Business License for freelance photographer necessary or useful or both?

My suggestion is that you talk to an accountant in California, not to a bunch of photographers around the world. The issues here are far-reaching and could be important, depending on how aggressive the state licensing authorities may be.

Andri, are you serious? You can’t legally operate without a business license in CA. As for working inter-state you need to check each states laws respectably.

Nick, Yes, I am serious, this is a legitimate question. I am new to this and inexperienced in this matter but I am eager to learn. I have been researching on line but there so many things that aren’t clear and many may or may not apply to this specific profession. I was planning to go to directly to the county finance department to talk to someone directly but of course they are closed so I thought I would get some clarification here. So you may think this is a stupid question but I am just wanting to learn, you can’t hold that against me. Thanks for the input

I’m not sure what’s going on in California, but the constitution of the United States has a nice feature called the 1st Amendment which ensures our ability to commit journalism or otherwise express ourselves without undue hassle from the government. Back in the day, we used to highlight this as one of the things that made us cooler than the Russians.

So there’s no licenses required to work as a journalist. Similarly, the so-called “press passes” that are issued by Police Departments around the country are occasionally useful, but not necessary.

Some photographers set up corporations to avoid sales taxes or to limit legal liability (ie when you accidentally electrocute one of your local musicians while doing a portrait session in your living room), but I know very few photojournalists who have, and you don’t need be incorporated to write expenses off on your taxes. As Neal points out, you should talk to an accountant for the specifics of your area.

Teru, thanks for the information. I will definitely talk to an accountant. Again, this is new for me I just want to get everything in order. I have my IFJ press card, camera gears, some experience, the balls to get out there to cover stories, etc. But I am just not sure about the legal aspect of freelance photojournalism when one is start making money or a living out of it, and what expenses we can write off for deductions especially doing freelance. Furthermore, I am not sure if you need a certain license when taking photos of sensitive subjects such as children. I appreciate the time you took to explain this to me.

Hey Andri, sorry if I came off dickish. It wasn’t my intent. It’s just if you live in California you’d know that everything needs a license here. We have a ratio of lawyers to civilians that would make the chinese nervous. Any form of “business” must be licensed in the state. They want their share of the pie if you will. You’ll want to go to city hall to the clerks office to file for a business license and then you may need to file a DBA (doing business as) but only if your using a name for your business other than your birth name. It’ll help you at the bank when clients write checks to your business. If you do file a DBA don’t use their publication for the filing. Once you file with the city you’ll be inundated by mail with proposals for publishing your DBA announcement. Just find one of the cheapest ads and use them. You may want to file with the county too so that you may move freely throughout the county and not have to file in every city. Some places are cheaper to file in the county and some it’s cheaper to go to each city. You’ll have to research that one. Good luck and sorry again if I came of like a wiener. I’m really not unless you ask someone that knows me.

Nick, thank you for your input and clarification. I recently submitted an application for a business license under my own name so no need for file a DBA. I should be receiving it in two weeks. I also talked to an accountant in terms of filing my taxes and of course using my expenses for tax deduction. Moreover, I am also getting an insurance coverage (professional liability and equipment) So far I think it’s a good start. Thanks again

Andri