Starting a service business in Vermont

Form your business in Vermont

You form a Vermont LLC by filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State's Business Services Division, online through the Online Business Service Center or on paper. The filing fee is $155, as listed on the division's fees and statutes page in October 2026 (11 V.S.A. § 4012).

Ongoing state filings

Vermont LLCs renew their registration each fiscal year by filing an annual report within three months after the fiscal year end on record. The fee is $45 as listed by the Business Services Division in October 2026. Look up your business online to confirm the fiscal year end the state has for you, because that date sets your deadline.

Using a business name (DBA)

Trading as anything besides your personal name or the LLC's exact registered name means registering an assumed business name with the Secretary of State. Registration is $70 as listed in October 2026, and you must renew it every five years (reregistration is listed at $65). The division says online assumed name filings normally take less than one business day.

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

Vermont regulates home-service work at three levels. The Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) registers residential contractors: under 26 V.S.A. § 5501(a), anyone who contracts with a homeowner to perform residential construction for more than $10,000, labor and materials included, must register. OPR lists the registration at $75 for an individual and $250 for a business, and requires liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Employees of a registered business, subcontractors who do not deal with the homeowner, and licensed trades working within their license are exempt. The Division of Fire Safety, in the Department of Public Safety, licenses electricians and plumbers (master, journeyman and specialist levels), oil burner installers and gas technicians, and certifies chimney sweeps and fire alarm and sprinkler technicians. Towns also issue their own permits, so check with the town office before a job starts.

• Vermont Office of Professional Regulation: Residential contractors: Registration for residential construction of more than $10,000 (statute); OPR's FAQ words it as $10,000 or more
• Vermont Division of Fire Safety: Licensing: Electricians, plumbers, oil burner and gas technicians, chimney sweeps and fire protection trades

Workers' compensation

The Vermont Department of Labor's fact sheet for employers opens with the rule: workers' compensation insurance is mandatory for all Vermont employers. There is no employee-count threshold to wait for, so the first person you put on payroll, part-time or seasonal, needs to be covered from day one. The same fact sheet says employers must report every work injury that results in any medical attention or at least one lost day of work, to both the department and the insurance carrier. Claims are handled by licensed adjusters at your carrier, so choose an agent who writes Vermont workers' comp and can explain how your class codes are rated.

More on coverage: business insurance for contractors.

Sales tax on services

The Vermont Department of Taxes describes the 6% sales tax as a tax on retail sales of tangible personal property unless the law exempts them, and some towns add a local option tax that must be filed electronically. The department's sales tax page does not describe home services such as mowing or cleaning as taxable, but parts, products and materials you sell to customers can be. If you sell taxable goods, apply to the department for a sales tax license, and send your questions about specific services to tax.business@vermont.gov before you build your price list.

Recording business calls in Vermont

We did not find a Vermont statute in the Vermont Statutes Online that sets a consent rule for recording phone calls the way most states do. The federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), lets a party to a call record it, or anyone with one party's consent, unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. Because Vermont's own rule is not written into a statute, the safe practice is to tell every caller at the start that the call may be recorded. The setup is in our guide to recording business calls.

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

How the seasons shape the work

Vermont's calendar is built around long, snowy winters and short, busy summers. Snow plowing, roof snow removal, chimney sweeping and heating service carry many companies from November through March, and mud season in April slows driveway and excavation work on dirt roads. Summer and fall are packed with exterior painting, roofing and property care, much of it for second homes and ski-area rentals around places like Stowe, Killington and Mount Snow, where owners are often out of state and hire by phone or online.

What a Vermont residential contract must say

OPR's guidance says a registered residential contractor's contract must include a maximum price for all work and materials (or time-and-materials terms with a maximum), estimated start and completion dates, a description of the services and materials, and how amendments to the contract will be approved and documented. Build these four items into your quote template so every signed estimate already complies.

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.

Vermont questions