Enforcement

Notices & Letters From the City

The Finance Department is charged with enforcing the city's license ordinance. As part of this, city staff identifies businesses that may not be in compliance with this requirement and sends notices to inform them of the regulations. We use a variety of filings, such as Seller's Permits, DBAs, periodicals, professional licensing bureaus and tax filings with higher authorities to identify these individuals and businesses.

Verification

Prior to sending out notices, information from various agencies that provide data to the city that is compared with the city's business license database. If no match is identified, the city staff sends out notices to notify the business that a license is required. If it turns out the business already has a license, or it is determined none is required, the record is closed.

Responding to Notices

We suggest responding to the notice by U.S. mail or by fax. Please list the account number that appears on your Business License tax certificate so we can be certain our records are accurate. If you are conducting business under another name, different activity or additional locations, you will need to submit a separate Business License Tax Application for each. If you have any questions, you may contact us directly at 707-894-2521. Important Note: If the notice was mailed to a separate legal entity from the one that already has a business tax certificate, it may need to pay its own business tax. A business tax certificate is unique to the legal business entity.

Deadline

To avoid imposition of accrued penalties, you must submit your Business License Tax Application and payment on or before the due date specified on the notice. This date is always at least 14 days after the date of the notice. The delinquency date is the first date the penalty will be applied.