Before you put a business online, it helps to know that the paperwork is in order. In Los Angeles County the rules depend on where you operate, and a surprising number of new owners go looking in the wrong office. This is a general guide, not legal advice. Requirements and offices change, so confirm everything with the agency before you act.
Where the license comes from depends on your location
Los Angeles County contains 88 cities, plus large areas that belong to no city at all, known as unincorporated areas. The County Clerk's office, which is part of the Registrar-Recorder, says plainly on its own site that it does not issue business licenses. For a business operating inside a city, you contact that city. For a business in an unincorporated area, the County has its own business license office.
So the first question is simple: which city, or which unincorporated community, is your business actually in? Your mailing address can be misleading, because many mailing addresses use one city's name even though the street sits in another jurisdiction.
If you are in the City of Los Angeles
The City of Los Angeles Office of Finance runs a business registration process that includes a Business Tax Registration Certificate. Its website walks through who needs one and how to register. Other cities have their own versions with their own names, so do not assume the City of Los Angeles process applies in Pasadena or Long Beach.
A fictitious business name
If you operate under a name that does not include your own surname, you may need to file a Fictitious Business Name statement. The County Clerk handles those filings, and the statement is filed in the county of your principal place of business. Nonprofit corporations and similar organizations are not required to file one. If you are not sure whether your name counts, the Clerk's page on who can file is short and clear.
If you sell goods
Businesses that sell physical goods in California generally deal with the state's tax agency, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, about a seller's permit and sales tax. This is a different office from the city license, and it is easy to confuse the two. Ask which applies to what you sell.
Professional licenses
Some trades and professions carry their own state licenses. If yours does, customers often look for the number before they hire you. Contractors in California are generally expected to show their license number in their advertising, and a website is advertising. Check the licensing board's current rules for your trade rather than relying on memory.
What belongs on your website
Once the paperwork is sorted, the site should reflect it:
- Your business name exactly as it is registered.
- Your license or registration number if your trade expects one.
- Your real address or service area, and your contact details.
- Plain terms for the work you do, so nobody has to guess what is covered.
Keep these consistent with your Google Business Profile and any other listings. When the details match everywhere, customers trust you more and fewer things go wrong.
Home-based businesses
Many Los Angeles businesses start at a kitchen table or in a garage. If that is you, check with your city about any rules for operating from home, since they vary from place to place. You also do not have to publish your home address. Many home-based owners list a service area instead of a street address, and that is perfectly normal.
Keep a simple record
Licenses and registrations usually need renewing, and the renewal dates are easy to forget. Keep one folder, on paper or on your computer, with each certificate, the number, the agency that issued it and the renewal date. Add the dates to your calendar with a reminder a few weeks ahead. A lapsed registration is a much bigger headache than a quick renewal.
It also helps to note the date you last checked each requirement. Rules change, and a note saying "checked in October" tells you when it is time to look again.
Do not wait for perfect
You do not need every form finished before you start a website. But do not publish claims you cannot back up, such as a license number you do not hold. Get the foundation right, then build on it.
If you want to see what your own business site could look like, websiites will build one from a short description and show it to you before you pay anything.