New City Website Allows Businesses to Register and Pay Fees Online
San Francisco Treasurer Jose Cisneros has launched a new website intended to make it easier for businesses to register and pay fees quickly online.
Anyone engaging in business in San Francisco is required to register with the city, but until now they were required to use a paper form that could either be mailed in or brought to City Hall. Turnaround time for mail-in forms is around three weeks, officials said.
The Online Business Registration site, launched Wednesday, allows businesses to apply, sign forms digitally and pay fees online immediately. It calculates business registration and state fees as well as any applicable penalties, interest and administrative fees.
“New businesses in San Francisco can now register with the City online in minutes,” Cisneros said. “Contractors seeking a building permit, hairdressers renting their first stall in San Francisco, or neighborhood groups incorporating as a nonprofit are now able to register without stepping foot in City Hall, or waiting for a mail-in process.”
San Francisco has more than 105,000 registered businesses, which pay $1.2 billion per year in business taxes, officials said.