• Legislative Updates

The City of Fullerton welcomes you to its business community. Starting a business can be exciting and challenging. We wish you great success in your new venture!

The City requires that any person conducting, managing, carrying on or engaging in any business, trade, profession, or occupation in the City of Fullerton, obtain a business registration certificate from the City prior to beginning your business activity.

If you are registering a new business or making a change to an existing business, you must complete a Business Registration Application form online, download and print an application for email to our office or submit it with the appropriate payment to:

City of Fullerton
Business Registration Division
303 West Commonwealth Avenue
Fullerton, CA 92832

Select Business Registration Online to go to our web page to register, renew or pay online. See Important Messages noted above. (Online services are not available for all business types or multi-year delinquent accounts older than one renewal cycle) You will be contacted by return email if we need additional information or to advise you we are ready for payment. 

Select Download Application to download an application to print and register a new or amend an existing account by mail, email, or in-person.

  Business Registration Online Services  
Apply, renew or pay balance.

Download & Print Application
Submit by mail, email, or in-person.

Please refer to our Tax Schedule for information regarding charges to register or amend an account.

If you do not register online, by email, or by mail, businesses operating from a commercial location in Fullerton will be electronically assigned for approval to the appropriate Department and may delay the issuance of your Business Registration Certificate. Community Development approvals are not available after 3:00 p.m.

Home Occupation Businesses require zoning review. If you are not sure if your business qualifies for a home occupation, please contact the Business Registration office at (714) 738-6531.

For assistance with Business Registration inquiries, contact the Business Registration office at (714) 738-6531.

The City of Fullerton has an agreement with HdL Companies LLC, to provide compliance management services on our behalf. They have a discovery program that is designed to identify businesses that are subject to local tax ordinances that are not properly registered. HdL has been contacting business owners and owners of residential and commercial rental property regarding the Fullerton Municipal code requirement to register and obtain compliance in obtaining a Business Registration Certificate (aka Business License). If you have received a letter from HdL Companies, out of Fresno, please feel free to contact their Business Support Center at (657) 999-3855, with your inquiries relating to the correspondence received from their office. They are the contact agency that has all the details relating to the letter you received.

Business Registration Online Info

The City of Fullerton Business Registration Division now offers online web enabled services to business owners. We are accepting applications and tax payments online so you can register for your Business Registration Certificate, renew your existing Business Registration Certificate or pay an outstanding balance on your account.

On this web page you will see that you have the ability to:

• Apply and register for your Business Registration Certificate.
• Renew your existing certificate for your Business Registration account.
• Pay an outstanding balance that remains due on your account (limitations apply).
• Search our database for registered accounts.
• Report a problem you have experienced with the software, or issues you encountered with the application or renewal process. You can also offer suggestions on how the software can be improved. Your input will be submitted both to the software vendor and the Business Registration Division.

Per Chapter 4 of the Fullerton Municipal Code, the City requires that any person conducting, managing, carrying on or engaging in any business, trade, profession, or occupation in the City of Fullerton, or maintaining a place or base of operations must obtain a business registration certificate from the Business Registration Division of the Administrative Services Department. A separate registration may be required for each branch or location of the business.

Please be advised that applications submitted online are subject to review and approval(s) from the Community Development Department that may cause a delay completing the process and receiving your certificate.

The following business types will not be able to apply online at this time: tax exempt entities (501)(c)(3), Hotels, Motels, Massage Establishments, Massage Therapists/Technicians, Transportation Network Companies (TNC), Owners of 1Residential or Commercial Rental Income Properties. To avoid prolonged delays in the registration process, prior to applying, please contact the the Community Development Department Department, Planning Division at (714) 738-6559 if you plan to sell food or alcohol, provide live entertainment, activity related to tattoo parlors & tattoo artists, automotive and adult related uses, schools (instruction/tutoring/academy/martial arts/gyms etc.) places of assembly, and religious institutions.

Except for those business types listed above, you can complete the entire registration process online or you have the option to email or fax in your application or Business Tax Return/Renewal Notice and call to pay by phone with a charge card. We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. We do not accept payment by eCheck.

Businesses renewing online, please have your account number and PIN number ready to access your account. Both numbers are located on your tax return.