"How to become a tour guide in los angeles" is searched alongside "how to get a tour guide license", and the first thing to know is that in Los Angeles there is none. Here is what there is instead, where the jobs are, and the way to get paid for your time with visitors that does not involve a tour.
No license, unlike New York#
Los Angeles and the State of California have no tour-guide license and no exam. New York City requires one (how to become a tour guide in NYC if you are comparing); LA does not. What the city does require is general:
- If you work for yourself in the city for seven or more days a year, the City of Los Angeles Business Tax Registration Certificate from the Office of Finance. Small businesses under the gross-receipts threshold are exempt from the tax itself but still register.
- If you drive passengers for hire, that is regulated separately (state permits for charter-party carriers, commercial insurance, a commercial vehicle); it is the bus and van companies' problem if you work for them, and yours if you run your own van.
- Studios and bus companies train their own guides; the training is the job interview.
Where the jobs are#
- Studio tours: Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Sony. The best-known guide jobs in the city; they want a performer's energy, a clean driving record (you drive the cart) and reliability. Seasonal hiring surges before summer.
- Hop-on hop-off buses and celebrity-home van tours: Hollywood Boulevard is the hiring hall; hourly plus tips, the tips are the point, and the good guides are entertainers.
- Walking tours: Downtown's Historic Core and Arts District, Hollywood, Venice; small companies and free-tour operators where your income is the tips.
- Museums: the Getty, LACMA, the Broad and the Natural History Museum hire docents and educators, often part-time.
- Private guiding: your own clients, your own car, your own site; the hard part is finding them, and a second language (Mandarin, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese) is what separates the busy private guides from the idle ones.
What it pays#
Studio and bus guides are hourly, above the City of LA minimum of $18.42, plus tips; van and private guides earn per tour. How much do tour guides make has the honest ranges. Treat the first season as research.
Getting paid for your time without a tour#
Most people who search this do not want to narrate a bus. They want to be paid to spend time with visitors: the Eastside's food, a Dodgers game, a hike, a newcomer's first weekend, with a car. That is company, not a tour, and it is what a Local Friend on Roavi does: you set an hourly rate (LA sits near the top of the $15 to $50 band), people message you free, you meet in public, Roavi takes no commission; the driving is agreed beforehand. Getting paid for your time in Los Angeles covers the logistics, and the Los Angeles tour guide page is what visitors see when they compare the two.
Live in Los Angeles? Get paid for your time with visitors and newcomers, at your rate, no commission.
Become a Local FriendFrequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to be a tour guide in Los Angeles?
No. Unlike New York City, Los Angeles and the State of California have no tour-guide license or exam. If you work for yourself in the city you need the City of LA Business Tax Registration Certificate (required for anyone doing business in the city seven or more days a year; small businesses under the gross-receipts threshold are exempt from the tax but still register). Driving passengers for hire is regulated separately and needs permits and commercial insurance.How do tour guides get hired in Los Angeles?
Through the employers: studio tours (Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Sony train their own guides), hop-on hop-off bus companies, celebrity-home van tours, walking-tour companies in Hollywood and Downtown, museums, and private guiding through platforms or your own site. Most want a clean driving record, a performer's energy and a second language.How much do tour guides make in Los Angeles?
It varies with the employer: studio and bus guides are hourly (above the city minimum of $18.42) plus tips; van and private guides earn per tour and the tips are the point. Nobody should quit a job before a season of their own numbers. A Local Friend on Roavi sets their own hourly rate with no commission.