Starting a service business in Mississippi

Form your business in Mississippi

A Mississippi LLC starts with a Certificate of Formation (form F0100) filed with the Secretary of State's Business Services Division. The fee is $50 as listed by the Secretary of State on its business filing fee schedule in October 2026. Filing happens through the office's online portal: you create an account with your email address, log in, and choose the option to form a new entity under Business Filings. Questions go to the Business Services line at 601-359-1633.

Ongoing state filings

Every Mississippi LLC files an annual report (form F0108) with the Secretary of State. The office's Business FAQs say annual reports for corporations and LLCs are due by April 15 each year, and the fee schedule lists the LLC annual report at $0 as of October 2026. Corporations pay $25 for the same report, which is one small reason many owner-operators here pick an LLC. The same schedule lists $50 to reinstate a dissolved LLC.

Using a business name (DBA)

Mississippi's Fictitious Business Name Registration Act set up a statewide registry for trade names at the Secretary of State. In its summary of the Act, the Secretary of State's policy division calls registration completely voluntary, sets the term at five years (renewable indefinitely), and lists a $25 fee. Registration does not give you exclusive rights to the name, and the office cannot refuse a name just because someone else registered the same one. The same summary notes that a bank may ask to see the registration before lending to you or opening an account under the trade name. The $25 figure comes from that summary; the current business fee schedule does not list fictitious names, so confirm the fee in the online portal when you file.

Not sure whether you need an LLC at all? Read LLC vs sole proprietor for contractors, then get your free EIN from the IRS.

Licensing for service trades

The Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) says commercial and residential contractors and roofers must be licensed. On the residential side it issues residential builder, remodeler, roofer, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, mechanical (HVAC plus plumbing), construction manager and solar licenses. State law (Miss. Code 73-59-1) defines a residential builder as someone building a home of up to three floors when the total cost exceeds $50,000, and a remodeler as someone improving an existing home when the total cost of the improvements exceeds $10,000. On the commercial side, Miss. Code 31-3-1 excludes contracts under $50,000 from the definition of contractor, and the board licenses commercial building, electrical, mechanical (including plumbing) and other classifications. The board lists its application fees at $400 for commercial and $50 for residential. For dollar thresholds on residential electrical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing licenses, check the board's classifications page or call it before you bid and ask your city or county what local permits apply.

• Mississippi State Board of Contractors: Commercial and residential contractor licensing, including roofers
• MSBOC: License classifications: Residential builder, remodeler, roofer, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, mechanical and solar; commercial building, electrical and mechanical classifications
• MSBOC: Apply for a license: Applications and fees: $400 commercial, $50 residential

Workers' compensation

The Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission says all employers with five employees regularly employed must provide workers' comp coverage. Below five, coverage is not mandatory but can be bought voluntarily. The Commission notes that domestic and farm labor are not covered unless the employer opts in, and that independent contractors are ordinarily excluded, though employees of subcontractors get special protection. A covered employer meets the requirement by buying a policy from an insurance company or by getting the Commission's approval to self-insure. Employees can never be charged for any part of the premium.

More on coverage: business insurance for contractors.

Sales tax on services

Mississippi taxes retail sales of goods at 7%, and it also taxes the gross income of a long list of service businesses at 7% under Miss. Code 27-65-23. That list includes plumbing and pipe fitting, electrical work and wiring, air conditioning installation or repair, refrigeration repair, insulating, grading, excavating and landscaping, termite and pest control, laundering and cleaning, burglar and fire alarm systems, and car washing. The Department of Revenue's guide for construction contractors adds that painting, drywall, masonry and carpentry under a residential or small contract are not taxed on gross income, but the contractor pays 7% sales or use tax on the materials it buys. Installed sales of roofing, fences, flooring and glass by a dealer are taxed at 7% on gross income. Before doing any business subject to sales tax, you need a permit from the Department of Revenue, which you apply for online through TAP. A separate permit is needed for each location, and it does not expire as long as you stay in the same business at the same place.

Recording business calls in Mississippi

Mississippi follows one-party consent. Miss. Code 41-29-531(e) lets a private person record a call they are part of, or one where a party gave prior consent, unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. Calls with customers across the line in states with stricter rules are safer with a recording announcement.

See our guide to recording business calls before you turn on call recording or an AI receptionist.

How the seasons shape the work

Mississippi's long, humid summers keep lawn, pest control and air conditioning crews busy from spring well into fall, and AC failures turn into same-day emergencies during heat waves. Hurricane season brings tree, roof and water damage work, especially along the Gulf Coast, and storms can strand crews for days. Winters are short and mild in most of the state, so pressure washing, painting and exterior work can run most of the year, with occasional ice storms in the north that cause sudden spikes in tree and roof calls.

The 3.5% contractor's tax on commercial jobs

If you take commercial work, the Department of Revenue levies a 3.5% contractor's tax on non-residential construction when the total contract price exceeds $10,000, charged to the prime contractor. Before starting, the prime contractor applies for a Material Purchase Certificate on TAP. For non-residential contracts over $75,000, the tax must be paid or bonded before work begins, and contractors without a physical location in Mississippi must prepay or bond every contract over $10,000. Residential construction, apart from apartments and condominiums, is excluded from the contractor's tax but stays subject to retail sales tax.

Know which side of the tax list your trade sits on

Two Mississippi crews doing similar-looking work can face different tax treatment. A landscaping or pest control company generally owes 7% on its gross income, while a residential painter generally pays tax on paint and supplies instead of on the labor. Set up your invoices and your accounting to match your trade before your first job, and ask the Department of Revenue at 601-923-7700 when a job mixes both kinds of work.

Then set up the back end that gets you hired

The paperwork makes you legal. Customers still have to find you, reach you and pay you. Before your first job, set up a business phone number, email on your own domain, a Google Business Profile, a simple website, and a way to send quotes and take card payments. The launch checklist lays out the order.

Mississippi questions