How to Cancel a Fictitious Business Name in California

To cancel a fictitious business name in California, file a Statement of Abandonment with the county clerk where you originally registered the name, publish the notice in a local newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks, and then file the affidavit of publication with that same clerk.¹ The state’s base filing fee is $5, but county surcharges push the real cost to roughly $26 to $45.² Start to finish, plan on about five to six weeks.

The law makes this mandatory, not optional. When you stop doing business under a fictitious name filed within the last five years, you are required to file the abandonment statement.¹

Make Sure Abandonment Is the Right Form

California uses two different forms for two different situations, and partnerships in particular get these mixed up.

A Statement of Abandonment is what you file when everyone stops using the fictitious name. The name goes away entirely. This is the form for a sole proprietor closing a DBA, an LLC dropping a trade name, or a partnership shutting down the business.

A Statement of Withdrawal is different. It’s used when one partner leaves a partnership that will keep operating under the same fictitious name. The remaining partners continue as usual, and the FBN itself does not expire.³ If that’s your situation, you want a withdrawal, not an abandonment. Your county clerk carries both.

Fill Out the Statement of Abandonment

Download the form from your county clerk’s website or pick one up in person. Type it or print in black or dark blue ink. No correction fluid, no erasures. Clerks reject filings over small errors.

Pull your original FBN filing before you start, because the abandonment has to match it exactly. You’ll need:

The fictitious business name, spelled exactly as on the original filing.
The principal place of business listed on the original statement, not your current address if it has changed.
The original filing number and date, taken from your endorsed copy of the original FBN statement.
The full legal name and business mailing address of every registrant on the original statement.¹

Every person on the original FBN statement has to sign. Two partners on the original? Both signatures required. A missing signature is one of the most common reasons these get rejected.

File It With the Correct County Clerk

File in the same county where the original FBN was recorded.¹ You can’t switch counties, even if the business has since relocated.

Most clerks accept filings in person or by mail. If you mail it, include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the clerk can return your endorsed copy. Some counties, like Santa Barbara, also charge a small return-mail handling fee of about $2.⁴

What You’ll Pay

The base state fee is $5, and counties layer their own surcharges on top under Government Code Section 54985.² Actual costs land between roughly $26 and $45. A few examples:

Confirm the exact amount on your county clerk’s website before you send payment. Mail-in filings usually require a check or money order. In-person, some counties accept debit or credit cards; not all do.

Publish the Notice for Four Weeks

Filing the form is only half the process. California requires you to publish the abandonment notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the original FBN was filed, once a week for four consecutive weeks.¹ Publication has to start within the timeframe your clerk specifies.

You don’t need the biggest paper in the county. Smaller adjudicated newspapers that specialize in legal notices are cheaper and just as valid. Rates are typically modest compared to the original FBN publication. One Riverside County paper charges $38 for all four weeks with one business name and one registrant, plus $5 for each additional name or registrant.

File the Affidavit of Publication

Once the four weeks are done, the newspaper gives you an affidavit (or proof) of publication. File that affidavit with the same county clerk’s office where you filed the abandonment.¹ Your cancellation isn’t legally complete until the clerk has it on file. Many newspapers will file it for you for a small fee or as part of their publication package. Ask when you place the notice.

Don’t let the affidavit sit in a drawer. Any delay leaves your public record looking unfinished.

Close Out Related Accounts and Permits

Filing with the clerk only cancels the fictitious name itself. Your bank, the IRS, and city licensing offices don’t hear about it. Handle each one separately.

Bank Accounts

If you opened a business bank account under the DBA, contact the bank to close it or move it to your legal name. Banks verify active FBN filings, and once the name is abandoned, checks and deposits tied to it can be rejected.

IRS

If the fictitious name was the primary name on your EIN, notify the IRS. Sole proprietors can write to the IRS at the address where they file returns. Corporations check the name-change box on Form 1120; partnerships do the same on Form 1065.⁷ Form 8822-B can also report a business name change, though filing it is voluntary unless your responsible party has also changed.⁸ If you’re closing the business entirely, you’ll also need to file a final tax return and may want to close the EIN.

City Business Licenses

Many California cities require a separate business tax certificate or license tied to your fictitious name. Cancel that with the city’s finance office. In Los Angeles, you cancel your Tax Registration Certificate by sending a letter or submitting a Taxpayer Information Update Form.⁹ If you skip this step, the city can keep assessing taxes long after you’ve stopped operating.

Keep Your Records

Hold onto endorsed copies of the Statement of Abandonment and the Affidavit of Publication indefinitely. They prove the exact date you stopped using the name. If a dispute later comes up over transactions under the old DBA, or if someone else registers the same name and a conflict develops, those two documents draw the line between your use of the name and anyone else’s.

1
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 17922
2
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 17929
3
Contra Costa County County Clerk Recorder. Abandonments and Withdrawals
4
Santa Barbara County. Abandonment / Withdrawal Filing
5
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Statement of Abandonment of Use of Fictitious Business Name
6
Ventura County Clerk-Recorder, Registrar of Voters. Statement of Abandonment of Use of Fictitious Business Name
7
Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
8
IRS. Form 8822-B – Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
9
Los Angeles Office of Finance. Changing or Closing Your Business