Ventura County
Ventura County Treasurer-Tax Collector
In short
Ventura County Treasurer-Tax Collector issues 2 permits we publish for Ventura County, last verified 2026-10-02. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Business Tax Certificate (unincorporated area) | Ventura County Treasurer-Tax Collector | Group 1 (restaurants, retail establishments, automobile repair, food storage, farming, manufacturing, child nurseries/private schools, studios, towing, wrecking/dismantling, woodworking, etc.): gross receipts x 0.0005, $35 minimum. Group 2 (contractors, subcontractors, electricians, plumbers, landscapers, manicurists, animal hospitals/kennels/stables, barbers/beauty shops, health clubs/massage establishments, dry-cleaning, bars, junk dealers, etc.): gross receipts x 0.001, $35 minimum. Group 3 (professional services such as medical, dental, financial, insurance, engineering, accounting and real estate; laboratories; security/detective services; mortuaries; oil wells; waste treatment): gross receipts x 0.0015, $35 minimum. Group 4 (12 flat-rate sub-types covering carnivals and temporary structures, art/antique shows, auctioneers, bankruptcy sales, filming, machines, produce stands, principal and individual solicitors, vendors, warehouses and cell towers) ranges from $10 to $350 depending on the specific sub-type. Group 5, the 'wheel tax' for a business based outside the unincorporated area that operates there by vehicle: $50 for the first vehicle plus $30 for each additional vehicle. Group 6 (an administrative headquarters with no direct product or service): $0.50 per $1,000 of prior-year gross payroll, $50 minimum. Group 7 activities — charitable and nonprofit benefit activities, up to two yard sales a year, a minor under 18 or an adult over 65 with gross receipts under $2,000/year, qualifying agricultural growers or producers, and disabled veterans — are exempt under Ordinance Code §§2006.1-2006.7. Every applicant additionally pays a $4 state-mandated fee under Government Code §4467 and a $40 county processing fee. | Annual, license year July 1 through June 30; prorated quarterly for a mid-year start unless the annual fee is $10 or less | 2026-10-02 |
| Regulatory License (unincorporated area, named trades)only if it applies to you | Ventura County Treasurer-Tax Collector | Per-trade flat fee set by Ventura County Ordinance Code Division 2, Chapter 2, with each trade's fee fixed by its own numbered section: Massage Parlor $150/year (§2497); Massage Technician $25/year (§2497); Kennel $60/year (§2596, Sheriff approval not required for this trade specifically); Second-hand Dealer $100 (§2328); Pawnbroker $100 (§2328); Junk Dealer $50 and Junk Collector $50 (§2328); Auctioneer $10/year (§2312); Billiard Rooms $20 per table (§2246); Coin-Operated Pool Table $20/year (§2251); Cardrooms $150 per table per year plus $10 per employee identification card (§2289); Private Patrol $25/year (§2451); Rubbish Collector $10 per truck per year (§2417); Taxi Cab Operators $10/year and Taxi Cab Owners $10/year (one taxi) or $30/year (two or more) (§2470); plus roughly a dozen additional named trades, including dance halls, carnivals, temporary gatherings and shows, and motor vehicle races, billed per day or per year depending on the trade. | Mostly annual; a smaller set of named trades (carnivals, temporary gatherings and shows, per-dance admission, motor-vehicle-race-day rates) are billed per day instead | 2026-10-02 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
County Business Tax Certificate (unincorporated area)
Every business, trade, profession or occupation conducted in the unincorporated area of Ventura County must hold a County Business Tax Certificate from the Treasurer-Tax Collector, including a business based inside one of the county's 10 incorporated cities that delivers, solicits or otherwise operates in the unincorporated area. The Rate Sheet groups businesses by type rather than naming every one of the 10 tracked industries individually — it does not name 'coffee shop' or 'food truck' as such — and the Tax Collector makes the final classification call for a given applicant; a coffee shop or food truck is applied to Group 1 alongside restaurants and retail establishments. Issuance requires, at minimum, a prior Zoning Clearance and Building and Safety Division sign-off, each listed as its own requirement for unincorporated Ventura County. The City of San Buenaventura (Ventura) and the county's other nine incorporated cities each run a separate, identically named 'Business Tax Certificate' program of their own, administratively distinct from this county certificate and not satisfied by holding it.
Regulatory License (unincorporated area, named trades)
In the unincorporated area, a business conducting a specific named trade must hold a Regulatory License from the Treasurer-Tax Collector in addition to the general County Business Tax Certificate, backed by an approval letter from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office except for kennel operations, which the application form itself exempts from that approval step. Of the fee table's roughly thirty named trades, four map onto the 10 tracked industries: a massage establishment or massage technician (salon or fitness-studio, if the business performs massage) pays $150/year or $25/year respectively under §2497; a kennel operation that boards animals (veterinary) pays $60/year under §2596; and a second-hand dealer, meaning a retail-store business that buys and resells used goods, pays $100 under §2328. A restaurant, coffee-shop, food-truck, childcare, contractor or auto-repair business is not subject to this license unless it separately conducts one of the named regulated trades.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Ventura County
- Phone
- 805-654-3727
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Apply for a City of Ventura Business License (confirms the city's own, separate business-tax program)City of Ventura · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Business Tax Certificate Application, effective 7-1-2026 (Rate Sheet and Section 4 Regulatory License fee table)Ventura County Treasurer-Tax Collector · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- New Business Tax Certificate (Business License) — Unincorporated AreaVentura County Treasurer-Tax Collector · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Regulatory License — Trades Requiring an Additional County LicenseVentura County Treasurer-Tax Collector · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
Other offices serving Ventura County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
- Restaurants in Ventura County
- Coffee shops in Ventura County
- Retail stores in Ventura County
- Salons and barbers in Ventura County
- Food trucks in Ventura County
- Fitness studios in Ventura County
- Childcare centres in Ventura County
- Contractors and trades in Ventura County
- Auto repair shops in Ventura County
- Veterinary clinics in Ventura County
California jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.