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13 permits · verified 2026-10-02

What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Contra Costa County?

In short

A contractor or trade in Contra Costa County, CA has 2 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 11 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division charges $20 per filing, biennial for the statement of information (llc). 7 of the 13 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-02 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a contractor or trade in Contra Costa County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP) Annual Permitonly if it applies to youContra Costa County Fire Protection District, Hazardous Materials Programs (Certified Unified Program Agency)Tiered by chemical inventory: under 1,000 lbs = $421 (lowest tier), scaling up to $64,220 for the highest tier (1 billion+ lbs, including the flat refinery rate). A $96 initial permit processing fee applies to newly regulated businesses or ownership changes. Incident-response fees for non-regulated-entity responses are $365 per hour per staff member during business hours and $404 per hour per staff member after hours.annual, fiscal year July 1 - June 302026-10-02
Land Use Permit (General/"Other" category)only if it applies to youContra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development$5,500 minimum deposit plus time and materials, for the Land Use Permit (Other) category, covering fee-schedule codes S-025, S-027, S-027B and S-029.per application (one-time)2026-10-02
UST / APSA Program Feesonly if it applies to youContra Costa County Fire Protection District, Hazardous Materials Programs (Certified Unified Program Agency)Underground Storage Tank (UST) and Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) program fees are tiered by tank category and storage capacity on the same adopted fee exhibit (Resolution No. 2024-293, Exhibit 1) that sets the HMBP and Hazardous Waste Generator fees above. Contact CCCFPD's CUPA program for the current dollar figure for a specific tank count or capacity.annual (UST permit); per facility (APSA permit)2026-10-02
Building Permit — Plan Review & Permit Review/Processingonly if it applies to youContra Costa County Department of Conservation and DevelopmentPlan Review fee, by improvement value (seven tiers): up to $2,000 = $49 + $8.94 per $1,000 above $2,000; $25,000 = $254 + $6.44 per $1,000 above $25,000; $50,000 = $415 + $4.47 per $1,000 above $50,000; $100,000 = $639 + $5.30 per $1,000 above $100,000; $500,000 = $2,758 + $5.52 per $1,000 above $500,000; $1,000,000 = $5,516 + $3.79 per $1,000 above $1,000,000; $5,000,000 = $20,685 + $5.52 per $1,000 above $5,000,000. A separate, lower-scaled Permit Review and Processing fee runs on the same valuation bands, starting at $19 + $3.44 per $1,000 above $2,000.per permit (one-time, project-based)2026-10-02
Contractor LicenseContractors State License Board$450 original application for one classification, then an initial license fee of $200 for a sole owner or $350 otherwise. Renewal every two years is $450 sole owner or $700 otherwise, with C-10 electrical contractors paying $20 more at each tier2 years2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Contra Costa County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Business License Taxonly if it applies to youContra Costa County Treasurer-Tax Collector, Business License Tax DivisionVaries — formula on the Contra Costa County pageannual; license year July 1 - June 30, renewal due by June 302026-10-02

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

CA registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Statement of Information (LLC)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$20 per filing, biennialbiennial2026-09-03
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$70 one-time filingno expiry, but a Statement of Information is due biennially2026-09-03
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$100 one-time filingno expiry, but a Statement of Information is due annually2026-09-03
Statement of Information (Corporation)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$25 per filing, annualannual2026-09-03
Seller's Permitonly if it applies to youCalifornia Department of Tax and Fee AdministrationNo fee — no fee to applyno expiry while actively engaged in business as a seller2026-09-03
Annual LLC Tax and Minimum Franchise Taxonly if it applies to youCalifornia Franchise Tax BoardVaries — formula on the CA pageannual, until the entity is cancelled2026-09-03
General Business License — California position (city or county, not state)California Secretary of State, Business Programs DivisionNo feeset by the issuing city or county2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a contractor or trade in Contra Costa County?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 13 records listed for a contractor or trade in Contra Costa County, CA, 2 apply to every business of this type and 11 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

7 of the 13 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP) Annual Permit: Tiered by chemical inventory: under 1,000 lbs = $421 (lowest tier), scaling up to $64,220 for the highest tier (1 billion+ lbs, including the flat refinery rate). A $96 initial permit processing fee applies to newly regulated businesses or ownership changes. Incident-response fees for non-regulated-entity responses are $365 per hour per staff member during business hours and $404 per hour per staff member after hours.

Land Use Permit (General/"Other" category): $5,500 minimum deposit plus time and materials, for the Land Use Permit (Other) category, covering fee-schedule codes S-025, S-027, S-027B and S-029.

UST / APSA Program Fees: Underground Storage Tank (UST) and Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) program fees are tiered by tank category and storage capacity on the same adopted fee exhibit (Resolution No. 2024-293, Exhibit 1) that sets the HMBP and Hazardous Waste Generator fees above. Contact CCCFPD's CUPA program for the current dollar figure for a specific tank count or capacity.

Building Permit — Plan Review & Permit Review/Processing: Plan Review fee, by improvement value (seven tiers): up to $2,000 = $49 + $8.94 per $1,000 above $2,000; $25,000 = $254 + $6.44 per $1,000 above $25,000; $50,000 = $415 + $4.47 per $1,000 above $50,000; $100,000 = $639 + $5.30 per $1,000 above $100,000; $500,000 = $2,758 + $5.52 per $1,000 above $500,000; $1,000,000 = $5,516 + $3.79 per $1,000 above $1,000,000; $5,000,000 = $20,685 + $5.52 per $1,000 above $5,000,000. A separate, lower-scaled Permit Review and Processing fee runs on the same valuation bands, starting at $19 + $3.44 per $1,000 above $2,000.

Contractor License: $450 original application for one classification, then an initial license fee of $200 for a sole owner or $350 otherwise. Renewal every two years is $450 sole owner or $700 otherwise, with C-10 electrical contractors paying $20 more at each tier

The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Contra Costa County permits page and the CA state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Contra Costa County?

Permits for a contractor or trade in Contra Costa County, CA come from 7 separate offices: Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, Hazardous Materials Programs (Certified Unified Program Agency), Contra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development, Contra Costa County Treasurer-Tax Collector, Business License Tax Division, California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, California Franchise Tax Board, Contractors State License Board. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a contractor or trade need in Contra Costa County that other businesses do not?

1 of the 5 permits particular to a contractor or trade here applies to no other business type we cover in Contra Costa County: Contractor License.

Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP) Annual Permit

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (CCCFPD) is the county's sole Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) and administers this program countywide — confirmed by CalEPA's own statewide Unified Program Regulator Directory, which lists Contra Costa Fire Protection District as the sole Contra Costa entry, and by CCCFPD's own site, which currently hosts the CUPA fee schedule and program pages. A business storing hazardous materials above threshold quantities (55 gallons liquid, 500 lbs solid, or 200 cubic feet compressed gas, aggregated) must file a Hazardous Materials Business Plan and register through the state's CERS system. Industries most likely to trip the threshold include auto-repair (used oil, solvents, batteries), veterinary (anesthetic gases, cleaning chemicals), salons with large-volume chemical storage, contractors storing fuel or paint at a yard, and restaurants or coffee shops with bulk CO2 or chemical storage. Contact hazmat@cccfpd.org, (925) 655-3200, for current CERS registration and inventory-tier questions.

Land Use Permit (General/"Other" category)

Zoning-triggering projects in the unincorporated area that do not fall under one of the Land Development Fee Schedule's more specific named categories (such as Quarry, Land Use Permit/Development Plan Combination, Home Occupation, or Land Use Permit Modification) are billed under this general 'Other' category, codes S-025, S-027, S-027B and S-029, at a $5,500 minimum deposit plus time and materials. This applies only in the unincorporated area; each of the county's 19 incorporated cities administers its own discretionary land-use review and fee schedule instead. The named category codes above are the only ones this fee schedule itself documents as billing against this deposit figure.

UST / APSA Program Fees

An auto-repair shop with underground fuel or waste-oil tanks, or a contractor's yard with an aboveground fuel storage tank above the APSA threshold, permits it through CCCFPD as the county's sole CUPA. The adopted fee exhibit (Resolution No. 2024-293, Exhibit 1) sets UST and APSA fee tiers by tank category and capacity alongside the HMBP and Hazardous Waste Generator tiers listed as separate county records; the exhibit's individual UST/APSA dollar figures are not restated here, so a business should confirm the tier for its specific tank configuration directly with CCCFPD, (925) 655-3200, hazmat@cccfpd.org, before budgeting.

Building Permit — Plan Review & Permit Review/Processing

New construction, a tenant improvement, or a change of use in the unincorporated area needs a building permit from the Department of Conservation and Development, 30 Muir Rd, Martinez. This applies only in the unincorporated area; inside any of the county's 19 incorporated cities, that city's own building department issues the permit instead. Both the Plan Review fee and the separate Permit Review and Processing fee are keyed to the same seven improvement-value tiers set by the Land Development Fee Schedule, adopted August 10, 2022, with the underlying valuation data itself increased 5% effective January 1, 2025.

Contractor License

The fees are the small part. Every licensee must carry a $25,000 contractor's bond, raised from $15,000 by Senate Bill 607 with effect from 1 January 2023. Two more bonds can stack on top: a $25,000 Bond of Qualifying Individual where the license is qualified by a responsible managing employee, or by a responsible managing officer who does not own at least 10 per cent of the voting stock; and, for an LLC license, a further $100,000 surety bond for the benefit of employees for unpaid wages. An LLC contractor therefore carries $125,000 of bonding before it starts. Fingerprinting is paid separately to the Live Scan operator — $32 to the Department of Justice and $17 to the FBI, plus a rolling fee CSLB does not set. An inactive license needs no contractor's bond while it stays inactive.

The other 1 local permit in the tables apply to every type of business in Contra Costa County, CA; what each one involves is set out on the Contra Costa County permits page. The 7 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across CA and are covered on the CA state page.

How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Contra Costa County?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 3 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs Land Use Permit (General/"Other" category) and Contractor License. A auto repair shop needs Hazardous Waste Generator (HWG) Program Fee, which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Contra Costa County, CA, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops4321
Salons and barbers5322
Fitness studios2230
Restaurants7324
Retail stores5233
Childcare centres2141
Veterinary clinics4143
Coffee shops5144
Food trucks4054

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Contra Costa County permits page and the CA state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Resolution No. 2024-293, Exhibit 1 — CUPA/Hazardous Materials Program Fee ScheduleContra Costa County Board of Supervisors · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  2. Unified Program Regulator Directory — Contra Costa record (Contra Costa Fire Protection District)California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  3. Hazardous Materials ProgramsContra Costa County Fire Protection District · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  4. Board Resolution No. 2024-293 — CUPA/Hazardous Materials Program Fee Schedule AdoptionContra Costa County Board of Supervisors · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  5. Land Development Fee ScheduleContra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  6. Contractors State License Board — schedule of feesContractors State License Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  7. California Business and Professions Code section 7071.6 — $25,000 contractor's bond, raised by Senate Bill 607 with effect from 1 January 2023California Legislative Information · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.