In brief
A home-based business in Long Beach needs the city business license, at $299.54 plus $12.66 per employee for the year from July 1, 2026, and must also meet the zoning code’s home occupation standards, which cap people, visitors, storage and signage. Planning charges a separate home-occupation zoning review of $52.00, or $58.24 with the city surcharge, as of October 2026.
- License: the “home-based business” category, $299.54 base and $12.66 per employee for 2026-27, against $488.81 for most storefront categories3.
- People: “No person other than a resident of the dwelling unit shall be engaged or employed”, and no more than two residents may be; a microenterprise home kitchen (MEHKO) is excepted1.
- Visitors and deliveries: “not more than two (2) business visitors an hour and eight (8) visitors a day, and not more than two (2) deliveries of products or materials a week”; a MEHKO is excepted1.
- Signs and storage: no sign visible from outside; storage no more than 128 cubic feet; “A garage may not be used for operations of the business or storage”1.
- Some businesses cannot be home occupations at all, including beauty salons and barber shops, restaurants and auto repair1.
A home-based business in Long Beach sits under two sets of rules. The business license is the city’s tax and registration; the home occupation standards in the zoning code decide whether the business may be run from a dwelling at all and how. A license without a compliant home occupation does not fix the zoning, so this page covers both. Whether you need a license is in Do You Need a Long Beach Business License?, the application is in How to Apply for a Long Beach Business License, and the wider order of steps is in the pillar, How to Start a Business in Long Beach. Figures are as of October 2026.
The short answer
| If you are… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Working alone from a Long Beach home | Get the home-based business license ($299.54 for 2026-27) and keep to the home occupation standards13 |
| Planning to hire someone who does not live with you | Not allowed under the home occupation rules, which let only residents be engaged or employed; a MEHKO is excepted and may have one full-time-equivalent non-household employee1 |
| Seeing clients or students at home | Within the visitor cap, and for instruction no more than six students at once1 |
| Selling online or by phone and mail | Allowed as an office use, if the primary contact is by phone, mail or electronic1 |
| Running a salon, restaurant, auto repair or medical office | Not a home occupation; find a commercial address1 |
| Making cottage food or MEHKO meals | Named as allowed home occupations; their own permits apply1 |
What the license costs
The city’s rate table lists “Home-based business” as its own category: a $299.54 base tax and $12.66 per employee for the license year July 1, 2026 to June 30, 20273. Most storefront and service categories pay a $488.81 base on the same table3.
“Employee” has a broad meaning on the city’s application: “every person engaged in the operation or conduct of any business in Long Beach, whether as owner, member of the owner’s family, partner, associate, agent, manager or solicitor”. Only “the owner of a sole proprietorship” is excluded6. By that definition a sole proprietor working alone pays $299.54; with one family member working in the business, the tax is $312.20; with two, $324.86. The state accessibility fee is added to every application, and the city’s pages give it as both $4 and $1; the cost page sets out the disagreement in What a Long Beach Business License Costs3.
Planning adds its own review for a home business. Its schedule lists “Business License Zoning Review – Home Occupation” at $52.00, or $58.24 with the surcharge, “for home occupations in a residence only”, as of October 20264. The city says its new fees take effect October 1, 20269. The ordinary zoning review for a business license is a separate line at $191.00, or $213.92 with the surcharge, on the same schedule4.
The standards, line by line
The rules are in Zoning Code section 21.51.235, amended in 2026 (ORD-26-0009)1. They are cumulative; a business has to meet all of them:
| Topic | The rule |
|---|---|
| People | “No person other than a resident of the dwelling unit shall be engaged or employed”; the number of residents engaged or employed “shall not exceed two (2)”. A microenterprise home kitchen (MEHKO) is excepted (B.1): one full-time-equivalent employee who does not live in the home |
| Signs | “No sign shall be displayed in a manner visible from the outside”; signed vehicles are parked out of public view |
| Visitors | “not more than two (2) business visitors an hour and eight (8) visitors a day, and not more than two (2) deliveries of products or materials a week”. A MEHKO is excepted (B.9): its limit is 30 meals a day and 90 a week |
| Storage | “shall not exceed one hundred twenty-eight (128) cubic feet”; “A garage may not be used for operations of the business or storage” |
| Parking and vehicles | Must not block required residential parking; “Not more than two (2) vehicles”; “Only one (1) vehicle may be commercially licensed” |
| Appearance | The “residential appearance” must not be altered; no separate entrance |
| Advertising | “No advertisement shall be placed in any media containing the address of the property” |
| Materials | No toxic, flammable or restricted materials; no outside operations or display |
| Transfer | Valid “only for the person to whom it was issued” |
Source:1 for every row.
Good to know The code bars putting the property’s address in any media advertisement (section 21.51.235.B.11), so the home address cannot appear in advertising1.
What counts as a home occupation
The code allows professional offices, including “direct sales (incl. internet sales)”, provided “the primary means of contact must be by phone, mail, or other electronic form”. It also allows instruction, with “the maximum number of students at any one time” limited to “six (6)”, home crafts, cottage food and MEHKOs1. The food permits are in Cottage Food in Long Beach and Selling Meals From a Home Kitchen in Long Beach.
What cannot be run from home
The code’s list of prohibited home occupations runs to 29 items, the last of them catch-alls including other uses the Planning Administrator finds similar. Among them: auto repair, parts, sales and detailing; appliance repair; “Beauty salons and barber shops”; bed and breakfast; carpentry and cabinet making; contractor storage yards; food preparation other than cottage food and MEHKO; gun sales; gyms, dance studios and massage; medical or dental offices; restaurants; “Retail sales from site (except direct distribution and internet)”; tow trucks; veterinary uses; and welding1. A home occupation that becomes nonconforming must be “discontinued and removed within three (3) months”1.
Contracting is covered in Contractor Based in Long Beach.
Where the application sits
Planning’s applications page lists a home occupation application among its ministerial applications2. The city’s license page applies to home-based businesses by name: “All businesses operating within the City of Long Beach need to obtain a business license, including out-of-city or home-based businesses”5. The code’s penalty for operating without one is a fine of up to $500 or up to six months in jail7.
Where to check Planning “can help you understand if a proposed use is allowed in a specific zoning district”; the Planning and Zoning line is (562) 570-61948.
The site earns a commission on some links to business services, which does not affect what is recommended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a business license to run a business from my home in Long Beach?
Can I have employees at a home-based business in Long Beach?
Only people who live in the dwelling: “No person other than a resident of the dwelling unit shall be engaged or employed”, and no more than two residents. The exception is a microenterprise home kitchen (MEHKO): section 21.51.235.B.1 allows it one full-time-equivalent employee who does not live in the home1.
Can clients visit my home business?
Up to two business visitors an hour and eight a day, and two deliveries a week. A microenterprise home kitchen (MEHKO) is excepted from the visitor limit by section 21.51.235.B.9; its limit is 30 meals a day and 90 a week1.
Can I put a sign on my home business?
No. “No sign shall be displayed in a manner visible from the outside”1.
Can I run a hair salon or a restaurant from home in Long Beach?
No. “Beauty salons and barber shops” and restaurants are on the code’s prohibited list1.
Can I sell products from my home?
Online and direct distribution, yes; the code prohibits “Retail sales from site (except direct distribution and internet)”1.
Can I use my garage for the business?
No. “A garage may not be used for operations of the business or storage”1.
Is there a separate home occupation permit beyond the license?
The sources describe an approval and an application. Section 21.51.235.B says “A home occupation shall only be issued when all of the following requirements are met”, and item 14 says “The home occupation approval shall be valid only for the person to whom it was issued”1. Planning’s applications page lists a home occupation application2. The sources do not say what the approval costs beyond the home-occupation zoning review of $52.00, or $58.24 with the surcharge4.
Related Articles
Sources
- Long Beach Municipal Code, Title 21, Chapter 21.51 Accessory and Temporary Uses — Municode. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Planning Applications and Forms — City of Long Beach, Community Development. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Business License Rates Effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 — City of Long Beach, Financial Management. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Planning Bureau Fee Schedule, revised October 1, 2026 (FY27 fees version) — City of Long Beach, Community Development. Accessed 2026-09-30.
- General Business License — City of Long Beach. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Business License Application (form, revised June 2025) — City of Long Beach. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Long Beach Municipal Code, Chapter 3.80 Business License Tax — Municode. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Planning Bureau — City of Long Beach, Community Development. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Fee Schedules — City of Long Beach, Community Development. Accessed 2026-10-01.