A business license in California costs whatever your city charges, because the state does not issue one. For a one-person business, the first year runs from $0 in the City of Los Angeles, if you register and renew on time, to about $300 in Long Beach for a home-based business. San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose sit between $38 and $227. Every city adds the same $4 state fee on each application and each renewal.
The table below gives the first-year cost for a one-person business in the eight largest cities in California, as each city states it on its own page in November 2026, and the date the license comes due again. Cities set these in their own codes and most adjust them each July, so the city's page is the source to trust over this one.
What the eight largest cities charge
| City | What the city calls it | First-year cost, one-person business | When it comes due again |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Business Tax Registration Certificate | a tax on gross receipts; $0 at $100,000 or less a year if you are registered, renew on time and claim the exemption; a taxable business pays the minimum tax when it registers | renew by the last day of February every year |
| San Diego | Business Tax Certificate | $34 for twelve employees or fewer, plus the $4 state fee: $38; from July 2025 a per-employee minimum wage enforcement fee of $1.47 is added | pay within 15 days of the start date; renew every year |
| San Francisco | Business Registration Certificate | $55 at $100,000 or less in gross receipts, plus the $4 state fee: $59; the fee rises with receipts | register within 30 days of starting; the registration year runs April 1 to March 31 |
| San Jose | Business Tax Certificate | $222.89 base tax for one or two employees from July 1, 2026, plus the $4 state fee; the owner counts as an employee | pay within 90 days of starting; renew every year; the base rises with inflation each July |
| Fresno | Business Tax Certificate | a $20 application fee plus the $4 state fee on the City's current form; the tax itself is a flat rate or a share of gross receipts by classification | most certificates renew every six months, with the tax due within 30 days of the period's end |
| Long Beach | Business License | home-based business $299.54, plus $12.66 per employee; retail or services from a shop $488.81; plus the $4 state fee; rates effective July 1, 2026 | the first year is billed before the license issues; then every year at the license's expiry date |
| Oakland | Business Tax Certificate | a one-time registration fee plus the state fee and a recordation and technology fee, due within 30 days of starting; the yearly tax is a share of gross receipts by classification | the tax is due on or before March 1 every year |
| Sacramento | Business Operations Tax | the City issues no license; the tax for a sales or service business is based on gross receipts; a business run from home also needs a home occupation permit | every year |
Cities outside this table set their own. CalGold, the state's permit finder, names the office for any city or county; the office's page has the fee.
Why the same shop pays $0 in one city and $300 in the next
Cities price the license in one of three ways, and the way matters more than the city's size.
- A flat fee. San Diego charges $34 for any business with twelve employees or fewer. Fresno charges a $20 application fee and then a tax by classification.
- A tax by head count. San Jose and Long Beach charge a base tax for the owner, then a set amount per employee. A one-person business pays the base. In San Jose the owner is counted as the first employee.
- A tax on gross receipts. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento tax what the business took in. The first tier is cheap or free: $0 in Los Angeles at $100,000 or less, $55 in San Francisco at $100,000 or less.
The cheap end has a condition. Los Angeles's $0 is provided only for registered businesses that file the renewal on time and claim the exemption on it. A business that never registered does not get it for the years it was not registered, and the City can look back up to eight years.
The $4 that is the same everywhere
Since January 1, 2018, every city and county in California adds $4 to each business license application and each renewal under Government Code section 4467. The city keeps 90 percent for its accessibility compliance fund; the rest goes to the Division of the State Architect. San Diego's page notes that a 2022 law removed the date on which the fee would have dropped back to $1, so the $4 stays. It is the only part of a California business license that is set by the state.
What the license price does not include
The license is one line. The others, where they apply, have their own prices and their own agencies:
- The seller's permit from the CDTFA, for a business that sells taxable goods. Free.
- A zoning clearance, which Fresno and Oakland ask for before the business tax certificate is issued. Both cities' pages state the step; the fee is the planning department's.
- A trade license from a state board, for licensed trades.
- A county license in Los Angeles County, only for about 110 regulated activities in the unincorporated area and three cities.
- A fictitious business name filing with the county clerk, if you trade under a name that is not your own: $26 in Los Angeles County.
Why this one is easy to miss
The price is the easy part. Five of the eight cities above do not call it a license at all: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Fresno and Oakland issue a tax certificate, and Sacramento says in plain words that it does not issue a business license. An owner who looks for a "license" and finds none can conclude there is nothing to pay. There is, under another name, and in four of these cities the first bill is due within 15 to 90 days of the start date.
The city license is one item on the small business compliance list. Who needs one, with Los Angeles as the worked example, is on Do I need a business license in California?
Where Khanna's comes in
If you want help reviewing your small business compliance, email us at daksh@khannasllc.com with your business and your city.
Common questions
Is there a state business license fee in California? No. The state issues no general business license. The only statewide piece is the $4 fee each city collects on every application and renewal.
Does a sole proprietor pay the same as an LLC? In these eight cities, yes. The price follows the business's receipts, head count or classification, not its legal form. In San Jose the owner counts as the first employee; in Los Angeles the Small Business Exemption applies to any form of business.
I work in several cities. Do I pay each one? Often. Los Angeles requires registration from a business that works in the City seven or more days a year. San Jose and Long Beach publish reduced rates for out-of-town businesses by the number of days or months in the city. Each city sets its own rule.
What does paying late cost? San Diego charges $25 or 10 percent of the amount owed, whichever is greater, after 15 days, then 1 percent a month. Long Beach adds 25 percent if the renewal is 30 days late. Los Angeles can look back up to eight years for a business that never registered; its Voluntary Disclosure Program shortens that to five.
Is a home-based business cheaper? In Long Beach, yes: the home-based base tax is $299.54 against $488.81 for a shop. In Los Angeles and San Diego the rules are the same at home as in a shop. In Sacramento a home business also needs a home occupation permit.
General information for California owners as of November 2026. Each fee above was read on the city's own page on the date in the scope line and is linked to it; cities change their rates, most of them each July. Khanna's is not a law firm or an accounting firm, and this is not legal or tax advice. For your own situation, check your city's business tax office, or ask a lawyer or a CPA.