Get a shop or trading licence
Shop and trading licences come from your local council. Each council has its own steps, but they usually include a health inspection and a tax clearance certificate.
Handled byYour city, town or rural district councilOfficial address: eregulations.zidainvest.com
What you'll usually need
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Steps
- Get the shop licence application form from your council, or from its website.
- Hand in the form with your documents.
- Council health inspectors check the premises.
- Pay the licence fee and collect your licence.
Good to know
- In Harare, the City Health and Finance departments issue shop licences, from Rowan Martin Building in Milton Park. Harare also asks for proof that you own or rent the premises, town planning approval to use them for your business, and a health inspection clearance. Licences must be renewed every year by 31 December.
- In Bulawayo, start at the Chamber Secretary's Department at City Hall, which assesses the business. Next, the council's Valuation Section measures the premises. Take a water bill for them. Then health inspectors check the premises. You get a three-month temporary licence first, and after that the enabling certificate and the full licence.
- Councils issue licences under the Shop Licences Act, but each sets its own requirements and fees.
- Under Statutory Instrument 215 of 2025, retail and wholesale trade is reserved for Zimbabwean citizens. Some businesses, such as hair salons, can't be foreign-owned at all. If you aren't a citizen, check with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce before you sign a lease or pay any fees.