What Now?: October

Community Comments

Information on Legislation
and Local Regulations

By Melinda Eppler

DO YOU HAVE A LICENSE TO OPERATE
YOUR BUSINESS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY?
IF NOT, YOU’RE GOING TO NEED ONE.
Effective April 1, 2004, all Sacramento County businesses operating in the unincorporated area (the parts of the county not in a city) are required to apply for and maintain a business license. It sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s a little more complicated. Until recently, businesses such as accounting, bookkeeping, and, surprisingly, medical and dental offices were exempt from having to hold a business license.
    As many as 6,000 businesses operating within the boundaries of Sacramento County are doing so without a license. The license fee for a home-based general business license is $130. The fee for a commercial/industrial general business license is $130 or $150, depending on the answers to the application questions. General Business Licenses have three-year terms. Certain types of business that involve higher levels of public trust or opportunity for criminal activity — such as beauty shops, antique dealers, pawn brokers, taxi drivers, tanning and massage parlors — require a special business license in addition to the general. The fee for a special business license is $125 annually. However, each owner/partner is subject to a one-time fingerprinting fee of $32, and a criminal background check. A small group of businesses also must subject employees to the background check – these people require a $75employee permit. All applicants for special business licenses or employee permits are encouraged to apply in person due to the fingerprinting requirement. For more information about this regulation, or for clarification of any kind, call (916) 874-6644, e-mail buslicense@saccounty.net or visit www.finance.saccounty.net/tax.
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