How to Get a Business Licence in Tanzania (2026)
What a business licence is, and who needs one
Almost everyone who trades for profit in Tanzania needs a business licence. The rule comes from the Business Licensing Act (Chapter 101 in the 2023 revised laws, still often cited by its old number, Cap. 208). Registration and licensing are two separate steps. Registering with BRELA gives your business a legal name or a company. The licence is permission to actually trade, from a particular place, in a particular line of business. If you have not registered yet, start with how to register a business and come back here.
The Act covers "any form of trade, commerce, craftsmanship or specified profession carried on for profit or gain". A few activities fall outside it. Section 3 excludes farming, raising cattle or other stock, market gardening and dairy farming. It also excludes a farmer selling that produce. The exemption stops once you process the produce into something materially different. Milling, packaging or cooking it turns you into a business that needs a licence.
Category A or Category B: who issues yours
Tanzania has two licensing tracks. The Schedule to the Act splits the fees in two:
- Category A licences are for businesses of a national or international character. The Ministry of Industry and Trade issues them through BRELA, and the fees go to BRELA. Part A of the Schedule opens with agency, broker and banking businesses. You apply through BRELA's online systems or the Tanzania National Business Portal.
- Category B licences cover everything else, which means most kiosks, shops, salons, tea rooms, workshops and small service businesses. Your city, municipal, town or district council issues them. You apply through TAUSI (tausi.tamisemi.go.tz), the President's Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (TAMISEMI) portal. It lets you apply for, renew and terminate a licence online. For premises in a village, section 8(4) sends the fee to the Village Council.
Not sure which category you fall into? Ask your council's trade office before you pay anything. Applying on the wrong track wastes weeks.
What it costs: fees set in law
Business licence fees are not negotiable. They are written into the Schedule to the Act, and the same kind of business pays less in a village than in a city. These principal-licence fees come from Part B of the Schedule in the 2023 revised edition:
| Business | City / Municipal | District | Minor settlement / Village |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiosk or grocery | TSh 60,000 | TSh 40,000 | TSh 10,000 |
| Hair salon or barber shop | TSh 40,000 | TSh 20,000 | TSh 5,000 |
| Tea room | TSh 50,000 | TSh 25,000 | TSh 5,000 |
| Mitumba (second-hand clothes) retail | TSh 50,000 | TSh 15,000 | TSh 5,000 |
| General retail shop | TSh 70,000 | TSh 50,000 | TSh 20,000 (village TSh 8,000) |
| Any other local business | TSh 80,000 | TSh 50,000 | TSh 15,000 (village TSh 5,000) |
Wholesale, sub-wholesale, supermarkets, pharmacies, hardware stores and petrol stations sit in higher bands. So do professional and national businesses, some of which are priced in US dollars when foreign-owned.
Three things to understand about these numbers:
- The Minister for Finance can change them. Section 8(2) lets the Schedule be varied by an order in the Gazette. The table above is the law as consolidated. The fee TAUSI assesses for your application is the one you actually pay.
- A second location needs a subsidiary licence. A licence covers only the place named on it. A second branch needs its own licence, at the separate and usually lower "subsidiary" fee. A kiosk's city-rate subsidiary licence is TSh 40,000, for example.
- You can pay for up to three years at once. A licence is valid for twelve months from the date it is issued (section 7). You may pay the fee for up to three consecutive years in advance, which saves you repeating the renewal every year.
Replacing a lost licence costs TSh 20,000 under the Schedule. Moving the licence to new premises needs an endorsement, currently TSh 10,000.
How to apply for a council (Category B) licence on TAUSI
The process is online. Your council decides which attachments it wants, so the portal is the final word on paperwork. The sequence is:
- Get your TIN first. Registration is free at the TRA, and TAUSI asks you to add your TIN to your profile before you can apply. Our tax guide explains what the TIN brings with it.
- Create a TAUSI account using your NIDA national ID details and a phone number registered in your name.
- Choose "Business Licence" and apply, selecting your region and council. Describe your business accurately. A false statement on an application is an offence under section 22.
- Upload what the council asks for. Typical requests are your BRELA certificate (for a registered name or company), your TIN certificate, and proof of premises such as a lease. A company may also need a letter of introduction.
- Pay the assessed fee using the control number the system generates, by mobile money or bank.
- Download, print and display the licence. Section 18 requires you to exhibit it "in a conspicuous place" at the premises.
If a sector permit applies, get it first. Under section 14(b), a council may not issue a business licence for a trade that needs a permit under another law until you show that permit. Food, health, pharmacy, transport and education businesses all have their own regulator. A business licence never replaces a sector permit (section 5).
The Act also bars a licence for anyone of apparent age under eighteen.
Waiting on a decision? The 21-day permit
Sometimes the council has not decided within 21 days even though you applied on time. Section 12 lets it grant a permit to trade while you wait. The permit fee is one-tenth of the licence fee, and it is refunded if the licence is granted. The permit ends when the decision reaches you, or after 60 days, whichever comes first. If your application is stuck, ask the council trade office for this permit rather than trading unlicensed.
Renewing: the tax clearance step people miss
Since the 2023 amendments, section 13(3) says every renewal must come with a tax clearance certificate from the TRA. You also need evidence that your income tax is paid or that you are exempt. Tax debts can therefore block a renewal outright.
A trader on presumptive tax who has fallen behind on instalments will not get the certificate. Without it, the licence cannot be renewed. Keep your TRA position clean all year, not just in the week before renewal. The VAT calculator helps you price correctly if you are VAT-registered.
Late renewal: what the penalty actually costs
Section 11 gives you 21 days after your licence expires to renew, or 21 days after you start trading to take one out. After that, you owe the fee plus a penalty of 25% of the unpaid fee. The penalty rate then rises by a further two per centum for every additional 30-day period it stays unpaid.
Worked example. A kiosk in a municipality has a TSh 60,000 licence. Renewed 30 days after expiry, it has missed the 21-day window. The owner now owes TSh 60,000 plus a TSh 15,000 penalty, a total of TSh 75,000. Leave it for months and the penalty keeps growing. The licensing authority may remit the penalty in whole or in part if that is fair, so ask when there is a genuine reason, such as illness or a portal failure you can document.
Trading without a licence: the fines and the closure power
The penalties are far larger than the fee. Under section 22, carrying on business without a valid licence, trading from a place your licence does not name, or failing to display the licence is an offence. So is ignoring a licence condition or failing to notify the council of changes. On conviction:
- Council-issued (Category B) businesses: a fine of TSh 50,000 to TSh 300,000, or up to two years' imprisonment, or both.
- Businesses of national or international character: a fine of TSh 100,000 to TSh 500,000, or up to two years, or both.
- Deliberately evading the full fee: the fee plus a penalty of 300% of it.
There is a softer landing for the 21-day window. If the offence happened within 21 days of your licence expiring, or of starting the business, the maximum fine is TSh 10,000 for a council-licensed business.
Most cases never reach court. Section 25 lets the licensing authority compound the offence, meaning it accepts a payment of TSh 100,000 to TSh 300,000 instead of prosecution. This only happens if you admit the offence in writing, and the officer must give you a receipt. You can appeal a compounding order to the High Court within 30 days. Never pay an "on-the-spot settlement" without a written admission form and an official receipt. A payment without them is not a lawful compounding.
Section 4(4) also allows the authority to close the premises of a trader found without a licence, with police assistance. For a shop that can mean lost stock and lost days, which cost far more than the licence.
After you are licensed: the ongoing obligations
- Tell the council about changes. Section 21 requires you to notify the licensing authority if you stop or suspend trading, go into liquidation or bankruptcy, change premises, or change your line of business. Moving without an endorsement means trading from an unlicensed place.
- Know what your licence covers. It also covers an "auxiliary" business alongside your main one, but only if that business's own licence fee would not be higher than yours. Adding phone repairs to a grocery kiosk may be covered. Adding a pharmacy counter is not.
- Budget for the service levy. Councils charge a service levy on businesses with a licence. The Finance Act, 2025 set it at 0.25% of turnover net of VAT and excise duty, replacing the old "not exceeding 0.3%" wording that many websites still quote. On TSh 30,000,000 of annual net turnover, that is TSh 75,000. Branches pay the council where each branch sits.
- You can check other licences. Under section 15, anyone may inspect a licensing authority's register for a fee. That is a useful check on a supplier or business partner before you trust them with money.
These costs belong in your pricing and cash-flow plan from day one. If you need working capital to cover them, compare business loans from licensed lenders. Read how to start and fund a business for cheaper options first. A SACCOS loan is often the realistic first step for a small trader.
Non-citizens: the 2025 restrictions
The Finance Act, 2025 added section 14A to the Act. A licensing authority may not issue a licence to a non-citizen unless that business is open to non-citizens. The Minister may list prohibited activities in the Gazette. Government Notice No. 487A of 2025, published on 28 July 2025, does that.
The reserved activities include ordinary wholesale and retail trade (supermarkets and some specialised outlets excepted), mobile money transfer, mobile phone repair, salons outside hotels and tourism, cleaning services, parcel delivery, tour guiding, and real estate brokerage. The Order let existing licence holders continue until their current licence expires.
If you are a Tanzanian going into business with a foreign partner, read the Order carefully and take legal advice before you sign. The rules also reach citizens who front for a non-citizen.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence for a small kiosk or a stall at home? Yes, if you trade for profit. The Act has no size exemption, and it even prices the smallest village kiosks, at TSh 10,000 for a principal licence. Only farming and the farmer's sale of their own unprocessed produce are outside it.
How long is a business licence valid? Twelve months from the date of issue, under section 7. You can choose to pay for up to three consecutive years at once. Renew within 21 days of expiry to avoid the 25% late penalty.
Is a BRELA certificate the same as a business licence? No. BRELA registration creates your business name or company. The licence permits you to trade from specific premises. You usually need both, plus a TIN, and many banks ask for all three when you open an account.
I have two shops. Do I need two licences? Yes. A licence covers only the place named on it. The second shop needs a subsidiary licence, which costs less than a principal licence under the Schedule.
Can the council refuse to renew my licence? It must refuse without a TRA tax clearance certificate (section 13(3)). It can also refuse if your trade needs a sector permit you do not have, and it may cancel or suspend a licence for breaching its conditions. Protect yourself by keeping taxes current, keeping sector permits valid, and insuring stock and premises. Our insurance guide covers what to prioritise.
An officer says I must pay a fine on the spot. Is that legal? The Act allows compounding of TSh 100,000 to TSh 300,000, but only after you admit the offence in writing, and you must receive a receipt. Anything else is not a lawful compounding. Ask for the written form and the official receipt, and report demands for cash without them to your council.
Reviewed 15 September 2026. Legal requirements and fees reflect the Business Licensing Act, Cap. 101 R.E. 2023, as amended by the Finance Act, 2025, and the Local Government Finance Act, Cap. 290, as amended by the Finance Act, 2025. The Schedule fees may be varied by ministerial order, so confirm the fee assessed on TAUSI or by BRELA before you pay.
This article is general information, not financial or legal advice. Your circumstances may differ.
