REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE - REQUIRED.
SF Business and Tax Regulations Code § 853
in effectSEC. 853. REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE - REQUIRED.
(a) Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e), no person may engage in business within the City unless the person has obtained a current registration certificate pursuant to this Article 12. Every person engaging in business within the City shall conspicuously display a current registration certificate on the business premises, regardless of whether such person is subject to tax pursuant to the provisions of the Business and Tax Regulations Code.
(b) Any organization having a formally recognized exemption from income taxation pursuant to Section 501(c), 501(d), or 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, as qualified by Sections 502, 503, 504, and 508 of Title 26 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and engaging in business within the City shall obtain a registration certificate.
(c) Failure to obtain a registration certificate shall not absolve any person from payment of any tax imposed or license required by the City.
(d) A person receiving rental income in connection with the operation of any of the following shall not, by reason of that fact alone, be required to obtain a registration certificate pursuant to this Article 12:
(1) a cooperative housing corporation, as defined in Section 216(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
(2) one residential structure consisting of fewer than four units; or
(3) one residential condominium.
(e) The requirements to obtain a registration certificate and pay a fee under this Article 12 shall be suspended for any driver for a transportation network company and for any taxi driver. The suspension in this subsection (e) is qualified and defined solely for purposes of this subsection (e) as follows:
(1) The suspension applies only to drivers whose business activity in the City is limited to transportation network company driving and/or taxi driving.
(2) “Transportation network company” has the same meaning as in Section 5431(c) of the California Public Utilities Code.
(3) “Taxi” has the same meaning as in Section 1102 of Article 1100 of the Transportation Code.
(4) The Board of Supervisors may at any time, by ordinance, terminate the suspension without such termination constituting a tax increase under Article XIIIC of the California Constitution.
(f) (1) Beginning with the registration year commencing April 1, 2026, the requirements to obtain a registration certificate and pay a fee under this Article 12 are suspended for Qualified Lessors. For purposes of this subsection (f), the term “Qualified Lessor” has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 952.3(h) of Article 12-A-1 of the Business and Tax Regulations Code.
(2) The suspension in this subsection (f) shall apply only with respect to the Qualified Lessor’s separate filing and payment obligations for its lease of residential real estate units. The suspension shall not apply to any business activity related to any other space, either within the same building or other buildings, that is not residential real estate.
(3) The Board of Supervisors may at any time, by ordinance, terminate the suspension in this subsection (f) without such termination constituting a tax increase under Article XIIIC of the California Constitution.
(Added by Ord. 63-01, File No. 010274, App. 4/25/2001; amended by Ord. 26-04, File No. 031990, App. 2/19/2004; Ord. 93-18, File No. 180157, App. 4/27/2018, Eff. 5/28/2018, Retro. 1/1/2018; Ord. 298-19, File No. 191107, App. 12/20/2019, Eff. 1/20/2020; Ord. 43-21, File No. 210180, App. 4/2/2021, Eff. 5/3/2021; Ord. 59-22, File No. 220057, App. 4/15/2022, Eff. 5/16/2022; Ord. 45-23, File No. 221162, App. 4/14/2023, Eff. 5/15/2023; Ord. 279-24, File No. 240926, App. 12/19/2024, Eff. 1/19/2025, Oper. 2/1/2025; Ord. 209-25, File No. 250891, App. 10/31/2025, Eff. 12/1/2025)
Source: City and County of San Francisco, Charter and Municipal Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_business/0-0-0-1875Fetched: 11/1/2026