A New Online Service Simplifies the Process of Obtaining and Renewing Business Licenses

Montana businesses now have a convenient, efficient and secure method for obtaining and renewing one or more licenses they may need from various state agencies to operate in Montana. eStop Business Licenses, formerly known as One-Stop Business Licensing, allows businesses to take care of most, if not all, of their licensing in one online location.

“eStop is part of the effort, spearheaded by the Main Street Montana Project, to foster a friendlier and more prosperous business climate in Montana by making government more effective and efficient,” says Mike Kadas, Director of the Montana Department of Revenue, which administers eStop.

At eStop, businesses need only need to fill out one master application and make one payment for up to seven different licenses. The site also allows businesses to print licenses, view the licensing history, view details of the business and locations, and make changes to information they need to keep current with the state, such as their mailing and contact information, their business structure or entity type, and their locations.

“We’ve worked hard to make eStop as simple and easy to use as possible,” says Cathy Fitzgerald, Bureau Chief of Citizen Services and Resource Management at the Department of Revenue. “It’s incredibly efficient – for the businesses that use it and for the five state agencies that administer the licenses.”

Since eStop’s inception in January 2014, more than 100 businesses have started using the system. And so far, eStop has received 15% of all license payments, cutting out a lot of the paperwork and red tape that used to go with licensing in Montana.

The businesses that stand to benefit the most from the eStop service are grocery and convenience stores, which can take care of their food purveyor, tobacco, beer and wine, meter, scale and underground storage tank licenses all in one fell swoop.

In addition to those licenses, businesses can obtain their nursery licenses at eStop 

To sign up for eStop, businesses should go to estop.mt.gov and enter a passcode they received this year with their license renewal notices. For more information, businesses can visit estop.mt.gov, email [email protected] or call toll free 1 (866) 859-2254 (in Helena, at 444-6900).

The eStop program is a service provided by the Montana Department of Revenue, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Labor and Industry, Department of Public Health and Human Services, and the Department of Agriculture.

 

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