How to File a DBA in Los Angeles: Steps, Fees, and Publication

To file a DBA in Los Angeles, submit a Fictitious Business Name Statement to the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk with a $26 base filing fee, then publish the statement in an approved newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks and file the newspaper’s affidavit of publication back with the county. Publication must begin within 45 days of your filing date, so the full process typically runs five to six weeks.

Do You Actually Need to File

California treats a business name as “fictitious” any time it doesn’t include the owner’s surname, or when it suggests other owners exist. A sole proprietor named Maria Lopez operating as “Lopez Consulting” doesn’t need a DBA because her surname is in the name. “Pacific Coast Consulting” would require one. So would “Lopez & Associates,” because “& Associates” and “& Company” imply additional owners.

Corporations and LLCs work differently. Any name other than the exact entity name on file with the California Secretary of State counts as fictitious. If your LLC is registered as “Greenfield Holdings LLC” and you open a store called “Greenfield Home Goods,” that second name needs a DBA.

Nonprofit corporations, organizations, and associations are exempt.

Check the Name First

Before filing, search the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s online portal to confirm no one else in the county has already registered the name.¹ A clean search doesn’t hand you exclusive rights — someone in another California county could be using the same name, and DBA registration provides no trademark protection.

What You’ll Need on the Statement

The Fictitious Business Name Statement form is available on the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s website or at any county office. You’ll list:

The fictitious business name or names. Only businesses at the same address under the same ownership can share one statement.
The principal place of business, meaning a physical street address and county. P.O. boxes aren’t accepted.²
Full legal names and business mailing addresses of all owners. Partnerships list every general partner.
The business entity type: individual, general partnership, corporation, LLC, trust, or other.
The commencement date the business started or will start operating under the fictitious name.

Any error means filing a new statement and paying again, so check every field before you submit.

Notarized Affidavit of Identity

Los Angeles County requires a notarized Affidavit of Identity with every FBN filing, whether it’s original, renewal, or a new statement after a change.² The person signing must present a California driver’s license or other government-issued ID.

If You’re a Corporation, LLC, or LP

Corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships must include a printout from the California Secretary of State showing the entity is currently in good standing. No other proof is accepted. The name and address on your FBN statement should match what’s on file with the Secretary of State.²

How to Submit and What It Costs

The base filing fee is $26 for one business name and one registrant, plus $5 for each additional name or registrant on the same statement.³ You have three ways to file.

Online

The county’s Online Business Filing and Registration System lets you submit the statement, upload identity documents, sign digitally, and pay by card. Online filing adds a $10.75 processing fee per transaction, bringing a standard single-name filing to $36.75.⁴

In Person

You can file at any county clerk office, but only by appointment. Complete the online application first to get a confirmation number, then book — appointments can be scheduled up to three weeks out.⁴ Cash, check, money order, and major credit and debit cards are accepted. Credit card payments carry a $1.75 service fee.³

By Mail

Only the Norwalk Headquarters processes mailed filings; district offices don’t. Include the completed FBN Statement and the notarized Affidavit of Identity, and pay by check or money order made out to the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.⁴

After filing, you’ll get a stamped copy or receipt. Keep it. Banks generally require it to open a business account under the fictitious name.

Publish the Statement in a Newspaper

California law requires you to publish the statement in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where your principal place of business sits. Publication has to begin within 45 days of your filing date.⁵

The notice runs once a week for four consecutive weeks, with at least five days between each publication.⁶ The county clerk’s website lists adjudicated newspapers approved for FBN publications.⁷ Prices for the full four-week run typically fall between $45 and $105, depending on the paper.

The published notice must contain the fictitious business name, business address, owner names and addresses, and business entity type.

File the Affidavit of Publication

Once the four-week run ends, the newspaper gives you an affidavit of publication. File it with the county clerk within 45 days of the final publication date.⁵ Until both the statement filing and publication are on record, your DBA registration isn’t fully effective.

What Skipping the Filing Costs You

Under California law, anyone doing business under a fictitious name without a properly filed and published statement cannot maintain a lawsuit on any contract made under that name.⁸ If a client refuses to pay a $10,000 invoice issued under your unregistered DBA, you can’t take them to court until you complete the filing and publication. The debt itself doesn’t disappear, but your ability to enforce it stays frozen until you’re in compliance.

Filing a false statement is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.

Renewals and Changes

A Fictitious Business Name Statement is valid for five years from its filing date.⁹ To keep operating under the name, renew before it expires. The renewal repeats the original process: new statement, same fees, publication again.

If anything on your statement changes — a new owner, a different business address, a modified name — your existing statement expires 40 days after the change occurs.¹⁰ File a new statement inside that 40-day window and publish it just like the original. Miss the window and you’re operating without a valid statement, which pulls the courthouse door shut on any contract disputes.

A DBA Is Not a Trademark

Filing a DBA does not give you ownership of the name. The FBN statement is a public notice: it tells the county who stands behind a business name. It does not prevent another business, in a different county or even the same one, from using an identical name. For actual legal protection over a business name or brand, register a federal trademark through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. That’s what grants exclusive rights to use a name in connection with specific goods or services nationwide and the standing to challenge confusingly similar names.

1
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Fictitious Business Name Search
2
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Filing Requirements for Fictitious Business Names
3
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Fees
4
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Who Should File a Fictitious Business Name
5
California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17917
6
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6064
7
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Publication
8
California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17918
9
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Fictitious Business Names – Renewals
10
California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17920