My plan

Starting a business in San Jose, California

Every person or company doing business in San José must register for a City Business Tax Certificate within 90 days of starting. The City's 2017 Home Occupation brochure says home occupations don't need a Planning permit if they follow its limits. Build-outs and changes of business use in commercial spaces go through a tenant improvement building permit. Fictitious business names are filed with the Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder. Restaurants and food trucks are permitted by the County Department of Environmental Health, and street and sidewalk vendors need a San José Police Department permit.

Every item checked November 6, 2026 against the linked official source. Fees are shown only where an official source documents them, and they’re paid directly to the agency listed — FirstBizGuide isn’t a government agency and doesn’t charge fees or file applications. Not legal advice.

About your business (choose all that apply)

  • Register your business

    • Form your LLC or corporation online at bizfile Online (bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov). The filing fee is $70 for an LLC's Articles of Organization and $100 for a general stock corporation. Filing in person adds a $15 handling fee; certified copies are $5 each and optional. [source] [source] [source]

      • Articles of Organization (LLC): $70 [source]

      Agency: California Secretary of State

    • File your first Statement of Information with the Secretary of State within 90 days of registering. After that, LLCs file every two years in the month they registered, and stock corporations file every year. The fee is $20 for an LLC; the Secretary of State lists the fee as $20 or $25 depending on entity type. The Secretary of State mails a reminder about three months before it's due; if you miss it, the Franchise Tax Board assesses a penalty. Watch for mailers from private companies that charge more to file it for you. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: California Secretary of State

    • In California, fictitious business name (DBA) statements go to the county clerk/recorder in the county where your principal place of business is, not to the state (Business and Professions Code sections 17900–17930). Fees and filing steps are set by each county, so check with your county clerk. [source] [source]

      Agency: County clerk/recorder

    • The IRS issues EINs free. Sites that charge for this are third parties. [source]

      Agency: Internal Revenue Service

  • State and city tax licenses

    • Every LLC organized or doing business in California owes an $800 annual tax, even if it isn't doing business, until the LLC is canceled. The first payment is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after you file with the Secretary of State. LLCs with California income of $250,000 or more also owe an LLC fee, from $900 to $11,790 depending on income. LLCs get no first-year break now: the first-year exemption only covered tax years beginning in 2021 through 2023. Corporations owe the same $800 minimum franchise tax, but a newly incorporated or qualified corporation doesn't pay it for its first taxable year. [source] [source]

      Agency: California Franchise Tax Board

    • You need a seller's permit if you're engaged in business in California and sell or lease tangible goods that would normally be subject to sales tax at retail. This covers individuals, partnerships, corporations and LLCs, both retailers and wholesalers. The permit is free, but the CDTFA may require a security deposit, set when you apply. Register online through CDTFA's online services. Temporary sellers, such as seasonal sales, may need a temporary permit. [source]

      Agency: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration

  • If you hire employees

    • Register with EDD within 15 days once you pay more than $100 in wages in a calendar quarter ($750 or more in cash wages in a quarter for household employers). EDD runs California's four state payroll taxes: Unemployment Insurance, Employment Training Tax, State Disability Insurance and Personal Income Tax withholding. [source] [source]

      Agency: California Employment Development Department

  • Industry licenses

    • Since January 1, 2025, unlicensed people may do only minor work under $1,000, and only if the job needs no permit and they don't use workers. Bidding $1,000 or more, doing permit-required work, or employing workers requires a license from the Contractors State License Board. Ads for unlicensed minor work must say you're not licensed. [source]

      Agency: Contractors State License Board

  • Food businesses

    • Restaurants, markets and other retail food facilities must meet the California Retail Food Code, which sets building, equipment and operating requirements. The code is enforced by 62 local environmental health agencies, usually your county's, and CDPH only supports them. The same code covers mobile food facilities such as food trucks and carts (Chapter 10), as well as plan review and permits. Contact your local environmental health agency before you build out or buy equipment. [source] [source]

      Agency: County (or city) environmental health agency

    • California has two cottage food classes. Class A sells home-kitchen food directly to the public and must register with your local environmental health agency; its current gross annual sales limit is $75,000. Class B can also sell through restaurants and markets, needs a permit after an inspection, and has a $150,000 limit. CDPH doesn't register or permit cottage food operations itself. Only foods on CDPH's Approved Cottage Food List qualify, products must be properly labeled, and you must complete cottage food operator training within three months of registering or getting your permit. [source] [source]

      Agency: County environmental health agency

    • The County Department of Environmental Health (DEH) treats new construction, converting a non-food space to a food facility, and menu changes at an existing facility as "New Food Facility" projects. Submit one complete packet: the Plan Check Application, plan check fees per the DEH fee schedule, the Food Plan Check Checklist, one bound set of 1/4-inch-scale plans (equipment, mechanical, finish schedule, plumbing, electrical and number of Type I hoods), your proposed menu and equipment specification sheets. Incomplete packets aren't accepted, and work isn't queued until payment is received (plans without payment are discarded after 10 business days). DEH has 20 business days to review each submittal. After approval, submit two more plan sets for stamping and take them to the City's planning and building department. Extra operations such as a deli or coffee bar each need their own plan check application and fees. DEH accepts submittals weekdays 7:30 a.m.-4:15 p.m. at 1555 Berger Drive, Bldg #2, Suite #300, San Jose, or by email. The page does not list fee amounts. [source] [source]

      Agency: County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health

    • DEH's mobile food facility permit page asks for a signed MFF Application Packet, a storage agreement if the vehicle isn't parked overnight at a food facility (only CMFOs may be stored at a private home, after a self-certification checklist and approval), a menu with ingredients, standard operating procedures, DMV registration (push carts may be exempt), a route location sheet, proof of a California HCD insignia for occupied vehicles, and, for an MFF previously permitted in another California jurisdiction, a copy of its last inspection report or Permit to Operate. Equipment changes or remodeling may require plan check. Review, inspection and approval can take up to 20 business days, and applications expire 90 days after submittal. The page lists a non-refundable $446.00 permit application fee and annual permit fees of $235.00 (no food prep, FP24), $575.00 (limited food prep, FP25) and $863.00 (full food prep, FP26). The page is undated, so confirm current amounts with DEH. [source]

      Agency: County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health

  • Local business tax

    • Anyone doing business in San José, including property rentals and independent work, must register for a Business Tax Certificate (the City says it is not a business license or permit) within 90 days of starting. Register online with your San José start date, tax ID (FEIN, SSN and/or TIN), the principal owner's driver's license number, owner names and addresses, each San José location, phone and email, and, if they apply, your contractor license number and type, state seller's permit number and County health permit number. If you pay when you register, the account activates in 2-3 business days; otherwise an invoice is mailed within 5-10 business days. The certificate is mailed once you're registered and the tax is paid. State law adds a $4 fee on local business license applicants. The City's tax rates page could not be opened for this checklist, so the tax amount isn't listed here. The City offers an online exemption request form. Business Tax: (408) 535-7055, option 2, or [email protected]; in-person help is by appointment at City Hall. [source] [source]

      Agency: City of San José Finance Department

  • Business name

    • The Clerk-Recorder's fee schedule (no effective date shown) lists $40.00 for an FBN statement (one business name, one or two owners and one certified copy) and $7.00 for each additional name or owner on the same statement (same address and owners); abandonment or partnership withdrawal statements are $37.00. The County's FBN filing instructions page could not be opened for this checklist, so confirm filing methods, term and newspaper publication requirements with the Clerk-Recorder before filing. [source]

      Agency: Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder's Office

  • Zoning and home businesses

    • The City's Home Occupation brochure (revised October 16, 2017) says a Planning Permit is not required for home occupations. Only occupants of the dwelling may be employees or unpaid volunteers; only two clients may be in the dwelling at one time; signs must meet the Municipal Code's residential sign rules; and only 100 square feet of a detached garage or accessory building may be used for the home occupation. The Planning Division's current Planning Guides page lists a "Home Businesses" guide, so check it for any updates. You still need a Business Tax Certificate. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: City of San José Planning, Building and Code Enforcement

    • Look up your property's zoning on the City's interactive Zoning Map or at SJPermits.org; for help deciding whether your project needs a Planning or building permit, call 408-535-3555 and press 1 to speak with a planner. Tenant improvements, including a change of business use or occupancy, need a building permit: submit plans with the building permit application, commercial submittal checklist, tenant improvement plan checklist and plan review package, plus any geologic hazard clearance or historic preservation permit. Staff check the plans against zoning, building and fire codes before issuing the permit. Apply through the faster STAR service (premium fee) or Standard Plan Review, then schedule the inspections listed on your Permit Card. A Temporary Certificate of Occupancy is listed among the processes that may apply. Restaurants and cafes can use the Streamlined Restaurant Program, for which the City says there is no additional fee. Building fees are on the City's Building Fees page, and a refundable Construction and Demolition Diversion Deposit may apply. [source] [source] [source]

      Agency: City of San José Development Services Permit Center

  • City permits

    • San José's Outdoor Vending page says vending on public property and sidewalks requires a San José Police Department (SJPD) permit, which includes a criminal background check. Mobile vendors (food trucks and pushcarts in motion) also need an SJPD permit, must keep moving, and must follow spacing rules from schools and other vendors. Fixed-location vendors on the public right-of-way need SJPD approval of the location, are limited to 100 square feet and must be 150 feet from residential zones or uses (except Downtown). Vending on private property for more than 2 hours needs an Administrative Permit from the Planning Department and the property owner's written permission; sellers of whole, uncut fresh produce are exempt if they meet the page's conditions. Ice cream vendors have separate rules. Outdoor food vending is also regulated by the County. The page lists no fees. [source]

      Agency: City of San José Police Department / Planning Division

Not yet verified for San Jose: San José business tax rates and amounts (the City's Business Tax Rates page could not be opened); San José business tax exemptions and the financial hardship program (page could not be opened); Santa Clara County FBN filing deadline, term, publication requirements and filing methods (the FBN instructions page could not be opened); the fee schedule reviewed is undated; Whether the 2017 Home Occupation brochure reflects the current Zoning Code home occupation rules; When a new tenant with the same use needs a San José Certificate of Occupancy, and building permit fees; Santa Clara County DEH annual food facility permit fees and plan check fees (the March 2026 fee schedule could not be opened); Current Santa Clara County mobile food facility fees after the 2026 fee adjustment; SJPD vending permit and Planning Administrative Permit fees.
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Sources