Question: I am Starting a Petting Zoo Business.  

There is something interesting and special about a petting zoo that attracts both children and their parents. Starting and running a petting zoo is certainly not for  anyone that does not love pets or animals.  You need to know a few things about it. For example, as a petting zoo requires a great deal of knowledge and animal pet skills in terms of the animals. Additionally, a petting zoo business or any kind  of business can be somewhat costly to start and operate. However, a properly established and managed petting zoo business, can be a very profitable business to own and operate. Traditionally, popular animals featured in a petting zoo have always been sheep, deer, ponies and rabbits but why not have some dogs and cats as well as mice.

My business will include  a petting zoo but also writings on pet development from my point of studies and coordinate educational activities for children  general public/ I will do most of my business in the petting zoo with some traveling to other states if contracted to do so. I need to know if I need any special petting zoo license or certificate from the animal control and the educational dept. and license from each petting zoo city within a state to do fundraisers for non profit groups that are interested in how to start a petting zoo business?Federal law specifically the United State Department of Agriculture and the local animal control unit as well as federal state, and local licensing laws govern this type of  petting zoo small business.  In  short, you need a USDA license and probably a state animal transfer license as well as a city business license, a state sales tax id, a federal tax id, and a county animal transfer license.

Your Petting Zoo Business is subject to sales tax reporting if you buy the animals wholesale and planing to eventually sell the animals.  This is because it is selling touchable objects that are required to be reported to the state and that requires a resale id to do so. For this reason, here are the licenses and tax ids you are legally required to obtain before starting Petting Zoo Business
operations:

1. A business petting zoo tax registration license. (Form an LLC Limited Liability Company to protect Your Home and Car from potential parent that will try to sue you for any injuries the pets may cause.)

2. Fictitious Business Name, DBA assumed business name or form an LLC.  

3. A federal tax id number also is required in most state for those that they get a seller's permit, and if you are a partnership or you want to use it instead of you social security number to open a bank account. Also, note that forming an llc or incorporating eliminates the requirement of getting a dba. It is a good idea to form an llc to avoid personal liability from business transactions. Since you are dealing in taxable items, you will need

4. A seller's permit.  Also, note, since most likely you will hire employees, get a state employer tax id as well state EIN.

We will be able to help you obtain most of the business licenses here, but you may need to get a USDA license and an animal transfer license by yourself.

The business licenses can be obtained here online.  For the other licenses you may need to go to the animal control and tell them about your petting zoo as well as apply for federal animal transfer license with USDA.

Also note that you will need an animal transfer license as well as a city medical waste license, and an alarm license.  You will need to vaccinate these pets so you will need the medical waste license.

The reason  you need this licenses is simply that the government will not let you operate unless you have it.  If you attempt to do a petting zoo business without the above licenses, they will probalby shut you down.

Our fees is about $500 dollars but you will probably need about $2,000 for the department of agriculture and the animal control petting zoo licenses.