//Palm Springs, California

How to start a business in Palm Springs.

Palm Springs runs on Coachella Valley tourism: resorts and boutique hotels, a downtown dining and retail scene along Palm Canyon Drive, mid-century modern design tourism, and marquee events like Modernism Week and the film festival. Here is the practical sequence to register, license, and open, with the official links and where to get free help.

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

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

Palm Springs is a destination first, and that shapes almost every business in it. Coachella Valley visitors fill the hotels and resorts, pack the restaurants and bars along Palm Canyon Drive, and come for events like Modernism Week and the film festival. The city's mid-century modern architecture is itself an attraction, and it draws design shoppers, tour operators, and a steady stream of weekend travelers. Vacation rentals are a real part of the housing and lodging picture here, and Palm Springs is known as one of California's most welcoming LGBTQ destinations.

That means your customer might be a first-time visitor booking a room, a local who lives here year round, or a snowbird down for the season, and each finds you differently. Getting open cleanly, with the right city business license, permits, and zoning sign-off, 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 Palm Springs, step by step.

Palm Springs runs its business license through the Finance and Treasury Department. Here is the full order, including the county and state pieces that sit alongside the city's own steps.

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 Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder within 40 days of starting business. It costs $66 for the name and first registrant, including one certified copy. State law allows 45 days after filing to publish it, once a week for four weeks, but the county's own page still says 30, so publishing within 30 days satisfies both.
CA Secretary of State: bizfile Online Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder: Fictitious Business Names
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 Palm Springs business license
A valid business license is required for all entities doing business within Palm Springs city limits: businesses located in the city, businesses from outside that work there, home occupations, and businesses using workspace or a virtual office inside another in-city business. Before you apply, gather an EIN (or a driver's license number for an individual owner), your Secretary of State entity number, any fictitious business name statement, your SIC code, and, for some SIC codes, your stormwater permit number (SB 205). Apply, renew and pay through the city's online customer service portal; renewal notices are no longer mailed, so keep an email on file. City Hall: (760) 323-8299.
City of Palm Springs: Business License Tax City of Palm Springs: Business License
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 permit from the County of Riverside Department of Environmental Health before it opens, and state law requires plans approved before any new construction or remodeling. Permits do not transfer to a new owner. The City of Temecula lists the county office at 38740 Sky Canyon Dr., Murrieta, (951) 461-0284. For other permits, GO-Biz offers permitting and regulatory help for any size company.
Riverside County Department of Environmental Health: Plan Check Health and Safety Code 114380 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 Palm Springs checklist

Take the steps with you.

Get the Palm Springs business checklist with the city, county, state and federal source links in one place, plus the licensing offices of seven Riverside County cities. 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 Palm Springs?

Yes. A valid business license is required for all entities doing business within city limits, including businesses located outside the city that work in Palm Springs, home occupations at an in-city address, and businesses using workspace or a virtual office inside another in-city business.

Source: City of Palm Springs, Business License Tax

What do I need before I apply?

An EIN (or, for an individual owner, a California driver's license number), your Secretary of State entity number if you have one, a copy of any fictitious business name statement, your SIC code, and, if your SIC code is on the state's list, your stormwater permit or exemption number under SB 205.

Source: City of Palm Springs, Business License Tax

Are any businesses exempt?

Only those specifically exempted by state or federal statute. The city points to Palm Springs Municipal Code chapter 3.48 for details.

Source: City of Palm Springs, Business License Tax

How do I renew a Palm Springs business license?

Online, through the city's customer service portal. Renewal notices are no longer mailed; the city sends email reminders, so make sure it has a current email for your account.

Source: City of Palm Springs, Business License

How do I open a restaurant in Palm Springs?

Beyond the Palm Springs business license, every food facility needs a health permit from the County of Riverside Department of Environmental Health, and state law requires plans approved before any new construction or remodeling. No food facility may open without a valid permit, and permits do not transfer to a new owner, so contact Environmental Health before you build or buy: (951) 461-0284.

Sources: City of Temecula, Business License Contacts; Health and Safety Code 114380 and 114381

How do I register a business name in Riverside County?

If you use a name that is not your legal name, file a fictitious business name (DBA) statement with the Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder within 40 days of starting business. It costs $66 for the name and first registrant, including one certified copy. State law allows 45 days after filing to publish it, once a week for four weeks, but the county's own page still says 30, so publishing within 30 days satisfies both.

Source: Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, Fictitious Business Names

//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 Palm Springs, Riverside 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 Palm Springs: Business License Tax
Who needs a license and what to gather before you apply: EIN, state entity number, any DBA, SIC code and stormwater permit number.
City of Palm Springs: Business License
Apply, renew and pay online through the customer service portal. Renewal reminders now come by email. City Hall: (760) 323-8299.
County of Riverside: Cities
Links to all 28 cities in Riverside County. Each one licenses the businesses inside it.
County of Riverside: Business (Stormwater) Registration
The county has no business license, but unincorporated businesses register under Ordinance 857: $45, then $30 a year. (951) 955-1400.
County of Riverside: Starting a Business
Zoning with the county Planning Department, business names with the County Clerk, and reporting business property to the Assessor.
Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder: Fictitious Business Names
$66 for the name and first registrant, including one certified copy, plus $5 for each additional name or registrant. (951) 486-7000.
Riverside County Department of Environmental Health: Plan Check
Food facility plan approval and health permits. The City of Temecula lists its office at 38740 Sky Canyon Dr., Murrieta, (951) 461-0284.
Riverside County Assessor: Business Personal Property
File if you own more than $100,000 in business personal property or get a request. File by May 7 to avoid penalties. (951) 955-6210.
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.