Carson City waives late fees for business license renewals

The Carson City Business License Division has been authorized by the Board of Supervisors to temporarily waive late fees for business license renewals due to unexpected delays in implementing new licensing software. The city advises business license holders who do not need a business license certificate immediately to wait until February before renewing online as final testing is conducted.

“We’re looking forward to rolling out the new system, which will provide our customers with a much smoother process moving forward, including the ability to pay online and print their license from work or home,” said Community Development Director Lee Plemel in a news release. “Meanwhile, if you haven’t already renewed your license, we recommend waiting two to three weeks to log in, and know that we are not assessing any late fees to anyone renewing their license for 2020 over the next couple of months.”

Plemel said business license renewals are typically due annually on Jan. 15 and that notices were sent to business owners with that deadline along with instructions on how to renew online.

“Our focus was launching the new licensing system in plenty of time for renewal season. Unfortunately, there have been some technical delays that we did not anticipate,” said Plemel.

The software change was needed as the old licensing system would no longer be supported. Though migration to the new system will initially require more data input from businesses than in the past, essentially creating a new business license in the system, future renewals will be quick and easy.

Customers renewing their business license online should go the business license division’s webpage at www.carson.org/businesslicense within the next few weeks and click “Apply” under Application and Renewal to download updated instructions, then follow the directions step-by-step. Those considering a visit to the business license office in person to complete the renewal should note that there may be longer than usual wait times during the next few weeks.

Anyone with questions regarding their business license or renewing their license can call the business license division at 775-887-2105. Messages will be returned as quickly as possible during this busy period.