To file a DBA in California, you file a Fictitious Business Name (FBN) statement with the county clerk where your business is located, publish that statement in an approved local newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks, and then file the newspaper’s proof of publication back with the clerk. You have 40 days from the day you start doing business under the name to get the initial filing done,1California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 17910 and total costs generally run $60 to $200 depending on your county and the newspaper you use.
Who Has to File
California’s Business and Professions Code treats a name as fictitious if it doesn’t include the owner’s surname, or if it suggests additional owners who don’t exist.2California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 17900 If your last name is Nguyen and you operate as “Nguyen Consulting,” no filing is needed. Call it “Bay Area Consulting” or “Nguyen & Associates,” and you need an FBN statement: the first drops your surname, and the second implies partners.3California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA). Setting Up Your Business in California
Corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships file whenever they operate under any name that differs from the exact legal name on their articles filed with the California Secretary of State.2California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 17900 If “Pacific Coast Holdings LLC” opens a coffee shop as “Foggy Morning Coffee,” the shop name needs its own FBN filing.
One boundary worth knowing before you start: filing does not give you exclusive rights to the name. Another business in your county, or any other county, can file the same name and the clerk won’t stop them. Name protection is a trademark question, handled through the United States Patent and Trademark Office, not through a county FBN filing.4USPTO. How Trademarks and Trade Names Differ Search the USPTO database at uspto.gov before you commit to a name, because using one that infringes an existing trademark can bring a cease-and-desist letter no matter when you filed your FBN.
What the Statement Asks For
The FBN form is short, but errors force a refile and another fee. You’ll provide:
- The fictitious business name, exactly as you’ll use it publicly.
- The street address of the principal place of business. A P.O. Box will not satisfy this field; California requires a physical street address.
- Registrant information. Sole proprietors give their full legal name and residence address. Corporations and LLCs give the entity name and address as they appear on the articles filed with the Secretary of State, plus the state of incorporation or organization. Partnerships list all general partners.
- Entity type: individual, corporation, LLC, general partnership, limited partnership, trust, or married couple.
- The date you first started doing business under the name, or a note that you haven’t started yet.
A detail that surprises many sole proprietors: your personal residence address becomes part of the public record, and the form gives you no option to substitute a P.O. Box. If that concerns you, one workaround is forming an LLC and registering the FBN under the entity, which lists a business address instead of your home.
Where to File and What It Costs
File with the county clerk in the county where your principal place of business sits. If your business has no California location, file with the Sacramento County Clerk.5California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 17915 Most counties accept filings in person, by mail, or online, though the available methods vary.
Fees are set locally. Los Angeles County charges $26 for one business name and one registrant, with $5 for each additional name or registrant.6Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Fees Alameda County charges $40 for one name and one owner, plus $7 for each additional.7Alameda County. Fictitious Business Name Filing Fees – Clerk-Recorder’s Office Yolo County runs $55.8Yolo County ACE Department, CA. FBN Filing Fees Most counties fall between $26 and $55 for the base filing, before any add-ons.
Before you pay, run a name search with your county clerk. Counties typically charge around $5 per name to check whether someone has already registered the same one locally. Catching a conflict now is far cheaper than discovering it after you’ve paid to file and publish.
The 40-Day Deadline
California gives you 40 days from the date you start transacting business under a fictitious name to file the FBN statement.1California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 17910 If you’ve been selling, invoicing, or signing contracts under your chosen name, the clock is already running. Filing before you open avoids the question entirely.
The same 40 days applies when the facts on an existing FBN statement change: a new owner joins, a partner leaves, or you move your principal business address. A change in your personal residence address, on its own, does not trigger a new filing.9Fresno County. FBN – Frequently Asked Questions
Publishing the Statement
Publication is where most filings go wrong, because it comes with its own calendar. After filing with the clerk, you have 45 days to get the first newspaper publication out.10Ventura County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters. Fictitious Business Name Statement Publication Requirements Miss that window and the filing is dead. You’ll have to file a new statement and pay the fees again.
The notice runs once a week for four consecutive weeks. Contact the newspaper as soon as you file, because papers publish on fixed schedules and may not run your notice immediately. The paper has to be one of general circulation in the area where you do business, and it has to be adjudicated by a court to publish legal notices. Not every local paper qualifies. Your county clerk can provide a list of approved publications.
Publication costs vary by newspaper and county, running roughly $30 to $150 for the full four-week run. Community newspapers tend to sit at the lower end.
After the fourth publication, the newspaper issues a proof of publication, an affidavit confirming the dates and content of each notice. You have 45 days from the last publication date to file that affidavit with the same county clerk where the original statement was filed.10Ventura County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters. Fictitious Business Name Statement Publication Requirements Some newspapers file the affidavit for you as part of their service; confirm this rather than assume.
Renewal and Abandonment
An FBN statement is valid for five years from the filing date.11California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 17920 If nothing about your business has changed, renewal is simple: file a renewal statement with the county clerk before the expiration date, and you do not have to publish again.12Los Angeles County RR/CC. Renewals The renewal fee typically matches the original filing fee.
If any facts have changed, or if you let the FBN expire and want to refile after the five-year window closes, you can’t just renew. You’ll file a new statement and complete the full publication process again.9Fresno County. FBN – Frequently Asked Questions
When you stop using a name, California law requires a statement of abandonment filed with the same county clerk. The abandonment lists the name being abandoned, the business street address, the original filing date and file number, and the registrant’s information. Like the original, the abandonment has to be published once a week for four weeks, with the proof of publication filed with the clerk afterward.13California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 17922 Skipping this leaves a public record connecting you to a business you no longer operate.
What Happens If You Skip It
The consequence that catches people is one that doesn’t feel real until it matters. You cannot maintain a lawsuit in California court on any contract or transaction made under an unregistered fictitious name.14Justia. California Business and Professions Code Chapter 5 – Fictitious Business Names If a client stiffs you on a $50,000 invoice and you never filed the FBN, you can’t sue to collect until you go back and complete the filing.
The same bar applies if you filed the statement but never completed publication. A filing without publication is legally ineffective, producing the same result as not filing at all. Beyond the courtroom, most banks won’t open a business account under a trade name without a stamped copy of the filed statement,15U.S. Small Business Administration. Open a Business Bank Account and some vendors and commercial landlords ask for one before signing a contract with you.