Starting a Business in Melbourne — Melbourne, Florida

The Starting a New Business Toolkit is a ten-step checklist prepared jointly by the City of Melbourne and the Melbourne Regional Chamber for people starting, expanding or relocating a small business in the city. The city states that the goal is a prosperous and diverse economy and a streamlined process for business owners, and it cautions that the toolkit may not be all-inclusive for every type of business while still giving the basic steps for opening one in Melbourne.

The ten steps run in a deliberate order: get guidance; confirm zoning with the city; check state licensing; choose a legal structure; register the business name; obtain the City of Melbourne Business Tax Receipt; obtain the Brevard County Business Tax Receipt; contact other county agencies where the business could affect the public; register to collect and remit taxes; and, finally, ask the city's Economic Development Division about incentives. The order matters because the Melbourne tax receipt depends on zoning approval and, for licensed trades, on state licensing being completed first.

The toolkit sits inside a larger economic development program. The Economic Development page describes Melbourne as the economic and business hub for South and Central Brevard County and states that its Economic Development Division is charged with attracting, retaining and expanding private capital investment, working with Brevard County and State of Florida partners on incentives and coordinating capital projects in the city's Community Redevelopment Areas.

Step 1 names a set of advisory groups, most of them based in Melbourne. The Small Business Development Center is listed at Eastern Florida State College, 3865 North Wickham Road. According to Eastern Florida State College, its SBDC is a subcenter of the Florida SBDC at UCF that offers no-cost, confidential consulting on business planning, financial management and marketing, plus help with government contracting and access to capital for businesses in the Brevard County area.

The toolkit also lists the Space Coast Chamber on W. NASA Boulevard, SCORE Space Coast on Sarno Road, and weVENTURE on S. Babcock Street. weVENTURE describes itself as the Women's Business Center in the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business at Florida Tech, established in 2007, offering free one-on-one consultations and its IGNITE 360 mentoring program, and reports serving 784 unique clients in its 2024-2025 program year while keeping services open to all entrepreneurs.

Two downtown organizations round out the list. Groundswell, on Irwin Street in Melbourne, is a non-profit incubator, coworking space and prototyping lab that has supported high-tech startups since 2016. Melbourne Main Street, at 2004 Vernon Place, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing Historic Downtown Melbourne; the toolkit notes it is an accredited Main Street program. CareerSource Brevard Flagler Volusia appears for help finding and hiring employees.

Zoning is Step 2, before any tax receipt. The toolkit directs owners to the City of Melbourne Planning and Zoning Division, on the third floor of City Hall at 900 East Strawbridge Avenue (321-608-7500), to identify the zoning district that allows the proposed business type within city limits. Staff can also check a proposed address to judge whether the business would be permitted there and whether site improvements would be required. City Hall is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Physical changes trigger more review. A tenant build-out or renovation requires building permits, and the toolkit suggests contacting the Code Compliance Division on the second floor of City Hall (321-608-7900). The Melbourne Business Tax Receipt application instructions add that a business in one of the city's three Community Redevelopment Areas needs prior approval from the Historic and Architectural Review Board for new signage or any exterior change, painting included.

The Melbourne Planning and Zoning page also carries a fraud alert: suspicious emails that claim to come from the city about planning, zoning, permitting or licensing should be verified with city staff before any payment is made.

Steps 3 through 5 move outside City Hall. Step 3 sends owners to Brevard County and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to find out whether a state license or certification of competency is needed; the Melbourne toolkit notes there are more than 50 regulated professions requiring state licensing. Step 4 covers legal structure, listing sole proprietorships, general and limited partnerships, C and S corporations and limited liability companies, and notes that a business that incorporates or has employees needs a Federal Employer Identification Number. The Internal Revenue Service office listed is on N. Wickham Road in Melbourne.

Step 5 is the business name. Any business operating under a name other than the owner's legal name or a registered corporate name must register a fictitious name, also called a DBA, with the State of Florida through the Division of Corporations. The City of Melbourne application requires proof of that registration, and corporations must submit proof of active status with the state.

Step 6 is the city's own requirement. A Business Tax Receipt from the City of Melbourne is required for all businesses operating inside the city limits, is paid annually, and must be obtained before the business begins operation; the Business Tax Receipts page warns that operating without one brings a penalty under City Code and that a separate receipt is needed for each place of business. The cost varies with business type and number of employees. The professional rate starts at $100 for one professional, and the full schedule is in Melbourne City Code Sec. 54-284.

A $25 nonrefundable application fee is paid up front and credited toward the first year's tax. According to the application instructions, contractors must show general tort liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence and $500,000 in annual aggregate, home-based applicants need a stipulation signed by the property owner, and mobile food vehicles file an added stipulation and a Fire Prevention food truck registration. The City of Melbourne allows 5 to 10 business days for processing.

Step 7 adds the county layer. After the Melbourne receipt is issued, the business obtains a Brevard County Business Tax Receipt by filing a Business Tax Receipt and Zoning Use Permit application with the Brevard County Tax Collector, whose listed office is in Titusville. The city Business Tax Receipts page states that Brevard County requires a county receipt for any business operating within the City of Melbourne.

The last steps depend on the business. Step 8 refers businesses that could pose a hazard to the public, such as eating and drinking establishments or those using chemicals, to Brevard County Environmental Health Services, and hazardous material disposal to the county Office of Natural Resource Management. Step 9 covers collecting and remitting taxes through the Florida Department of Revenue, whose Melbourne Taxpayer Service Center is on North Wickham Road.

Step 10 returns to the city. The Melbourne Economic Development Division lists its incentive programs: the Melbourne Economic Enhancement District, or MEED, established in 2008; an Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program for businesses expanding in or relocating to Melbourne; and, for eligible commercial properties in the Melbourne Downtown CRA, a matching façade improvement grant of up to $20,000. The Downtown CRA can also enter public-private partnerships for projects with at least $5 million in capital investment.

Investors have a federal option as well. The city's Opportunity Zones page states that Melbourne has three census tracts designated by the U.S. Treasury Department, where qualified opportunity funds can invest capital gains for potential tax benefits.