//Irvine, California

How to start a businessin Irvine.

Irvine is a great place to build something if you do the setup right. Here is the practical sequence to register, license, and open, with the official links and where to get free help.

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

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

Irvine pairs a huge daytime business population with a highly educated, affluent resident base. The University of California, Irvine feeds talent into the Irvine Business Complex and the Spectrum, and the Orange County Great Park and master-planned villages like Woodbridge, Turtle Rock, and Quail Hill keep the residential demand steady. Professional, technology, and health practices plant here for all of those reasons.

That density cuts both ways. The customers are here and they spend, but they also have endless options and decide quickly on credibility. Getting open cleanly, with the right license 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 Irvine, step by step.

This is the order that works for most new businesses. Requirements vary by entity, location and industry, so use the city, county and state sources below to confirm what applies to yours.

1
Confirm your location works before you sign
The City of Irvine says a zoning mismatch is the most common reason a business license application is denied or delayed. Confirm your business activity is allowed at the address with Irvine Planning before you sign a lease: (949) 724-6308 or planning@cityofirvine.org.
City of Irvine: Business Licensing
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 your City of Irvine business license
Irvine licenses everyone from home-based businesses to global firms, and a home business also has to meet the city's Home Occupation Standards. Have your EIN and any state professional licenses ready as PDFs or photos, then apply online. Fees, including the $4 state fee: $78.37 for fewer than 10 employees, new or renewing; $156.88 new and $105.23 at renewal for 10 or more. Licenses run 12 months from the first day of the application month. Apply within 60 days of your start date to avoid late fees, which start at $111.
City of Irvine: Business Licensing
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 Irvine checklist

Take the steps with you.

Get the Irvine 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 Irvine?

Yes. The City of Irvine licenses businesses of every size, from home-based ones to global firms. Home businesses need a license too and must meet the city's Home Occupation Standards. Apply online within 60 days of your start date to avoid late fees.

Source: City of Irvine, Business Licensing

How much does an Irvine business license cost?

Including the $4 state fee, a business with fewer than 10 employees pays $78.37, new or renewing. A business with 10 or more pays $156.88 new and $105.23 at renewal. Late fees for new businesses start at $111, and a $70.45 penalty applies 60 days after a license expires.

Source: City of Irvine, Business Licensing

How do I open a restaurant in Irvine?

Beyond the Irvine business license, 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

Where do I check zoning before signing a lease?

Irvine Planning: (949) 724-6308 or planning@cityofirvine.org. The city says a zoning mismatch is the most common reason a license application is denied or delayed, so confirm the use is allowed at the address before you sign.

Source: City of Irvine, Business Licensing

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 Irvine, 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 Irvine: Business Licensing
Apply online. Home businesses need a license too. Licensing Team: (949) 724-7128, businesslicense@cityofirvine.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.