Guide to the Law for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs in California

Here you will find some basic legal information for businesses in California. For more general information, see our Guide to the Law for Business Owners in the U.S.

1. Choosing a business structure

What is a social enterprise?

A social enterprise is a type of business that operates based on both “doing good” as well as making a profit. See our Guide to California Social Enterprises for more.

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2. Hiring for your business

When you are ready to hire help in your business, you should consider whether you will have “employees” or “independent contractors,” or both. Once you decide that you will need to know what paperwork to file, what rights your workers will have, etc.

3. Taxes

How do taxes work for a small business? 

As a small business, you actually must pay taxes 4-5 times per year, not just once! See our Guide to Business Taxes in California.

4. Business name

Can I protect my business name and prevent others from using it?

Maybe. If no other ongoing business used the name before you did, in the same industry as you, you may have rights to your business name. This is called “trademark” rights.

What is a DBA or fictitious business name statement and do I need that?

DBA stands for “doing business as,” such as if Mary and Jose want to do business as “California Graphic Design.” If they have not formed an entity, they would need to file a DBA also called fictitious business name statement with the county where they are doing business. If they have formed an entity, such as California Graphic Design, LLC, they would NOT need to file a DBA to do business as California Graphic Design.

See more at our Guide to DBA in California.

5. Business Contracts

All businesses need to have a basic understanding of how contracts work. See our Guide to Contracts for more.

6. Retail and E-Commerce

See our Legal Guide for Retail Businesses, and our Guide to Laws about E-Commerce.

7. Business Banking

For information on bank accounts for your business, see our Legal Guide to Business Banking.

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8. Other business law

You should also be aware of licensing & permitting requirements, consumer rights, marketing regulations, particularly on the Internet, and other general law (See all Legal Guides).

Further Resources

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