Businesses operating in Uganda are typically required to obtain one or more licenses and permits, depending on the activities of their enterprise. There are normally two types of business licenses:
Sector-specific licenses
these licenses are issued to firms operating in a specific line of business (e.g., mining, banking, telecoms) by the agencies charged with regulating those sectors.
Non-sector specific, or cross-cutting licenses
these licenses are issued to firms undertaking activities that are subject to regulation but may fall across many business types. Examples include environmental, immigration, and construction permits.
Virtually all businesses in Uganda are must also obtain a Single Business Permit, which is issued by the local government authority where the business is physically situated.
This Portal provides three ways to obtain information on those licenses pertaining to your business:
Browse Licenses
- if you are familiar with the name of the license or permit, you can use the browse page to locate it alphabetically.
Search Licenses By Business Location, Industry and Business Type –
Home Page or the Search Page you can identify relevant licenses by selecting your geographical location followed by the industry in which your business operates – this will then display a list of business types.
Once you have selected the relevant Business Type, the web site will display a list of Business Activities commonly associated with this line of business. Ticking the boxes next to the relevant Business Activities then provide you with the various licenses and permits you will need to obtain.
Selecting “Industry” from the Industry drop down box will also display lists of cross-cutting licenses and permits which may be required, although many of these are also linked to relevant Business Types.
Search Licenses by Keyword, Governing Statute or Issuing Agency –
from the search box you can enter keywords pertaining to the license name or business description to search for relevant licenses. From the Advanced Search Page you can also search by regulatory or licensing agency and governing statute of the license.
Saving and Sharing Your Search Results
You can also establish a free account on the web site which will allow you to set up a customized list of relevant licenses to facilitate easy access – click on the “Sign Up” link in the upper right corner of the Home Page. Then, as you indentify licenses you would like to save to your list, you can tick the box next to the relevant license and then select “Save” to add them. You can also e-mail license information to colleagues by clicking on “Share” and following the instructions.
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletter
The Portal team publishes a periodic newsletter providing news and information about changes to business licenses and new regulatory reform initiatives. Enter your name and e-mail address into one of the Newsletter Sign-up boxes within the web site. We will not share your information with others.
