Registrations, Licenses, and Permits
Registration of Assumed Business Name (DBA)
- Sole Proprietorships and General Partnerships must be registered with the County Clerk’s office, if the name of the business is any name other than that of the owner.
- Professional Service Corporations must be registered with the County Clerk’s office, if the corporation is doing business under a name different than its legal name. For example, if “Smith and Jones, P.C.” does business as “Smith and Jones Engineers,” that name must be registered.
- Corporations and Limited Partnerships file with the Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, 328 Howlett Bldg, Springfield, IL 62756; Corporations – (217)782-7880; Limited Partnerships – (217)785-8960.
- Bureau County does not issue general permits or licenses to operate a business. Contact the city or village in which the business is located for local licensing requirements.
Applying for Assumed Business Name (DBA)
- You must first fill out on application. Click here to download the application.
- Once your application is completed, please bring it to our office so we may issue a Notice to Publish certificate.
- According to state statute, the assumed name is to be published three times in a newspaper for three weeks.
- There is a $20 fee for this service. Acceptable methods of payment are cash, checks, or a money order.
- We will accept your application and payment at the Office of the Bureau County Clerk or you may mail it to the Office of the Bureau County Clerk, 700 S. Main St., Princeton, IL 61356.
- Upon publication, the paper will send our office the original proof of publication. After receiving this proof of publication, our office will send you a certificate of ownership.
- Click here for complete text of the Assumed Business Name Act or here for a summary.
Registration of Notary Public Commissions
- Applications are available at the Secretary of State’s Office or you may click here to download one. After downloading and printing the application for a commission as a notary public, please complete and mail the application as instructed by the Secretary of State.
- The Secretary of State will send the Notary Commission Certificate to the County Clerk.
- Upon receipt, our office will notify you that you must register your signature either by coming in to the Office of the Bureau County Clerk or by sending your signature through the mail. There is a $10.00 fee if you elect to sign in person or a $15.00 fee if you send it through the mail. Should you elect to send in your signature, mail it to the Office of the Bureau County Clerk, 700 S. Main St., Princeton, IL 61356.
- You will receive your certificate when you come in or it will be mailed to you if you elect to send in your signature.
Statements of Economic Interests
Beginning January 1, 1994, persons required to file a Statement of Economic Interests include all elected and appointed officials and local government employees who have authority to authorize the expenditure of public funds, execute contracts and issue licenses and permits.
- The Illinois Attorney General has ruled that lists of required filers must be certified by the local unit of government to the County Clerk for the county where the local unit of government’s principal office is located.
- All candidates seeking public office must file a current Statement of Economic Interests with the County Clerk in the same year they file candidate’s petitions and must attach a receipt for such filings with their petitions.
- Statements filed with the County Clerk are available for examination and copying by the public during normal business hours. Each person examining a Statement must first complete an inspection form identifying the examiner by name, occupation, address, and telephone number, and listing the date of examination and reason for such examination. A copy of the inspection form is then sent to the individual whose statement has been examined. Article Sponsored Find something for everyone in our collection of colourful, bright and stylish socks. Buy individually or in bundles to add color to your drawer!
Click here for the law concerning the disclosure of economic interests.
Liquor Licenses
- To apply for a Bureau County Liquor License you must be in the unincorporated area of the County and must have proper zoning. If you need clarification on these qualifications for a license, please call the Bureau County Zoning Department at 815-875-1631.
- Please contact the Bureau County Clerk’s Office at 815-875-2014 for an Application for License for Sale of Alcoholic Liquors or to receive a copy of the Bureau County Liquor Control Ordinance.
- In addition to annual licenses, special event licenses for one-day (Class “G”) are also available.
- The application will be reviewed by the County Liquor Control Commissioner (County Board Chairman), the Sheriff, and the State’s Attorney. You will be notified by the County Clerk if the application is approved or denied.
- If you are approved, applicant will need to apply for an Illinois State Sales Tax Number at the Department of Revenue on 101 West Jefferson. For more information on the Department of Revenue, click here.
- You will then be responsible for obtaining an Illinois State Liquor License. For more information regarding the State of Illinois Liquor Control Commission, click here.
Raffle Licenses
For raffles conducted in Bureau County only, outside all incorporated city, town and village limits.
- To be eligible for a raffle license in Bureau County, you must be a bona fide charitable, educational, fraternal, labor, religious, or veterans organization that operate without profit to their members and which have been in existence continuously for a period of five years or more.
- Click here to download a Bureau County raffle application. If you are a political organization click here for information on obtaining a State Board of Elections raffle application.
- The fee is $25.
- Raffle tickets may only be sold in Bureau County.
- Your raffle application must be completed in full before the license is issued. The presiding officer and a secretary or raffle manager of the organization must sign the license. The presiding officer must also sign the last page of the application to waive the required bond.
- All organizations must abide by the rules and regulations set forth in the Bureau County Code. Click here to download the rules and regulations.