SF Tries Waived Fees to Lure New Small Businesses to Open

A new permit-fee waiver program aimed at encouraging the growth of new small businesses in San Francisco launched Monday.

The “First Year Free” pilot program will help businesses with less than $2 million in gross receipts that plan to open a new ground-floor location before Oct. 31, 2022.

“Right now, opening a restaurant in San Francisco requires about twenty different permits while opening a retail shop requires up to eleven. Each of these permits comes with a fee,” Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who sponsored the ordinance that created the program, said in a news release Monday.

The city’s Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector will automatically screen new businesses for eligibility and the city has set aside $12 million for the program. Some of the fees that will be waived include the “initial year” business registration fee for new businesses, the application, inspection, one-time permit fees, and the initial license fees.

Fee waivers are also available for businesses opening a new location, but not for “formula retail” businesses, according to city officials.

Learn more about First Year Free.

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