Wicomico and Somerset County Business Licenses: Salisbury and the Lower Shore

If you are opening a business on Maryland's Lower Shore, you will deal with several offices, not one. The State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) forms your entity. The Comptroller issues your sales tax license. The Clerk of the Circuit Court in your county issues the trader's license that most businesses selling goods need. If your business is inside Salisbury, the City may add requirements of its own. This guide walks through each layer for Wicomico County, Salisbury, and Somerset County, including Crisfield, so you know which office to call and what to ask.

Informational only. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees, rates, and deadlines change. Confirm current figures with the agency named in each section before you file or pay, and talk to a Maryland attorney or certified public accountant (CPA) before you make decisions about entity structure, taxes, or leases.

Skip the paperwork

Let a pro file your Maryland business for you

Filing in Maryland means state registration, an EIN, and a registered agent. These two services handle all of it, and here's our honest take on when to use each.

Top pick · Best value

Northwest Registered Agent

$39 + state fee

Keeps your home address private
Free registered agent for year one
Real US-based support, no upsell maze

Best for: most Maryland founders who want privacy and value without the markup.

Form my Maryland LLC →

BetterLegal

Fastest setup · premium

Business filed in about 2 business days
Bundles your EIN + operating agreement
One streamlined, hands-off checkout

Best for: founders who need it done fast with everything bundled.

Set up with BetterLegal →

Affiliate partners: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Pricing is set by each provider and may change.

Step 1: Form your LLC or corporation with SDAT

Your entity filing goes to SDAT's Charter Division, not the county. An LLC files Articles of Organization. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation. The fees and annual obligations are:

Entity	Filing fee	Annual obligation
LLC	$100	$300 Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return (Form 1), due April 15
Corporation	$120	$300 Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return (Form 1), due April 15

If you need more time for the annual report, extension requests are filed at pprextensions.dat.maryland.gov. Missing SDAT filings can also block your county trader's license, so treat April 15 as a hard date.

Check your name before you file

Search the entity register at Maryland Business Express entity search first. Your name cannot be misleadingly similar to another LLC, corporation, trade name, limited partnership, or limited liability partnership on file with SDAT. An LLC name must include one of these: Limited Liability Company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., or L C. If you want to hold a name while you prepare paperwork, a name reservation costs $25 and lasts 30 days. The form is at SDAT's name reservation form.

Appoint a resident agent

Maryland calls this a resident agent. The agent can be a Maryland citizen over eighteen, a Maryland corporation, or a Maryland LLC. The agent must have a Maryland street address, and a P.O. box does not qualify. The agent signs the Articles, and you must have the agent's consent before you file. If you later change the agent or the agent's address, the change costs $25 per entity. Many Salisbury owners use a local attorney, accountant, or commercial agent service for this role, but compare the ongoing cost before you commit.

Choose your processing speed

Standard LLC filings are reviewed during the second calendar month after submission. Paper filings take about 8 weeks. Speed options cost extra:

Expedited review: $50 extra, reviewed in 7 to 14 business days.
Online rush: $325 extra, reviewed within 3 hours when submitted by 2:30 p.m. on a business day.
Same-day paper drop box: $425 extra.

If you sell under a name that is not your legal entity name, you also need a trade name registration. It costs $25 standard, or $75 total with the $50 expedited fee. It is filed with SDAT, not the county, using the trade name application.

Step 2: Get your Sales and Use Tax License from the Comptroller

Before the Clerk will issue a trader's license, you need a Sales and Use Tax License from the Comptroller of Maryland. The license itself is free. You apply through the Combined Registration Application on Maryland Business Express. The state sales tax rate is 6%. If you collect sales tax, the Comptroller's website is where you file returns and manage your account.

Step 3: Apply for a trader's license in Wicomico County

Maryland has no single general state business license. Instead, most businesses that sell goods need a trader's license from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in their county. For a Wicomico County business, that is the Wicomico County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Keep these rules in mind:

License year: May 1 through April 30. Plan your renewal around that cycle, even if you open in the middle of it.
Prerequisite: The free Comptroller sales and use tax license must come first.
Blockers: The Clerk cannot issue the license if you owe personal property tax or have missing SDAT filings. Clear both before you go in.
Exemptions: Growers and manufacturers are exempt from the trader's license.
Fee: This guide does not list the trader's license fee. Confirm the current amount and accepted payment methods with the Wicomico County Clerk before you visit.

Ask the Clerk whether your specific business activity needs the license. Service businesses that do not sell goods may not need one, but the answer depends on what you sell and how you sell it.

Step 4: Check the City of Salisbury's own license rules

Salisbury issues its own business licenses and levies its own personal property tax, so a county trader's license does not answer every question for a city business. An older city guide lists license categories including hawkers and peddlers, restaurants, landlords, alarm companies, towing, and theatres. Treat that list as unverified. Confirm with the City of Salisbury whether your business type needs a city license, what the fee is, and whether the category list has changed. Do not assume that a county trader's license covers a city requirement, and do not assume that a city requirement replaces a county one. Ask both offices.

Step 5: Licensing in Somerset County and Crisfield

Somerset County businesses follow the same state framework. You file with SDAT, get the free Comptroller sales and use tax license, and then apply to the Somerset County Clerk of the Circuit Court for a trader's license if your business sells goods. Growers and manufacturers are exempt from that trader's license, as they are statewide. Confirm local fees, forms, and whether the Clerk's requirements match the Wicomico process before you assume they do.

If you plan to locate in Crisfield, check the enterprise zone status now. The Maryland Department of Commerce's 2025 annual report lists the Crisfield enterprise zone as expiring on 12/14/2026. Zone benefits, if they matter to your plan, need to be confirmed directly with Commerce before that date, not assumed from older materials.

Local and state taxes that affect your numbers

Licensing is only part of the cost. The tax layers below apply to many Lower Shore businesses, and they are easy to underestimate.

Business personal property tax

Business personal property, such as equipment, furniture, and fixtures, is taxed locally and reported on your Form 1 return. Here are the figures we could confirm:

City of Salisbury: $2.40 per $100 of assessed value, on top of the county rate, according to the SDAT FY2027 table.
Wicomico County: $1.9497 per $100 for FY2027. Some older guides show $2.0247. Use the FY2027 SDAT figure, but confirm it with SDAT before you budget, because the older number is still circulating.
Somerset County: Confirm the current rate with SDAT. This guide does not list it.

A Salisbury business pays both the city and county rates on taxable personal property, so the combined figure is well above the county rate alone. Model that cost before you buy equipment.

Income tax for LLC owners and corporations

An LLC is a pass-through entity for state income tax. Its members report income on their personal Maryland returns, not on an LLC-level income tax return. Individual rates are a graduated state rate of 2% to 6.5%, plus a county or Baltimore City local income tax of 2.25% to 3.30% for 2026. Somerset County's county income tax is 3.20%, according to the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) 2026 figures. Confirm the Wicomico rate and your own county rate with the Comptroller of Maryland, since your rate depends on where you live.

A corporation pays a flat 8.25% of Maryland taxable income. The corporate income tax is separate from the annual report fee, and a corporation also owes the $300 Form 1 filing each year.

Where to get local business support

The Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network offers advising across the state at marylandsbdc.org. A regional SBDC office at Salisbury University has been a common point of contact for Eastern Shore owners, but we could not verify its current location, services, or contact details. Confirm with the SBDC network before you plan a visit or count on a specific advisor.

Your licensing checklist

Search your proposed name in the SDAT entity register. Reserve it for $25 if you need time.
Choose a resident agent with a Maryland street address and get written consent.
File Articles of Organization or Incorporation with SDAT for $100 (LLC) or $120 (corporation), and choose expedited handling if your timeline needs it.
Register a trade name with SDAT if you will operate under a name other than your legal name.
Complete the Combined Registration Application and obtain your free Sales and Use Tax License from the Comptroller.
Apply to the Wicomico or Somerset County Clerk of the Circuit Court for a trader's license if you sell goods, and confirm the fee first.
Ask the City of Salisbury whether your business needs a city license, and confirm the category list.
Calendar the April 15 Form 1 deadline and the $300 annual report fee, and file any extension early.
Keep SDAT filings current and clear any personal property tax balance, because either one can stop your county license.

When to bring in a professional

A single-owner service business with one location can often handle the SDAT filing alone. Get a Maryland attorney involved if you have multiple owners, plan to raise money, sign a commercial lease with personal guarantees, or need to pick between an LLC and a corporation. Use a CPA for pass-through income tax, personal property filings across two jurisdictions, and any plan that depends on an enterprise zone or other incentive. A professional who knows the Lower Shore can also tell you which local questions to put to the Clerk and the City.

Official sources

Confirm every local figure, category, and deadline with the agency that issues it before you rely on this guide. Wicomico County and Somerset County Clerk of the Circuit Court offices and the City of Salisbury set their own local requirements, and the figures flagged above are the ones most likely to have changed.