//Aliso Viejo, California

How to start a business in Aliso Viejo.

Aliso Viejo is one of Orange County's youngest cities, a master-planned South OC hub of business parks, the Town Center, and a professional workforce. It also has no business license. Here is the practical sequence to get city approval, register, and open, with the official links and where to get free help.

Starting a business in Aliso Viejo? The official steps and source links are below.

Already operating or launching with budget in place? You can also

Aliso Viejo only incorporated in 2001, which makes it one of the last cities to form in Orange County and one of the most deliberately planned. Almost everything here was drawn up in advance, from the neighborhoods to the corporate business parks off Enterprise and Journey to the Aliso Viejo Town Center, where much of the city's dining, retail, and foot traffic lives. Soka University sits on the hills above town, and the daytime population skews toward professionals and knowledge workers who commute into those business parks.

That planned, professional character shapes how you open here. Aliso Viejo does not run a business license program at all, so instead of a license you work with the Community Development Department for approval and, if the space is new or changing use, a Certificate of Occupancy. Getting open cleanly, with the right city approval and permits, is the first step. Getting found afterward is the second. This guide covers the first in detail, then points you to the second at the end.

//The sequence

How to start a business in Aliso Viejo, step by step.

Aliso Viejo handles new businesses through its Community Development Department rather than a license counter. Here is the full order, including the county and state pieces the city assumes you already have handled.

1
Confirm your use is allowed before you sign
Before you sign a lease, ask the Planning Division whether your business is permitted at the address: (949) 425-2525 or planning@avcity.org. Some uses need a use permit, and it must be approved before you start operating or apply for building permits.
City of Aliso Viejo: Business Registration
2
Register the business and the name
Form an LLC or corporation with the California Secretary of State through bizfile Online, or stay a sole proprietor. If you use a name that is not your legal name, file a fictitious business name (DBA) statement with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder within 40 days of starting business. It costs $23 for one name. The first newspaper publication must run within 45 days of filing or the statement expires, then it runs once a week for four weeks and you file the affidavit of publication.
CA Secretary of State: bizfile Online Orange County Clerk-Recorder: Fictitious Business Name
3
Get your free EIN and any seller's permit
The IRS says you generally need an EIN to hire employees or to operate a partnership or corporation. It issues the number online, immediately if approved, and never charges for it. If you sell or lease goods that would ordinarily be subject to sales tax, you also need a seller's permit from the CDTFA, which does not charge for it but may ask for a security deposit.
IRS: Get an EIN CDTFA: Seller's permit
4
Get Community Development approval and register with the city
Aliso Viejo has no business license program, but a business needs Community Development approval before it starts operating. A new business in a commercial tenant space files a Business Registration form, emailed with a labeled floor plan to planning@avcity.org, and so does a change of ownership, a new business name or a move. Tenant improvements and signs need building permits, approved and finaled before you open, and the Building & Safety Division issues a Certificate of Occupancy for new construction or a change in use. Home-based businesses and businesses based outside the city do not register, though home businesses must follow Municipal Code section 15.14.150 on home occupations.
City of Aliso Viejo: Business Registration
5
Pull any industry permits
If you sell or serve food: Every food facility needs a health permit from Orange County Environmental Health before it opens, and a new or remodeled facility needs written plan approval before construction. The first plan review usually takes 20 working days. Permits are not transferable, so a new owner needs a new permit. For other permits, GO-Biz offers permitting and regulatory help for any size company.
OC Environmental Health: Food Facility Health Permit GO-Biz: Permit & Regulatory Assistance
6
Check the $800 California tax rules for your entity
Every California LLC owes the $800 annual tax, even in a year it does no business, until it is cancelled. Corporations owe an $800 minimum franchise tax, but newly incorporated or qualified corporations do not pay it in their first taxable year.
Franchise Tax Board: LLC $800 annual tax Franchise Tax Board: Corporation minimum tax
7
Use the free help that already exists
The Orange County Inland Empire SBDC offers no-cost help for entrepreneurs across Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Use it before you pay a consultant.
Orange County Inland Empire SBDC (free advising)

//Free Aliso Viejo checklist

Take the steps with you.

Get the Aliso Viejo business checklist with the city, county, state and federal source links in one place, plus the licensing office for every city in Orange County. We keep the source page dated so you can see when it was last checked.

//Common questions

Things we get asked first.

Do I need a business license in Aliso Viejo?

No. Aliso Viejo has no business license program. A business still needs Community Development approval before it starts operating, and a new business in a commercial tenant space files a Business Registration form with a labeled floor plan to planning@avcity.org. Call the Planning Division at (949) 425-2525 to confirm what yours needs.

Source: City of Aliso Viejo, Business Registration

What is a Certificate of Occupancy and do I need one?

Aliso Viejo's Building & Safety Division issues a Certificate of Occupancy only for new construction or when a space changes use. An existing business that already has one does not need to re-register. Ask the Planning Division at (949) 425-2525 or planning@avcity.org what your space and use need.

Source: City of Aliso Viejo, Business Registration

How do I open a restaurant in Aliso Viejo?

Beyond Community Development approval, every food facility needs a health permit from Orange County Environmental Health. A new or remodeled facility needs written plan approval before construction, with 3 sets of plans, and the first review usually takes 20 working days. Preliminary and final inspections come at 80% and 100% completion, and the permit is issued after the final inspection.

Source: OC Health Care Agency, Food Facility Health Permit

Can I run a business from my home in Aliso Viejo?

Yes. Home-based businesses do not register with the city, but they must follow Municipal Code section 15.14.150 on home occupations. If another agency needs documentation from the city for your home business, the city has a Notification of Home Occupation form.

Source: City of Aliso Viejo, Business Registration

How do I register a business name in Orange County?

If you use a name that is not your legal name, file a fictitious business name (DBA) statement with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder within 40 days of starting business. It costs $23 for one name. The first newspaper publication must run within 45 days of filing or the statement expires, then it runs once a week for four weeks and you file the affidavit of publication.

Source: Orange County Clerk-Recorder, Fictitious Business Name

Where can I get free help starting my business?

The Orange County Inland Empire SBDC offers no-cost help for entrepreneurs across Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Use it before you pay a consultant.

Source: Orange County Inland Empire SBDC

//Already operating?

The marketing question starts after the filing question.

If the business is already open, or the launch is funded, tell our founders what you want to change. We will look at the business before recommending SEO, paid media, the website or anything else.

For operating businesses and funded launches with budget available to act on the plan.

//Bookmark these

Official Aliso Viejo, Orange County, and California resources.

Every link here goes straight to a government or nonprofit source. These are the agencies that actually issue your registrations and permits, so go to them directly rather than a paid middleman.

City of Aliso Viejo: Business Registration
No business license program. A new business in a commercial space files a Business Registration form with Planning. (949) 425-2525, planning@avcity.org.
County of Orange: Apply for a Business License
The county's links to the business license office of each of Orange County's 34 cities.
County of Orange: Starting a Business
The county lists no general business license for unincorporated areas and points those businesses to the fictitious business name filing.
Orange County Clerk-Recorder: Fictitious Business Name
$23 for one name, plus $7 for each additional name and each registrant after two. The first publication must run within 45 days of filing or the statement expires.
OC Environmental Health: Food Facility Health Permit
Needed by every food facility, from restaurants and markets to carts and event booths. Small displays of prepackaged food only register. (714) 433-6000.
Orange County Assessor: Business Property Statement
Form 571-L is due April 1 if your business equipment cost more than $100,000 in total or the Assessor asks. A 10% penalty applies after May 7. (714) 834-2930.
OC Development Services
Zoning and building for businesses in unincorporated Orange County.
Orange County Inland Empire SBDC (free advising)
No-cost help for entrepreneurs across Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. (800) 616-7232.
CA Secretary of State: bizfile Online
Where LLCs and corporations file with the California Secretary of State.
IRS: Get an EIN
Your federal tax ID. Apply online and, if approved, the number is issued immediately. The IRS never charges a fee for an EIN.
CDTFA: Seller's permit
Required if you sell or lease goods that would ordinarily be subject to sales tax. The CDTFA does not charge for it, though it may ask for a security deposit.
Franchise Tax Board: LLC $800 annual tax
Every LLC doing business or organized in California owes the $800 annual tax, even in a year it does no business, until the LLC is cancelled.
Franchise Tax Board: Corporation minimum tax
Corporations owe an $800 minimum franchise tax, but newly incorporated or qualified corporations do not pay it in their first taxable year.
GO-Biz: Permit & Regulatory Assistance
The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development says it will assist any size company with permitting and regulatory questions.