Do I need a sales tax permit in California?

Every person who wants to engage in or conduct business as a seller in California must apply to the CDTFA for a seller's permit for each place of business. California calls the registration a California seller's permit. For a seller outside California, the economic nexus threshold is $500,000 in sales in the preceding or current calendar year. California's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

Sales tax permit · California

How to Get a California Seller's Permit

The short answer. In California, the registration a business must hold before it makes sales subject to California sales tax is a California seller's permit, issued by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California charges no fee for the seller's permit.

California Seller's Permit at a Glance

What California calls it	California Seller's Permit
Issued by	California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
How to apply	Not confirmed
Fee	Free
Security deposit or bond	May be required
Expires	Does not expire (see Renewal)
Several locations	Depends (see Locations)
Local sales tax	Covered by the state registration
Threshold for sellers outside the state	$500,000 in sales

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 29, 2026. See the sources.

Who Needs a California Seller's Permit

Every person who wants to engage in or conduct business as a seller in California must apply to the CDTFA for a seller's permit for each place of business.

For a seller outside California, the economic nexus threshold is $500,000 in sales in the preceding or current calendar year. California's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

How to Apply

You apply to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Go to California's registration page.

California requires your registration to be displayed at the place of business.

What It Costs

California charges no fee for the seller's permit.

California may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The CDTFA may require a security deposit whenever it deems one necessary to ensure compliance, for example when the law mandates it, when your permit has been revoked, or when you have a history of nonpayment. The amount is set when you apply and is capped by statute.

Does It Expire?

The seller's permit does not expire. The permit stays valid only as long as you are actively engaged in business as a seller at the address it names, and the CDTFA can suspend or revoke it after a hearing.

More Than One Location

The law issues a separate permit for each place of business, but the CDTFA says it is generally possible to get one consolidated permit covering several locations. List every location when you apply so it can issue the right type of permit.

Local Sales Taxes in California

The CDTFA administers the local sales tax levied in every city and county and every voter-approved district tax, so your seller's permit is the only sales tax registration you need. You report district taxes on the same return.

Worth Knowing in California

A seller located outside California whose sales into the state exceed the remote seller threshold registers with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to collect California use tax, and the Department says that registration may be a seller's permit or a Certificate of Registration, Use Tax.

More for California Businesses

California resale certificate, for buying inventory for resale.
Sales tax nexus checker, to see which other states your sales may require you to register in.
California LLC guide, for forming and running an LLC in the state.
LLC guide for eBay sellers in California, for selling only through a marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Every person who wants to engage in or conduct business as a seller in California must apply to the CDTFA for a seller's permit for each place of business. California calls the registration a California seller's permit. For a seller outside California, the economic nexus threshold is $500,000 in sales in the preceding or current calendar year. California's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.
: California charges no fee for the seller's permit. California may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The CDTFA may require a security deposit whenever it deems one necessary to ensure compliance, for example when the law mandates it, when your permit has been revoked, or when you have a history of nonpayment. The amount is set when you apply and is capped by statute.
: The seller's permit does not expire. The permit stays valid only as long as you are actively engaged in business as a seller at the address it names, and the CDTFA can suspend or revoke it after a hearing.
: The law issues a separate permit for each place of business, but the CDTFA says it is generally possible to get one consolidated permit covering several locations. List every location when you apply so it can issue the right type of permit.
: The CDTFA administers the local sales tax levied in every city and county and every voter-approved district tax, so your seller's permit is the only sales tax registration you need. You report district taxes on the same return.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and tax agency say about the registration a business holds before it makes taxable sales, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you whether your own business must register: that turns on what you sell, where you sell it from, and how much you sell into the state, and fees, security rules and thresholds change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the tax agency named on this page before you start selling.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified California sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=6066Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 6066
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=6067Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 6067
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=6070Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 6070
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=6701Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 6701
cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol1/sutl/6203.htmlCal. Rev. & Tax. Code 6203 (CDTFA Business Taxes Law Guide)
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=7202Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 7202
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=7270Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 7270
cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub73.pdfCDTFA Publication 73, Your California Seller's Permit (January 2026)
cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/faqseller.htmCDTFA: Seller's Permit FAQs
cdtfa.ca.gov/industry/local-jurisdictions-and-districts/getting-started.htmCDTFA: Getting Started with Local Jurisdiction and District Taxes
cdtfa.ca.gov/industry/wayfair/getting-started.htmCDTFA Tax Guide (Wayfair): Getting Started

More for California LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.