Manage Your Business
The City of Champaign strives to make your interactions with the city government as smooth as possible. On this page, you will find all of the forms your business needs to stay in compliance with city regulations and licensing.
The City of Champaign does not require a business license for a majority of business types, although there are several that do require special approvals. Below are links to the applications needed before starting one of these businesses.
- Liquor Licenses
- Charitable Solicitor
- Commercial Solicitor
- Commercial Trash and Recycling Haulers
- Group Sales Event
- Itinerant Merchant
- Junk Yards
- Peddlers/Mobile Food Trucks
- Places of Amusement
- Re-locators and Tow Trucks
Partner Agency Licensing
- Taxi Cabs and Liveries – Jointly Licensed by the City of Urbana (Note: You are leaving the City of Champaign webpage)
- Food Service Establishment – Champaign-Urbana Public Health District
The City of Champaign does not require business licenses for a majority of business types although there are several that do require special approvals. Below are links to the applications needed before starting one of these businesses.
Outdoor cafes are a great way to enhance your business during the warmer summer months. The City offers outdoor cafe permits to any business within the Central Business District that can meet the spacing requirements on the public sidewalks. Outdoor cafe permits are required only for placing tables and chairs on the public right-of-way. Any private space used as a beer garden or cafe is not required to obtain an outdoor cafe permit. These will be handled through the standard liquor license process. Outdoor Cafes are managed by the Planning and Development Department.
The City of Champaign requires all residential and commercial alarm systems to be registered through the Champaign Police Department. The City contracts with a third-party vendor to manage the alarm program. Learn more.