California · Sales tax registration
California seller's permit registration, done for you.
There is no charge for a California seller's permit and many applicants get one immediately on submitting. What surprises people is the application itself. The CDTFA asks for your suppliers, your banks, your bookkeeper, and personal references, and it may set a security deposit before it issues anything.
Who you are dealing with
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
- Handles:
- Seller's permit. This is a different agency from the EDD, which holds payroll accounts
- System:
- CDTFA online registration
- Form:
- Register online at any hour. Publication 107 sets out what the application asks for
- Phone:
- 1-800-400-7115 (Customer Service Center, CRS:711)
State fee. There is no charge for a seller's permit. Separately, the CDTFA may require a security deposit to cover unpaid tax if the business later closes, and the amount is determined when you apply. That is a deposit rather than a fee, and it comes back through the CDTFA-65 closeout when you eventually close the permit.
When you have to register
You need a seller's permit if you are engaged in business in California and intend to sell or lease tangible personal property that would ordinarily be subject to sales tax. Whether a particular arrangement puts you inside that is a tax question for your CPA. We take the answer and file the registration.
What comes next
Not applicable to a registration. Worth knowing the other end of the story now: closing the permit uses CDTFA-65, the Notice of Closeout, and that same form is what releases the security deposit set at registration. If you post one now, that is how you get it back.
How long it takes
Registration is available seven days a week and many applicants obtain the permit immediately after submitting the application. That is unusually fast, and it is contingent on the application being complete, which is where the detail below matters.
What we do
We work out exactly which accounts you need, prepare and submit each registration, and hand you the account numbers, rates, and deposit schedules your payroll system asks for. One flat price per account, and any state fee passed through at cost.
What makes California harder than average
- The application asks for far more than you expect. Publication 107 lists your social security number, date of birth, driver's licence or state ID number, the names and locations of your banks, the names and addresses of your suppliers, the name and address of your bookkeeper or accountant, personal references, and your expected average monthly sales with the taxable portion. Suppliers and personal references catch everyone.
- A security deposit can be set at registration. The CDTFA may require one to cover tax that would go unpaid if the business later closed, and the amount is decided when you apply. It is not a fee, it is money held, and most small applicants are not asked for one.
- Immediate is conditional on complete. Many applicants get the permit the moment they submit, which only happens when every field above is ready. Half an application does not get a fast permit, it gets a pause.
- The permit is not at the same agency as your payroll accounts. The seller's permit is CDTFA. Payroll is the EDD, in one combined account. California is simple on the payroll side and entirely separate on the sales side, and people who found one easy assume the other is the same office.
- Expected sales figures are part of the record. You state expected average monthly sales and how much of that is taxable. Those numbers inform your filing frequency, so a careless estimate produces a filing schedule you did not want.
Questions and answers
How much does a California seller's permit cost?
Nothing. There is no charge for the permit itself. The CDTFA may separately require a security deposit to cover tax that would be unpaid if the business later closed, and that is money held rather than a fee.
How fast can I get one?
Registration is available seven days a week and many applicants obtain the permit immediately after submitting. That depends on the application being complete when it goes in.
Why does the CDTFA want my suppliers and personal references?
They are on the standard application. Publication 107 lists banks, suppliers, your bookkeeper or accountant, and personal references alongside the usual identification. It is more than most states ask and it is worth gathering before you start.
If I pay a deposit, do I get it back?
That is what the closeout process is for. Filing CDTFA-65 when you eventually close the permit is what releases any security you posted, which is why walking away without closing leaves your own money with the state.
What do you need from me to start?
The legal name and FEIN or SSN as applicable, entity type, California locations, your banks and main suppliers, your bookkeeper or accountant, expected average monthly sales and the taxable share, and the identification details Publication 107 lists.
Agency details verified 2026-08-03