Holly asked: “I have one restaurant in Sacramento. I want to know what licenses are needed. Do I need a fictitious business statement? Do I need a business license? I operate as a sole proprietor.”
Hi Holly, congratulations on Squeeze Burger! A great dining room becomes a neighborhood living room, where regulars celebrate birthdays and bring friends again and again. Everything starts with the California seller's permit, the registration suppliers and market organizers will ask to see. Below we walk through the three things every new business in California sorts out (structure, tax IDs, and licenses) and then sum it all up.
A Sacramento restaurant runs on several documents. Yes, you need a California seller's permit, since restaurant meals are generally taxable, and a health permit for the food facility. As a sole proprietor using a name other than your own, you also need a fictitious business name statement, and a local business license is typical for any storefront. If you serve alcohol, that is a separate license. With two employees, you also need an employer ID, withholding, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. Food handler cards for staff, a food safety certificate for you or your manager, and liability insurance keep a busy lunch rush from turning into a legal problem.
By the numbers: Banks, insurers, and tax forms will ask for your industry code. For a restaurant it is NAICS 722511 (Full-Service Restaurants). With 2 employees planned, you are already creating jobs in Sacramento. That makes 9 items on your list.
Tip: Track food cost by menu item every week; it shows which dishes earn money and which quietly drain it.
To recap: Squeeze Burger in Sacramento, CA needs a sales tax permit, an LLC, a DBA, an EIN, a state employer ID, a business license, food service permit, food manager certification, and liquor license. Check them off one by one and you will open with confidence.
We can file your seller's permit and the other registrations for you: start here.
All Businesses need a(n) , Sacramento business tax registration.
All Businesses that use a business name to trade that is other than the surname and first name of a sole proprietor or a fictitious business name other than the LLC or Corporation legal name need a(n) Sacramento County DBA assumed business name certificate.
You may also need a resale license if you selling touchable items. (A.K.A CA seller's permit, state id, wholesale, resale, reseller certificate).
In addition you will need a federal and a state EIN if you will hire employees. I.e., a CA Federal Tax Id Number and a(n) CA State Employer Tax Number
Instead of filing an Assumed Trade Firm business name ("DBA" Doing Business As) in Sacramento, set up a coporation in CA or set up a(n) CA LLC
Here's How to Get Your CA Seller's Permit and Other permits and Registrations You May Need.
CA Seller's Permit, LLC, DBA, Licenses & Tax IDs Requirements:
Start with a Connecticut sales and use tax permit. A thrift and consignment shop sells taxable goods to the public, so you must collect sales tax, and consigned items count as your sales too.
• Trade name: a DBA if you operate under a shop name as a sole proprietor, though an LLC would separate the shop's debts from your own. • EIN: useful for banking and required once you hire anyone. • Local business license and zoning approval for the Bridgeport storefront, plus any certificate of occupancy for the space. • Written consignment agreements with each seller, spelling out the split and the holding period. • Employer accounts for unemployment and withholding if you add staff.
Secondhand dealer rules sometimes apply to jewelry or electronics, so ask us before stocking those.
In Mississippi you would register for a sales tax permit. That registration is what lets you hand wholesalers a resale certificate, so you buy inventory without paying sales tax on it, and it also obliges you to collect tax on sales to Mississippi customers.
As a sole proprietor you can run under your own name, or file a DBA if you want a brand name on your website and invoices. Many wholesalers also ask for an EIN, which keeps your Social Security number off paperwork. Check whether your town wants a local privilege or business license even for a home-based online shop. If you will sell into other states in volume, you may owe sales tax registration there too. An LLC is optional but worth considering once sales grow, and we can file every piece of this for you.
Your cosmetology license covers the services you perform, but selling products is a separate matter. In Ohio you need a vendor's license, since you will be collecting sales tax on every bottle and tool sold to a client.
That same vendor's license lets you buy product from distributors using a resale certificate, so you stop paying tax at the wholesale counter. If you work from a salon booth, ask the owner whether sales run through their register or yours, because that decides whose license is used. Add an EIN, and an LLC or DBA if you want a brand name on your invoices. Your contractor license does not figure into retail, so unless you sell in a store you lease, a local business license is the only other piece. We can file the vendor's license and EIN for you.
Depending on what type of permit, account or license you are applying for, specific information will be required in the registration application process.
The following is a checklist of general information that you may need before you begin:
Social Security Number(s) (corporate officers excluded)Driver License(s) or State Identification number(s) Note: Other forms of acceptable identifications may include, but not limited to are U.S. passport, U.S. military ID, Consular Identification cards, or Visa (E-2)
In addition, if you are applying for other permits, accounts, or licenses, you may also need to provide the following information:
First decide on a business structure Restaurant as a Sole Proprietor, LLC/Corp, or Partnership.
✔ Step 2 All Restaurant Businesses need a , Business tax registration also called an occupation business License ✔ Step 3 Selling/Leasing or if wanting to buy or sell Restaurant merchandise, food, equipment requires a Seller's Permit. ✔ Step 4 All Restaurant Businesses Using a DBA doing business as name need a DBA Fictitious Business Name ✔ Step 5 Hiring Restaurant Workers Requires a Federal EIN and a State Tax Number EIN
Selling/Leasing or if wanting to buy or sell Restaurant merchandise, food, equipment requires a Seller's Permit.
All Restaurant Businesses Using a DBA doing business as name need a DBA Fictitious Business Name
Hiring Restaurant Workers Requires a Federal EIN and a State Tax Number EIN
As of 11/8/2026 3:30:14 PM, you can obtain your SACRAMENTO seller's permit here at $39 plus any tax you may have to pay in advance. To set up your reseller license is inexpensive but starting your business may cost you about (figures vary depending on area and type of business ) $02.63 or $8894203.88 depending on your start up money. Getting a license in SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO, 94203 You will have many potential clients in this city. In fact, as much as 0 but about 0 are families in this area in CA. In addition, getting a 916 cell phone area code may help increase the idea that you operate from the city because you can text your clients as a local vendor (remember, everyone is texting these days). You can lease a space to operate your business from but if buying a house, the prices are (about $ 94203 avergage value) , which you can use as a home operated business as well.
Your actual location in SACRAMENTO will be your business address. E.g., your business location could be 830 SACRAMENTO Road/Avenue or 88TH Way/Ct or SACRAMENTO, CA . Operating from a 94203 P.O. Box location purported as your business mailing address. E.g. P.O Box 74812 SACRAMENTO,CA 94203 . However this turns out, in 966 considering demographics is intelligent. For example,
before iinvesting in getting a wholesale license there, there are about 0, Whites, 0 Hispanics, and 0 Blacks in the 94203 area. Another important consideration is that of the residents' income in the wingspan of your business location. Each family here earns about $ per household and has about 2.63 residents per family. However, is the weather nice? Consider that the altitude is 30 feet, and you getting a seller's license in 8 time zone.