tax Commission's site limits automated reading, so confirm anything about tax accounts on tax.utah.gov directly.

How to Register and License a Business in Utah