Business License - FAQs

Any person or entity that is physically present in the City of Garden Grove conducting business activity needs a Business License. See Garden Grove Municipal Code section 5.01.040 for additional information. There are a few exceptions. Call or email our office for clarification on your type of business.

Business Licenses are a non-regulatory tax that helps support the General Fund for the City. Business Licenses also create a reference for your business, and obtaining what is required.

Every business needs a physical headquartered location. If you use a location in Garden Grove to do your administrative work, have filed a Garden Grove address with a regulatory agency such at the Contractor’s License Board as your business address, and/or use a location in Garden Grove as an income tax filing address, for examples, then Garden Grove would be considered the headquarters of your business. Business headquarters require a Business License. Call or email our office if you need further clarification.

For the most part, yes, any person or entity that is physically present in the City of Garden conducting business activity needs a Business License.

All Cannabis activity is a prohibited use in the City of Garden Grove. See Garden Grove Municipal Code section 9.52.020 for further details and information.

If your business involves the selling of tangible property, you will need a Seller’s Permit. Seller’s Permits are issued by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and are for business purposes only.

If your business is headquartered in Garden Grove, either as a home-based business or located in a commercial location, your Garden Grove address must be reflected on your Seller’s Permit.

If you are already in possession of a Seller’s Permit that displays another city on it, and you are moving your business from that other city to Garden Grove, you must remove the other city and add Garden Grove as the business address on your existing Seller’s Permit.

If Garden Grove is an additional location for your business, you must add Garden Grove as a Sub-location to your existing Seller’s Permit.

If your business is the type of business that requires a Seller’s Permit, we will not release your Business License if your Seller’s Permit does not display our city on it.

Seller’s Permits are obtained from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), which is a state agency. Log onto their website at cdtfa.ca.gov and follow instructions on how to obtain a Seller’s Permit. You can also visit one of their state offices. The closest one to Garden Grove is located at 16715 Von Karman Ave, Irvine, CA 92606. Their phone number is (949) 440-3473.

The City of Garden Grove does not require the filing of a Fictitious Business Name Statement with the County of Orange in order to obtain a City Business License.

You can contact the Orange County Recorder’s office at ocrecorder.com for more information on Fictitious Business Name Statement filings.

However, keep in mind, if you have already filed a Fictitious Business Name Statement using a Garden Grove address, then you have officially filed with a governmental agency stating you are in business and that Garden Grove is your business address. This would require a Business License.

Yes, however, the only business activity allowed in a residence is a business office. No activity is allowed that can be identified from the outside that a business is being run on the inside.

Before you enter into a lease for a commercial or industrial location for your business, check with Planning to ensure the location you have chosen is zoned for your specific type of business. They can be reached at (714) 741-5312 or planning@ggcity.org

Federal Tax ID numbers are obtained from the Internal Revenue System. Visit their website at www.irs.gov

Yes, there are many resources for businesses. Click here to visit the Businesses portal.