In Tanzania, every business must have business license before starting operations. This is in accordance with the Business Licensing Act No. 25 of 1972. There are two types of business licenses in Tanzania, the first is Class A and the second is Class B.
The Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA) issues Class A business license. BRELA is mandated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) to do so. Local Government Authorities (LGAs) issue Class B license through TAMISEMI.
Both Class A and Class B business licenses are applied online using Tanzania National Business Portal (TNBP) and TAUSI portal respectively.
Procedures for Class A Business License
You can apply for Class A business license using the Tanzania National Business Portal (TNBP). There are two requirements to use the portal:
The basic requirements for Class A business license application are:
Step 1: Visit TNBP Portal
It is advisable to use a computer rather than a mobile phone. Open your browser (chrome recommended) and navigate to business.go.tz. The following page will be loaded.
Step 2: Create an account
Click login button at the top right of the page above. The following page will be loaded.
Click the register button to load the registration form. The following form will be loaded.
Fill in the form and click register at the end of the form. If you provided proper and correct details, you will receive an email for confirmation. Also the following page will be loaded.
Step 3: Verify your account
The email sent to your address should be similar to the following:
Step 4: Login to the portal
Login to the portal, once you have verified your account. Upon logging in, point to services and click on the Business Licensing Services.
Step 5: Complete the application form
A page will load with explanation and a form at the end. The form will look similar to the following:
The portal has the following entity types for selection. Select the one that is more appropriate in your case.
You will then be required to select the sector, category and type of business. Remember picking the wrong selections will lead to having your applicated returned to you for correction. The corrections may involve starting again to fill the form.
Step 6: Get and pay License Bill
The respective officer will review your application and if it meets all requirements, they will approve it for the billing section to issue control number for you to pay.
Step 7: Download the License
Once your payment is verified, you will be able to download the Business license from the portal by going to My Dashboard > My Licenses.
Procedures for Class B Business License
You can apply for Class B business license using the TAUSI Portal. There are two requirements to use the portal:
Basic requirements for Class B business license applications are:
Step 1: Visit TAUSI Portal
It is advisable to use a computer rather than a mobile phone. Open your browser (chrome recommended) and navigate to tausi.tamisemi.go.tz.
Step 2: Create Account
Step 3: Login to the Portal
When you login to the portal, the following page will be displayed.
Step 4: Fill in the Application Form
Click view application and in the next page, click apply now button. Next select region and council where the business is located then click next.
Step 5: Upload Required Attachment
The required attachments include TIN certificate, Tax clearance certificate and Lease agreement.
Step 6: Get and pay License Fee
The licensing officers will review your application and you will get a bill. Once you pay the bill, the respective accounting officer will verify payment and the license will be available for downloading.
Step 7: Download the License
 Kessy Juma is the founder of Miamia Trading Company (miamiatz). He is a Techpreneur with roots in accountancy. He believes that any business is good as long as it caters to the right market using the right strategy. 
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