//Yorba Linda, California

How to start a business in Yorba Linda.

Yorba Linda is the Land of Gracious Living: an affluent, low-key suburb in northeast Orange County with a strong residential base and a Town Center built for the people who live here. Here is the practical sequence to register, license, and open, with the official links and where to get free help.

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

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

Yorba Linda is a largely residential market. It is best known as the birthplace of Richard Nixon and home to his Presidential Library, and it carries an equestrian, master-planned feel that most OC cities lost decades ago, with riding trails threading through the hills. The Town Center anchors the dining and retail scene, the schools are a big part of why families move here, and the median household has real spending power. This is a place where reputation travels fast between neighbors.

That character means your customer is often a homeowner, a family, or a fellow local business, and they tend to buy from people they trust and can easily find. 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 Yorba Linda, step by step.

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

1
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
2
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
3
Get your Yorba Linda business license
Anyone doing business in Yorba Linda needs a Yorba Linda Business License, including residents using their home as an office, businesses located in the city, and licensed contractors. Apply for it or renew it online. Finance Department: (714) 961-7140.
City of Yorba Linda: Business Licenses
4
Confirm zoning and pull any industry permits
Confirm your use is allowed at the address with the city before you sign a lease. 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. Yorba Linda also requires a separate regulatory permit for some operations, including massage establishments, ice cream and catering trucks, antique and coin shops, and going-out-of-business sales. 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
5
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
6
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 Yorba Linda checklist

Take the steps with you.

Get the Yorba Linda 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 Yorba Linda?

Yes. Anyone doing business in Yorba Linda needs a Yorba Linda Business License, including residents using their home as an office, businesses located in the city, and licensed contractors. Apply or renew online.

Source: City of Yorba Linda, Business Licenses

Which businesses need a separate permit in Yorba Linda?

Some operations need an additional regulatory permit, including massage establishments, ice cream and catering trucks, antique and coin shops, and going-out-of-business sales. The city's Business Licenses page lists the rest.

Source: City of Yorba Linda, Business Licenses

Can I run a business from my home in Yorba Linda?

Yes, with a Yorba Linda Business License. The city names residents using their home as an office among those who need one.

Source: City of Yorba Linda, Business Licenses

How do I open a restaurant in Yorba Linda?

Beyond the Yorba Linda 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

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 Yorba Linda, 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 Yorba Linda: Business Licenses
Required for anyone doing business in the city, including home offices and licensed contractors. Apply or renew online. (714) 961-7140.
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.