Sources and how links are checked
Every state link on this site comes from one of the federal directories below. We do not copy fees, deadlines or requirements from third-party blogs.
| Source | Used for | Last verified |
|---|---|---|
| TTB: Alcohol Beverage Authorities in the United States | State alcohol authority links | 2026-10-17 |
| FDA: State Retail and Food Service Codes and Regulations by State | State food-service program links | 2026-10-17 |
| IRS: State government websites | Per-state page of business, tax and employer links | 2026-10-17 |
| U.S. DOL: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees by State | Tipped wage table, document revised 2026-07-01 | 2026-10-17 |
| SBA: Apply for licenses and permits | General reference | 2026-10-17 |
| Reddit r/KitchenConfidential: permits thread | Owner account | 2026-10-17 |
| Fairfax County Board Auditor: restaurant permitting study | Public study | 2026-10-17 |
| Institute for Justice: Restaurant | Public report | 2026-10-17 |
Link checks
On 2026-10-17 each link was requested by an automated script. Links that loaded are shown plainly. Where the federal directory's deeper link no longer loaded, we show the agency's home page and say so. Where a site blocked our script (HTTP 403), the link is labeled as not confirmed. A handful of outdated federal-directory links (about 15) were replaced with the same agency's current page, found by web search on 2026-10-17. Raw results are in states.json.
The U.S. DOL page blocks simple scripts, so the tipped-wage table was read through a web fetch tool and transcribed by hand; the DOL document was dated 2026-07-01.