6 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) or a fictitious business name, employer identification number (ein), seller’s permit, city business license or business tax registration, certificate of occupancy and building permits for the build-out and employer payroll tax account.
How to open a business in California
6 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page.
What licenses do you need to open a business in California? 6, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in California takes. A license specific to your kind of business comes from the agency that regulates it; if one of the twenty named businesses is close to yours, its page lists those too.
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 17, 2026.
Step 1 of 4Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC) or a fictitious business name
0 of 6 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
Set up the business0 of 2
An LLC keeps your personal assets apart from the business and is what landlords and lenders expect on a lease, but California charges $800 a year for it from the first year. Anyone trading under a name other than their own legal name or the entity’s registered name files the fictitious business name in the county where the business sits.
- Fee
- Premium only
- Renewal
- Premium only
- Official page
- sos.ca.gov
Checked Oct 17, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Before the first hireOpens after step 3
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the businesses already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a business at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The business check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State business entities pages; Franchise Tax Board LLC page; Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder fictitious business name pages; IRS EIN page; CDTFA seller’s permit FAQ and online registration page; City of Los Angeles Office of Finance business tax registration pages; Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety; EDD register as an employer page. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.