Getting a Business License

Once you have decided on your business name, research what you need to do in order to register it. Getting a business license is recommended for many reasons, with the first being that it is required in order to open a business checking account, which you will definitely want to do. It is also a required step in many states and counties, and you will need to check with your local offices to determine what steps you need to take. Getting a business license is not hard and usually costs somewhere around $25. Each state and county has different regulations, and you can usually find your local office by googling "your state business license".

You will need to conduct a name and trademark search to make sure no one else is using the name you want to use. You can do this online or at your local county clerk's office. If someone is already using that name, you do NOT want to use it. As well as looking in your local county clerk's office, you will want to do a search on the Internet for that name and see if someone else is using that name or a similar name, and if so, whether it would conflict with yours.

In most cases, it is the local county clerk that you will need to register your business name with, and the fees and steps vary, so check with your local office for more information. If you aren't within the city limits, you may need to register with the county instead of the city. For example if you lived in Winchester, CA, it is outside the city limits, and only a county business license is required (Riverside). However if you lived in the nearby city of Temecula, you would need to register with the city. Contacting your local county clerks office is a great place to start; just let them know where you live and ask if you need to file any paperwork with them for your new business.