Fictitious Business Name Law
DBA, Doing Business as, Fictitious Business Name Statement,
Certificate of Assumed Business Name, Fictitious Firm Name, Doing
Business As, DBA business certificate
Fictitious Name Registration - General Information
DOING BUSINESS AS
Articles of Incorporation or Organization Number (if applicable)
Street Address & City of Principal Place of Business in California
(P.O. Box alone not acceptable) Zip Code
Full name of Registrant (if corporation - incorporated in what
state)
Residence Street Address City State Zip Code
Full name of Registrant (if corporation - incorporated in what
state)
Residence Street Address City State Zip Code
Full name of Registrant (if corporation - incorporated in what
state)
Residence Street Address City State Zip Code
Signature Corporation or Company Name
Fictitious Business Name(s)
BUSINESS FILING AND REGISTRATION
LOS ANGELES, CA
(A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows
to be false is guilty of a crime.)
Signature of Registrant(s) If Registrant IS a CORPORATION, sign
below
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF STATEMENT
Box A. Insert the name and address of the person who should receive
this original and certified copy.
Box 2. Insert exact name of business. If you are registering more
than one business located at the same address, number each name
entered.
Box 3. Insert street address of principal place of business (Post
Office Boxes are not acceptable).
Box 4. Registrants: list each owner or partner and his/her residence
address separately (Post Office Boxes are not acceptable). If the
owner is a corporation
insert the name of the corporation and the business address. Do not
list stockholders or officers of the corporation. If a business name
or a registrant’s name
includes the words Corporation, Incorporated, or Inc., Limited
Liability Company (whether using the complete words or abbreviations
LLC and Co. or either of
them) or LLC or LC, the County Clerk of Los Angeles requires either
a certified copy of the Articles of Incorporation or Organization or
an Affidavit signed under
penalty of perjury by one of the officers of the Corporations or
Organizations.
Box 5. Check one item which bests describes who is conducting
business.
Box 6. Do not leave blank.
Box 7. Signatures are required as follows ( ) individual - the
individual ( ) Partnership or other association of other persons - A
general partner ( ) Joint Venture
- All parties of the joint venture ( ) Business Trust - A trustee (
) Co Partners - All partners ( ) Husband and Wife.
Box 7A. Corporation/Limited Liability Co. - An officer must sign,
state the title, and attach a copy of the Articles of Incorporation
or Affidavit signed under
penalty of perjury by an officer.
CALIFORNIA BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 14411, 14412 - TRADE NAME REGISTRATION
The filing of any fictitious business name statement by a person
required to file such statement shall establish a rebuttable
presumption that the registrant has
the exclusive right to use the fictitious business name as a trade
name as well as any confusingly similar trade name, in the county in
which the statement is
filed, if the registrant is the first to file such a statement
containing the fictitious business name in the county. The
rebuttable presumption shall be applicable
until the statement is abandoned or otherwise expires and no new
statement has been filed by the registrant.
SECTION 17900 -
(a)- as used in this chapter, ‘fictitious business name’ means:
(1) In the case of an individual, a name that does not include the
surname of the individual or a name that suggests the existence of
additional
owners.
(2) In the case of a partnership or other association of persons,
other than a limited partnership which has filed a certificate of
limited partnership
with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 15621 of the
Corporations Code, a name that does not include the surname of each
general
partner or a name that suggests the existence of additional owners.
(3) In the case of a corporation, any name other than the corporate
name stated in its articles of incorporation.
(4) In the case of a limited partnership which has filed a
certificate of limited partnership with the Secretary of State
pursuant to Section 15621 of
the Corporations Code and in the case of a foreign limited
partnership which has filed an application for registration with the
Secretary of State
pursuant to Section 15621 of the Corporations Code, any name other
than the name of the limited partnership as on file with the
Secretary of
State.
(b) A name that suggests the existence of additional owners within
the meaning of subdivision (a) is one which includes such words as
‘Company’,
‘& Company,’ ‘Son,’ ‘& Associates,’ ‘Brothers,’ and the like, but
not words that merely describe the business being conducted.
SECTION 17910 - Every person who regularly transacts business in
this state for profit under a fictitious business name shall:
(a) File a fictitious business name statement in accordance with
this chapter not later than 40 days from the time he commences to
transact such
business; and
(b) File a new statement in accordance with this chapter on or
before the date of expiration of the statement on file.
SECTION 17910.5 -
(a) No person shall adopt any fictitious business name which
includes ‘Corporation,’ ‘Incorporated,’ or ‘Inc,’ unless such person
is a corporation
organized pursuant to the laws of this state or some other
jurisdiction.
(b) No person shall adopt any Fictitious Business Name which
includes "Limited Liability Company" (whether using the complete
words or the
abbreviations "LTD and Co." or either of them) or "LLC" or "LC"
unless such a person is a Limited Company organized pursuant to the
laws of this
state or some other jurisdiction.
SECTION 17917 -
(a) Within 30 days after a fictitious business name statement has
been filed pursuant to this chapter, the registrant shall cause a
statement in the form
prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 17913 to be published
pursuant to Government Code Section 6064 (once per week for four
successive
weeks) in a newspaper of general circulation in the County in which
the principal place of business of the registrant is located or, if
there is no such
newspaper in that county, then in a newspaper of general circulation
in an adjoining county. If the registrant does not have a place of
business in this
state, the notice shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in Sacramento County.
(b) Subject to the requirements of subdivision (a), the newspaper
selected for the publication of the statement should be one that
circulates in the
area where the business is to be conducted..
(c) If a refilling is required because the prior statement has
expired, the refilling need not be publishes unless there has been a
change in the
information required in the expired statement, provided the
refilling is filed within 40 days of the date the statement expires.
(d) An affidavit showing the publication of the statement shall be
filed with the county clerk within 30 days after the completion of
the publication.
SECTION 17920. Expiration of statement
(a) Unless the statement expires earlier under subdivision (b) or
(c), a fictitious business name statement expires five years from
the date it was filed
in the office of the county clerk.
(b) Except as provided in Section 17923, a fictitious business name
statement expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in
the statement
pursuant to Section 17913, except that a change in the residence
address of an individual, general partner or trustee does not cause
the statement to
expire.
(c) A fictitious business name statement expires when registrant
files a statement of abandonment of the fictitious business name
described in the
statement.
SECTION 17930 - Any person who executes, files, or publishes any
statement under this chapter, knowing that such statement is false,
in whole or in part,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall
be punished by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
* NOTE: It is your responsibility not to file the same name or one
confusingly similar to one already registered on the County FBN
Index or Secretary of State
Corporate Index. We suggest you search available records before
filing.
Backer will be screened 50%.
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Fictitious Name Registration
Common Questions Regarding Fictitious Names
Registration under the law is for public notice only and gives rise
to no presumption of the registrant's rights to own or use the name
registered nor does it affect trademark, service mark, or corporate
name rights previously acquired by others in the same or similar
name. Registration does not reserve a fictitious name against future
use.
Register a fictitious name.
State Corporations Law will not deny a registration for a duplicate
name. Every fictitious name application will be registered if
statutory filing requirements are met. Applicants that are licensed
under other sections of statute should insure that a proposed name
is acceptable under the provisions of their respective regulating
law prior to submission of an application .
Filing responsibility for fictitious name registration is in most
local governments' jurisdiction.
A person may engage in business under a fictitious name by
registering the name with the appropriate authorities.
If a change of ownership occurs, the owner(s) of record must file an
abandonment and re-registration within 30 days of the change.
Fictitious names are valid for 5 years
Each Fictitious Name Registration must be renewed.
Requests for a certificate of status or a certified copy of a
Fictitious Name Registration, if other than on the initial
registration, should be directed to the appropriate department.
For information regarding fictitious names on file, after payment,
you will receive a link to make an online search.
on-line registration of fictitious names
Registration of Fictitious Name
Certified Copy of Fictitious Name Registration
Certificate of Status of Fictitious Name Registration