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Local office router
A practical map for deciding whether to start with a city, county, state agency, court, utility, or special district.
Paperwork & Money
Public-office routes, calculators, and checklists.
Start with the shelf that matches the paper in your hand: an office, fee, notice, permit, bill, car form, benefit, complaint, or local map. Then confirm with the official source before money, permits, deadlines, or paperwork are on the line.
Common doors
Official link
Local office router
A practical map for deciding whether to start with a city, county, state agency, court, utility, or special district.
Find the right officeOfficial link
Small business, seller permits, and local licenses
Find the first official source for a small business paper. This can mean a local license, seller's permit, business filing, tax account, hiring step, food permit, special license, or EIN.
Find business linksOfficial link
Rent board, court, and legal aid
Pick the safer first stop for a rent increase, deposit problem, repair issue, eviction notice, discrimination concern, or court paper.
Find rent helpOfficial link
Alerts, smoke, roads, and power check
A calm first-stop starting point for local emergency alerts, evacuation words, wildfire smoke, road closures, and power shutoffs.
Open emergency linksDirectory shelves
7 tools
Start here
Find the right public office for everyday paperwork.
Consumer Help
Contractor, mechanic, and complaint help
Find the safer first stop for contractor trouble, auto repair problems, licensed professional complaints, insurance claims, scams, refund disputes, business-name checks, or small claims questions.
Scams
Scam, identity theft, and fraud reports
Pick the right first stop for identity theft, fake sellers, online crime, crypto or investment trouble, tax scams, benefit fraud, DMV or toll texts, and Social Security impersonators.
Household Help
Food, health coverage, and household help
Find the safer first stop for food help, CalFresh, Medi-Cal, Covered California, WIC, cash aid, county social services, IHSS, EBT card trouble, or local help.
ID and Records
ID, vital records, and address changes
Find the right first stop for a driver license, state ID, REAL ID, DMV address change, vital record, court name or gender update, voter address, Social Security card, passport, or mail forwarding.
Schools and Kids
School, child care, and student paperwork
Find the right first stop for school enrollment, TK, school shots, records, meals, child care, student aid, and work permits.
Small Business
Small business, seller permits, and local licenses
Find the first official source for a small business paper. This can mean a local license, seller's permit, business filing, tax account, hiring step, food permit, special license, or EIN.
3 tools
Home costs
Property tax, closing costs, Mello-Roos, and surprise bills.
Property Tax
Prop 13 tax reset estimator
Get a rough heads-up on how a purchase can reset the tax bill and cause a later supplemental bill.
Homebuying
Transfer tax estimator
Get a rough transfer-tax number before escrow gives you the official closing statement.
Property Tax
Mello-Roos tax check
A plain checklist for spotting Mello-Roos, CFDs, parcel taxes, and other add-on lines before you buy.
3 tools
Renting
Rent increases, deposits, notices, repairs, and local help.
Renting
Rent board, court, and legal aid
Pick the safer first stop for a rent increase, deposit problem, repair issue, eviction notice, discrimination concern, or court paper.
Renting
Move-out deposit record check
A calm checklist for photos, keys, inspection notes, itemized deductions, receipts, and the first official help sources if the deposit gets messy.
Renting
Rent, deposit, and notice check
A first-stop checklist for a rent increase, move-out deposit, or notice from the landlord.
4 tools
Work
Pay, breaks, worker status, job benefits, and injury routes.
Work
Paycheck, sick leave, and final pay check
A first-stop checklist for a short paycheck, sick time, final check, or wage claim.
Work
Breaks, overtime, and off-clock work check
What to check when a shift skipped lunch, missed breaks, ran long, or included work off the clock.
Work
Employee or contractor check
A plain first pass when a 1099, app, gig, freelance, or contractor label feels off.
Work
Unemployment, disability, leave, and injury check
Find the right office after a layoff, cut hours, sickness, family care, a new child, or a work injury.
3 tools
Home projects
ADUs, solar, water, wells, sewer, septic, and permit checks.
ADUs
ADU first-stop check
What to check before a garage, backyard, or spare room becomes a small second home.
Utilities
Water, sewer, septic, and well check
A plain first pass for finding who serves the address and what to ask before you buy or build.
Solar
Solar, battery, and panel check
What to ask before you sign for roof solar, a home battery, or panel work.
4 tools
Cars and tickets
DMV fees, smog, titles, tickets, tolls, and car problems.
DMV
DMV fee calculators
Pick the right official form for new, used, out-of-state, renewal, or tax-time VLF questions.
DMV
Smog, title, and registration check
A first-stop checklist for smog, title transfer, registration, and buying or bringing a car into California.
Car Problems
Used car, dealer, and private sale problems
Pick the right first stop when a used car sale, dealer promise, private-party title, smog issue, repair bill, warranty question, recall, loan, or refund dispute gets messy.
Driving
Traffic, parking, and toll tickets
Pick the right first stop for a traffic ticket, fix-it ticket, traffic school question, parking citation, toll notice, DMV hold, or suspicious toll text.
3 tools
Outdoors
Parks, passes, campfires, fishing, tide pools, and trip checks.
State Parks
State park passes and reservations
Pick the right California State Parks path for camping reservations, day use, passes, discounts, and trip notices.
Campfires
Campfires and fire restrictions
A quick path for checking campfire permits, local fire restrictions, forest orders, and park rules before lighting anything.
Fishing
Fishing license, MPA, and tide pool check
A simple starting point for fishing licenses, ocean rules, marine protected areas, tide pools, and harvest limits.
2 tools
Emergency and utilities
Alerts, smoke, roads, power shutoffs, outages, and bill help.
Emergency
Alerts, smoke, roads, and power check
A calm first-stop starting point for local emergency alerts, evacuation words, wildfire smoke, road closures, and power shutoffs.
Utilities
Utility bills, shutoffs, and outages
Find the safer first stop for a late utility bill, shutoff notice, CARE or FERA discount, Medical Baseline, LIHEAP help, PSPS, outage map, gas smell, water bill, or utility complaint.
4 tools
Home risk checks
Wildfire, insurance, coast, earthquake, and retrofit checks.
Wildfire
Wildfire home and insurance check
First checks for fire maps, yard work, home hardening, discounts, and FAIR Plan questions.
Insurance
Home insurance fallback check
What to try when a home policy is dropped, not renewed, too pricey, or hard to get.
Parcel Maps
Coast and earthquake parcel map check
A quick way to see which map questions to ask before you buy or build near the coast or in a quake zone.
Earthquake
Earthquake retrofit home check
A quick home check for old houses, crawl spaces, soft stories, chimneys, water heaters, permits, and insurance proof.
Source rule
These tools are maps, not decisions. They point you toward official sources, but they do not decide your rights, tell you what to file, or replace a county office, state agency, court self-help center, lawyer, tax pro, insurer, escrow officer, permit counter, or official calculator.