El Dorado County, CA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)

The County Business License Ordinance (Section 5.04.010) requires anyone conducting business in unincorporated El Dorado County to obtain a license from the Treasurer-Tax Collector, adopted under the police power granted by Business and Professions Code Section 16100 rather than as a general revenue tax (Section 5.04.020). Section 5.04.030 sets five fee tiers: $61 for all businesses not listed elsewhere, $76 for door-to-door soliciting and itinerant selling, $186 for fortunetelling, carnivals, secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers, $10 for a duplicate license, and a $25 late-renewal penalty per license.

The ordinance reaches any business operated in the unincorporated territory, including out-of-county sellers who solicit orders or deliver merchandise there in company-owned vehicles (Section 5.04.040). Certain enterprises carry additional review beyond the base fee: Chapter 5.08 requires Sheriff, Environmental Management, Sanitation, fire district and Planning and Building review before a license issues for higher-risk categories, and Chapter 5.14 layers a special business license on top of the base fee for enterprises the Board has flagged as needing extra investigation. Honorably discharged veterans selling goods they own, or providing services as sole proprietors, and wholesale commercial travelers are exempt from the fee, though not the licensing requirement, under Section 5.16.140.

Fees are generally non-refundable once a license issues, except where a fee was collected unlawfully due to an invalid ordinance provision, in which case a claim can be filed with the County Auditor (Section 5.16.150).