Business License | San Leandro, CA

Anyone conducting any type of business activity in the incorporated portion of the City of San Leandro is required to obtain a City business license prior to commencing any such activity. You must complete and submit a City of San Leandro Business License Application and pay the appropriate fees. Depending on business classification, the business license fee is either a flat annual fee or includes a base fee and a per unit fee. See fee schedule and fee calculation worksheet (PDF).

New businesses located in the incorporated are of San Leandro, are required to apply over the phone with the City of San Leandro’s contractor for business license support, the HdL Business License Support Center at 510-809-3133 or online prior to applying for zoning conformance with the Planning department.

Zoning Conformance

New businesses planning to locate in San Leandro or any existing businesses changing addresses in San Leandro will be sent a zoning conformance form once a business license account number is assigned. Businesses must submit a completed zoning conformance form in order to proceed with their application. Businesses not located within San Leandro are not required to obtain zoning approval and therefore are not required to submit their application in person. To determine if your proposed business location is zoned for your type of business, email Planning Services or leave a detailed message at 510-577-3325.

Residential & Commercial Rental Property Businesses

Rental property is classified as a business and is subject to business license taxes. Examples include apartments, single-family house rentals and duplexes, condominiums, townhouses, hotels/motels, mobile home parks and rooming or boarding house rental units. Commercial rental property includes warehouses, mini-storage and industrial, commercial and office building rentals/leases to tenants for purposes other than dwelling, sleeping or lodging.

Application Packets

Please find the appropriate application for your business type:

Business License Application:

Mobile Food Vendor

Mobile Ice Cream Vendor

Peddler / Solicitor

Hosted Short-Term Rental

West San Leandro Shuttle Business Improvement District (BID)

The West San Leandro Shuttle Business Improvement District (BID) was first established by the participating businesses and the San Leandro City Council in 2005 and re-authorized in 2014 to partially fund the West San Leandro Shuttle service known as LINKS. LINKS provides free shuttle service from the Downtown San Leandro BART Station to the western industrial area of San Leandro.

The BID funds approximately half of the total cost of the LINKS service. Regional transportation and air quality agencies and the City of San Leandro provide the remainder of the funding.

Businesses located within the LINKS service area (within one quarter mile of the LINKS route) pay an annual BID assessment fee based on the number of employees including owners.

Businesses with three or fewer owners and employees, rental property owners, home businesses, and nonprofit businesses are exempt from the fees.

For information about the annual BID fee, please call the Business License Office at 510-809-3133. For additional information about the LINKS Shuttle service visit San Leandro LINKS.

Fictitious Business Name Statement

Most businesses are required to file a Fictitious Business Name Statement with the Alameda County Clerk’s Office in Oakland.

A fictitious business name, in the case of an individual, means a name that does not include the last name(s) of the individual(s) or a name that suggests the existence of additional owners.

In the case of a corporation, a fictitious business name is any name other than the corporate name as shown in its articles of incorporation. Many banks are now requiring their business customers to file a Fictitious Business Name Statement.

If you need to file a Fictitious Business Name Statement, you are required to do so within 40 days of the time you first begin transacting business. The forms can be obtained and filed, in person or by mail, at the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder’s Office.

Seller’s Permits

Retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers must obtain seller’s permits from California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

Health Permit

If you plan to sell food as part of your business, you will need to obtain a permit from the Environmental Health Services of the County Health Care Services Agency.

Employees

If you plan to hire employees, there are several requirements that must be met. You will need to contact the Internal Revenue Service and the Employment Development Department for further information.