Do you have your proper paperwork?
Business License Details per Humboldt County Municipality
In most municipalities of Humboldt County, if you’re doing “business,” you need to obtain a business license. Here is a table of basic information for each location throughout the County, updated in March 2025. DISCLAIMER: Please do your own research! We have not applied for a business license in every city/county, so there may be some differences from what we found.
Humboldt County
Where: Humboldt County Courthouse, Tax Collector
When: Before selling products or services (Unconfirmed 3/2025)
How much: $233 and up
Note: When Mobile License Applies
Arcata
Where: Arcata City Hall
When: Before selling products or services in the city of Arcata (Confirmed 3/2025)
How much: Annual license $50 and up
Blue Lake
Where: Blue Lake City Hall
When: Before selling products or services (Unconfirmed 3/2025)
How much: $50 and up
Eureka
Where: Eureka City Hall
When: Before selling products or services (Confirmed 3/2025)
How much: $55 and up
Ferndale
Where: Ferndale Town Hall
When: Before selling products or services (Unconfirmed 3/2025)
How much: $65 and up
https://ci.ferndale.ca.us/wp/wp-content/uploads/business-license.pdf
Fortuna
Where: Fortuna City Hall
When: Before selling $500 of products or services per fiscal year (Unconfirmed 3/2025)
How much: $20 and up
Rio Dell
Where: Rio Dell City Hall
When: On or before the date the business commences
How much: $30 and up
https://www.cityofriodell.ca.gov/services/pages/business-licenses
Trinidad
Where: Trinidad City Town Hall
When: Before selling products or services
How much: $60 and up
https://www.trinidad.ca.gov/doing-business/page/business-licensing
Fictitious Business Name Statement
Per the Humboldt County website, “Persons doing business for profit under a fictitious name (which does not include surname in business name)” need to apply for a Fictitious Business Name Statement.
Details are here: https://humboldtgov.org/1991/Fictitious-Business-Name-Statement
Resale Permit
If you’re selling items in the state of California, you need to be collecting sales tax… so you can pay said sales tax to the State of California.
More information and application link here: https://onlineservices.cdtfa.ca.gov/
