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It Costs Nothing to Start a Business — Any Commonwealth or Local Start-Up Fee Waived

A veteran or a current reservist or Guard member who owns and controls a small business pays NO FEE required by the Commonwealth OR BY A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION for starting or opening a business in Pennsylvania. The breadth is what makes this worth knowing — it is not one agency's fee schedule but any start-up fee, covering Department of State filing fees and initial Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs fees among others. THE EXEMPTION IS FOR STARTING, NOT FOR RENEWAL OR MAINTENANCE, so year two costs what it costs anyone.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

A veteran or a current reservist or Guard member who owns and controls a small business pays NO FEE required by the Commonwealth OR BY A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION for starting or opening a business in Pennsylvania. The breadth is what makes this worth knowing — it is not one agency's fee schedule but any start-up fee, covering Department of State filing fees and initial Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs fees among others. THE EXEMPTION IS FOR STARTING, NOT FOR RENEWAL OR MAINTENANCE, so year two costs what it costs anyone.

What it's worth: Any Commonwealth or local fee for starting a business, waived

  • Exemption from ANY FEE required to be paid to the COMMONWEALTH OR A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION for starting or opening a business.
  • That reaches beyond one agency: Department of State filing fees and initial BPOA fees among others, and local fees too.
  • NOT RENEWAL OR MAINTENANCE FEES. The exemption is for starting.
  • Open to a VETERAN (armed forces including reserve or Guard, discharge other than dishonorable) OR A CURRENT RESERVIST OR GUARD MEMBER.
  • The business must be SMALL — independently owned and not dominant in its field — and OWNED AND CONTROLLED by the veteran.
  • The business must be started or opened in Pennsylvania.

Who is entitled to it

  • You serve or served in the U.S. armed forces.
  • Your service meets the test.
  • You own a business.
  • The business is started in Pennsylvania.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Claim it on every start-up filing, not just the first. It covers any Commonwealth or local start-up fee, and each body charges separately.
  2. 2Ask your municipality as well as the state — political subdivisions are inside the exemption and rarely volunteer it.
  3. 3If you need a professional licence to trade, ask BPOA about the initial fee too.
  4. 4Budget for renewals from year two. Only starting is free.
  5. 5Be ready to show the business is independently owned and not dominant in its field.
Form
Claimed with each start-up filing
File with
PA Department of State, and each fee-charging body
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingThe words "or a political subdivision" are the valuable part. A borough or township start-up fee is inside this, and a clerk who has never been asked will not offer it.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.