Mendocino County, CA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Categories
- 8 license categories, Sec. 6.04.050(a)-(h)
- Fee basis
- Flat rate set by Board resolution
- License terms
- Mar 1-Feb 28 or Sept 1-Aug 31
- Delinquency penalty
- 50% of annual fee
- Issuing office
- Mendocino County Tax Collector
Summary
Mendocino County sorts every unincorporated business into one of eight license categories under Code Section 6.04.050, from Retail Merchant/Service and Wholesale Merchant to Food Facility, Contractor, and Itinerant/Gambling/Junk/Recycling/Secondhand Dealer, with the Board of Supervisors setting a flat fee for each by resolution.
The Board of Supervisors shall set license fees in an amount that covers all administrative costs for license issuance. The license fee shall be based on a flat rate set by Resolution passed by the Board of Supervisors.(a)RETAIL MERCHANT/SERVICE. For the business of selling any goods, wares, or merchandise for any purpose other than resale in the regular course of business. For any business selling or furnishing services of any kind to consumers.(b)WHOLESALE MERCHANT. For the business of selling any goods, wares, or merchandise to any person engaged in the business of reselling said merchandise in the regular course of business.(c)FOOD FACILITY. For the business of operating any facility that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption....(h)MISCELLANEOUS. For any person that is conducting any type of business, not described in a category above, and not explicitly exempt from obtaining a business license.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 75).
Full Breakdown
050 of the Mendocino County Business License Chapter (Ord. No. 4200, adopted 2008; amended by Ord. No. 4416 in 2018) sorts every business operating in the unincorporated county into one of eight fee categories: (a) Retail Merchant/Service, (b) Wholesale Merchant, (c) Food Facility, (d) Motel/Hotel/Rental, (e) Contractor, (f) Itinerant/Gambling/Junk/Recycling/Secondhand Dealer, (g) Multiple-Sellers License, and (h) Miscellaneous, a catch-all for any business not otherwise described. The section directs the Board of Supervisors to set a flat license fee for each category by resolution, sized to cover the Tax Collector's administrative cost of issuing the license rather than a percentage-of-revenue tax.
070 fixes the license term as one of two annual cycles, March 1 to the following February 28 (or 29) or September 1 to August 31, and lets fees for businesses needing special permits be prorated by fifty percent to match those separate approval timelines. 050 categories at one location under one management needs only one license. 070(d), collected by the Tax Collector before any license issues.
Violations & Fines
Transacting business in the unincorporated county without the license for your Section 6.04.050 category violates Section 6.04.040. The Tax Collector adds a fifty percent delinquent penalty to the annual fee under Section 6.04.070(d) once the license lapses, and County Counsel is authorized to sue in the county's name to collect unpaid fees and penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
What business license categories does Mendocino County use?
Is the Mendocino County business license fee based on revenue?
Can one license cover two kinds of business at the same location?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mendocino County
California rules heatmap·Compare Mendocino County to another location·View the California local taxes & fees overview
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