California · Sales tax registration

California sales tax registration, done for you.

California has two registrations and which one you need turns on where you are. A business engaged in business in California gets a seller's permit. A retailer selling in from outside registers for a seller's permit or a Certificate of Registration-Use Tax once combined sales for delivery into California pass $500,000. Note that figure. Most states set their threshold at $100,000, and California and Texas are the two that do not.

Last updated: October 16, 2026

Who you are dealing with

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration

Handles:: The seller's permit, and the Certificate of Registration-Use Tax for retailers outside California. 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 seller's permit application asks for, and the registration page lists what is required before you start
Phone:: 1-800-400-7115 (Customer Service Center, CRS:711)

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, sales tax registration

CDTFA Out-of-State Office

Handles:: Questions from retailers outside California about whether they have to register, and the Out-of-State Voluntary Disclosure Program
System:: CDTFA online registration
Form:: 3321 Power Inn Rd., Ste. 130, Sacramento, CA 95825-3893. The Voluntary Disclosure Program can cut the period you are liable for unreported use tax from eight years to three and relieve penalties, for a retailer who comes forward before CDTFA makes contact
Phone:: 1-916-227-6600

CDTFA Out-of-State Office, sales tax registration

State fee. There is no charge for either registration. Separately, CDTFA may require a security deposit to cover tax that would go unpaid if the business later closed, and the amount is set when you apply based on your type of business and expected taxable sales. That is money held, not a fee, and it comes back through the closeout process when you eventually close the permit.

Our fee. $180 per state, flat. State fees are passed through at cost.

When you have to register

Two different tests, and you can fall under either. A retailer with a physical presence in California registers whatever it sells: CDTFA counts maintaining inventory or an office here, having representatives taking orders, making sales or deliveries, or installing property, and leasing equipment in the state, which it says expressly includes a computer server. A retailer with no physical presence registers once total combined sales of tangible personal property for delivery into California, by you and everyone related to you, exceed $500,000 in the preceding or the current calendar year. The related party test is real and catches groups: it uses the definition in section 267(b) of the United States Code, so connected businesses are added together. Sellers outside the United States are covered on the same terms. Separately, the same $500,000 figure decides whether you must collect district use tax on deliveries into California districts that impose one. Whether a particular arrangement puts you inside any of this is a question for your CPA, and we take the answer and file the registration.

What comes next

Worth knowing the other end of the story now: closing the permit runs through CDTFA-65, the Notice of Closeout, and that is also what releases any 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. That is unusually fast, and it depends entirely on the application being complete, which is where the detail below matters.

What we do

We work out which accounts you need, submit each registration, and hand you the account numbers, rates, and deposit schedules your payroll system asks for. One flat price per state, and any state fee passed through at cost. You keep the client. We never email them.

What makes California harder than average

Two registrations share one conversation. A seller's permit and a Certificate of Registration-Use Tax are not the same thing, and which you need depends on whether you are engaged in business in California or selling in from outside. Almost everything published about registering in California describes the seller's permit, so a remote seller reads about a permit that may not be the one they need.
California's threshold is $500,000, not $100,000. Nearly every state that adopted an economic nexus rule set it at $100,000, so a seller tracking a single number across states will misjudge California in one direction and most other states in the other. Texas is the only other state we have verified at $500,000.
Related businesses are added together. The $500,000 is combined across you and everyone related to you under section 267(b) of the United States Code. A group that is comfortably under the line business by business can be over it together, and nothing about the individual accounts shows that.
The application asks for far more than you expect. CDTFA's own required list runs to identification, social security or ITIN, supplier names and addresses, personal references, your bookkeeper or accountant's address and phone, officer or member details including dates of birth, and a NAICS code. Suppliers and personal references catch everyone.
A security deposit can be set at registration. CDTFA may require one against tax that would go unpaid if the business 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.
Selling certain goods opens extra accounts. On top of the permit, CDTFA may require separate fee accounts for new tires or vehicles that include them, covered electronic devices, lead-acid batteries, and lumber or engineered wood products. These are easy to miss because they are not sales tax.

How California compares

If California is one of several states on the list, the order you register in changes what each one asks for.

Registering for sales tax in several states

Questions and answers

Do I need a seller's permit or a Certificate of Registration-Use Tax?

It depends on whether you are engaged in business in California. A physical presence here, which includes inventory, an office, representatives, or even leased equipment such as a server, points to a seller's permit. Selling in from outside with no physical presence points to the Certificate of Registration-Use Tax, once you pass the threshold. Tell us where you operate from and we will register the right one.

When does an out-of-state seller have to register in California?

Once your combined sales of goods for delivery into California pass $500,000 in the preceding or the current calendar year. That total includes sales by businesses related to you under section 267(b) of the United States Code, so a group is measured together. Sellers based outside the United States are covered on the same terms.

Is California's threshold really different from other states?

Yes, and it is worth planning around. Most states set economic nexus at $100,000. California sits at $500,000, and so does Texas. A seller who tracks one number for every state will get California wrong.

How much does it cost, and how fast is it?

Neither registration carries a charge. Registration is open seven days a week and many applicants get the permit immediately on submitting, provided the application is complete when it goes in. CDTFA may separately require a security deposit, which is money held and not a fee.

I should have registered a while ago. What happens?

CDTFA runs an Out-of-State Voluntary Disclosure Program for retailers who come forward before it contacts them. It can cut the period you are liable for unreported use tax from eight years to three and relieve penalties. Whether you qualify is a question for your CPA or attorney, and it is worth asking before you register.

What do you need from me to start?

The legal name and FEIN or SSN as applicable, entity type, whether you have any physical presence in California, your banks and main suppliers, your bookkeeper or accountant, expected average monthly sales and the taxable share, your NAICS code, and the date you passed $500,000 if you know it.

Also in California

Agency details verified 2026-08-09

Sources

About the provider

Regcrest LLC is a document preparation and filing service based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, founded in 2026. It prepares and files state payroll and sales tax registrations, account closures, and resale certificates on behalf of the businesses that instruct it, and works behind accounting firms, bookkeepers, and payroll providers as well as directly with businesses.

Regcrest LLC is not a CPA firm and not a law firm. It gives no tax or legal advice. It files in all 50 states, and publishes a full page for the 29states it has verified against the agency's own material so far, each one showing the date it was checked. For anything that turns on your specific situation, ask a licensed accountant or attorney.