All businesses, professions, trades, vocations, enterprises, establishments, occupations and callings being conducted in the UNINCORPORATED areas of the county must obtain a Business Tax Certificate. This includes temporary businesses (e.g., film productions). Even businesses located within any city limits that deliver, solicit, or operate in the unincorporated areas of the county must have this certificate. Depending on business type and location, approvals and/or permits from other County of Ventura Departments may be required. At minimum, Planning/Zoning Department and Building/Safety are required. More than one Business Tax Certificate may be required depending on the types of activities the business is conducting.
Certain trades will require an additional Regulatory License in order to operate. Those trades are: temporary show or concert, dance hall, hawker, pool table, pawn broker, junk collector or dealer, massage parlor, massage technician, rubbish collector, second-hand dealer, solicitor, taxi cab operator, itinerant merchant, bingo, etc.
Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) is collected for all hotels, motels and short term rentals, in addition to the Business Tax Certificate. Please visit the link in the menu above for more information.