City of Paramount Business License: Requirements, Costs, and Penalties

If you run a business in Paramount, California, you need a Paramount business license before you start operating. The city issues it through an online portal, and the annual cost is a gross-receipts tax that begins at a $25 minimum and climbs based on your revenue and business type. The license is really a tax receipt, not a regulatory permit, but the obligation to have one is strict.

Who Needs a License

Paramount Municipal Code Section 5.12.030 prohibits anyone from starting or carrying on a business, profession, or trade within the city without first obtaining a license.¹ That requirement reaches further than most people expect.

You need a license if you work from a storefront, from a home office, or from no fixed location at all. Home offices are explicitly a recognized tax category under Group 4 (Services), so running your business out of your residence does not exempt you.¹ You also need one if your company is based elsewhere but you or your employees do business inside city limits. Contractors and subcontractors fall under the same rule and have their own tax group, regardless of where their office sits.

Operating without a license is treated as a separate violation for each day you continue, so fines accumulate quickly if you let it slide.¹

What It Costs

Paramount calculates the annual tax as a dollar amount per $1,000 of gross receipts earned from business done in the city. The rate depends on which of six groups your business falls into:¹

Group 1, Retail and General Business: $0.30 per $1,000. Retail stores, manufacturing, wholesale, restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, mobile vendors, and warehouses.
Group 2, Professional Services: $0.70 per $1,000. Professions that require a government certification or professional degree, including attorneys, accountants, physicians, dentists, engineers, and real estate brokers.
Group 3, Rental: $0.70 per $1,000. Any business that leases or rents real or personal property, including commercial and residential landlords, hotels, motels, equipment rental, and self-storage.
Group 4, Services: $0.40 per $1,000. Service businesses that do not require advanced professional degrees, such as barbershops, car washes, childcare, dry cleaners, janitorial, fitness studios, and home offices.
Group 5, Contractors: $0.40 per $1,000. General contractors, subcontractors, and specialty trades including electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, and landscaping.
Group 6, Long-Term Medical Care: $0.35 per $1,000. Nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and long-term acute care facilities.

Every business in Groups 1 through 6 pays a minimum tax of $25, which covers the first $25,000 in gross receipts.¹ Even a business bringing in very little revenue still owes that $25. In your first year of operation, the tax is based only on gross receipts you actually earn during that initial period rather than on a full prior year.

A handful of specialized businesses sit outside the standard rate table. A non-franchise refuse or recycling collector pays $2,955.15 annually plus 3% of gross receipts, and a recycling center pays $1,181.85 annually plus employee-based fees.² These flat-fee categories are the exception. Most businesses pay under the standard group rates.

How to Apply

Paramount runs business license applications through an online portal managed by HDL Companies. You can file a new application, renew an existing license, pay a balance, or close an account through that portal.³ For phone support, the city’s business license line is (562) 206-2484, and the email contact is Paramount@hdlgov.com.

Have the following ready before you start:

Your business name or DBA
Your Federal Employer Identification Number, or your Social Security Number if you are a sole proprietor without employees
Your business address
A description of your business activities
Evidence that your business complies with applicable codes, including zoning and health and safety

Section 5.12.060 requires that compliance evidence as part of the application.¹ In practice, that means getting zoning clearance from the Planning Department confirming your intended activity is permitted at your chosen location before the license will issue. The License Collector also has broad authority to request additional documentation, so pull together your business formation documents, lease, and any state-issued permits or certifications in advance.

Displaying the License

Once issued, Section 5.12.220 requires you to display the license at your place of business. If you have no fixed location, you must carry it on your person while doing business in the city.¹ Code enforcement officers can ask to see it, and not being able to produce it can trigger a violation.

Late Penalties

Penalties on an unpaid annual tax escalate on a 30-day clock. If the balance remains unpaid 30 days after the license receipt is issued, a 10% penalty is added. An additional 5% stacks every 30 days after that until the full amount is paid.¹

The math gets expensive fast. A $500 balance left unpaid for three months would carry $100 in penalties: 10% at 30 days, 5% at 60 days, and another 5% at 90 days. Penalties are collected and enforced the same way as the underlying tax, so renewing on time is the only way to avoid them.

1
City of Paramount, CA. City of Paramount Code – Chapter 5.12 Business License Tax
2
City of Paramount, CA. City of Paramount Code – Chapter 5.16 Schedule of Fees for Certain Businesses
3
City of Paramount. Business Services