Yes, it seems like most cities (at least larger cities, but at least many of the small ones too) and a few states require business licenses for any business.  Some cities wave the fee for low income folks and some will happily charge you more than you made as &quot;business income&quot; in some cases (Philadelphia going after folks who put ads on their blog is the one I know about, there may be more).<p>I think most state licensing is more limited, but still tends to cover wide professional areas and often is more trade protectionism than public benefit.