California doesn't require that you obtain a business license at the state level. However, nearly every municipality mandates that you obtain a local business license to legally operate in that city.
The County Ordinance requires that you obtain a license for conducting business within the unincorporated areas, - even if your business is located outside our limits or you have a business license from another city.
Today, Contra Costa County encompasses 716 square miles and is home to 19 cities and numerous unincorporated communities. The county's approximate 400,000 residences house a diverse population of more than 1.16 million residents, making it California's ninth most populous county.
If your business name is anything other than your surname or has more than one owner, like a partnership, association, or company, you may need to file a fictitious business name with the County Clerk's Office, 925-335-7900. You should do this before you apply for the business license.
Corporate bylaws are a company's foundational governing document. They lay out how things should run day-to-day and the processes for making important decisions. They serve as a legal contract between the corporation and its shareholders, directors, and officers and set the protocol for how the organization operates.
To form a corporation in California, Articles of Incorporation must be filed with the California Secretary of State's office. Forms for the most common types of Articles of Incorporation are available on our Forms, Samples and Fees webpage. You may use the form or prepare your own statutorily compliant document.
1. DIRECTORS: Not less than three, unless there are only one or two shareholders of record, in which case the number of directors may be less than three but not less than the number of shareholders. 2. OFFICERS: The three required positions are President, Secretary and Treasurer.
LLCs are not required to have bylaws. However, they are governed by an operating agreement which is like a corporation's bylaws.
There's also the fact that if you don't list the number of directors in your Articles of Incorporation, you're legally required to list that information in your bylaws (see California Corp Code § 212). The bottom line: corporate bylaws are not legally required, but they're pretty much essential for your corporation.