DBAs and Fictitious Business Names in California

“DBA” stands for “doing business as,” and California’s term for it is a fictitious business name, or FBN. It’s the cheapest filing in business law and one of the most commonly skipped. The consequences of skipping it rarely show up until you need to open a bank account, cash a check made out to the business, or collect from a customer who won’t pay.

What is a fictitious business name in California?

It’s any name you do business under that isn’t your own legal name, or your entity’s registered name. The statute’s stated purpose is “to protect those dealing with individuals or partnerships doing business under fictitious names,” by making available to the public “the identities of persons doing business under the fictitious name” (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17900(a)(1)).

What counts as fictitious depends on who you are (§ 17900(b)):

Who is doing business	The name is fictitious if	Example that needs an FBN
An individual	It doesn’t include your surname, or it suggests additional owners	Maria Lopez doing business as “Coastal Tile Works” or “Lopez & Associates”
A general partnership	It doesn’t include the surname of each general partner, or it suggests additional owners	Lopez and Chen doing business as “Lopez Tile”
A corporation	It’s anything other than the name in the articles of incorporation	Lopez Tile, Inc. doing business as “Coastal Tile Works”
An LLC	It’s anything other than the name in the articles of organization	Lopez Holdings LLC doing business as “Coastal Tile Works”
A limited partnership	It’s anything other than its name on file with the Secretary of State	Lopez Family LP doing business as “Lopez Rentals”

A name “suggests the existence of additional owners” if it includes words like “Company,” “& Company,” “& Son,” “& Sons,” “& Associates,” or “Brothers,” though not words that merely describe the business (§ 17900(c)). “Maria Lopez Tile Installation” doesn’t need a filing. “Maria Lopez & Associates” does.

Who has to file a DBA?

Every person who “regularly transacts business in this state for profit under a fictitious business name” must file a statement within 40 days of starting to use it, file a new statement after any change in the facts, and refile when it expires (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17910).

That covers sole proprietors using a brand name, partnerships, and LLCs and corporations using a trade name. An LLC doesn’t escape the filing by being an LLC. Its only non-fictitious name is the one in its articles of organization (§ 17900(b)(5)).

Can I use “LLC” or “Inc.” in my DBA?

Not unless you are one. No one may adopt a fictitious business name that includes “Corporation,” “Corp.,” “Incorporated,” or “Inc.” unless the person is a corporation, and no one may use “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” or “LC” unless the person is an LLC. The county clerk isn’t allowed to accept a statement that breaks those rules (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17910.5). You can still use “Limited” or “Company” as long as the name doesn’t imply you’re an LLC.

If you want the credibility and protection that “LLC” signals, form the LLC. My sole proprietor to LLC guide covers when that’s worth it.

How do you file a fictitious business name statement in California?

With the county, in a few steps over about two months. Here’s the sequence.

1. Search the county index. Each county clerk keeps an index of filed names, registrants, abandonments, and withdrawals (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17925). Search it, and search the Secretary of State’s business records and federal trademarks too.
2. Complete the statement. The form lists the fictitious name, the street address of your principal place of business, the registrant’s name and business mailing address, the type of business owner, and the date you started using the name, or “Not applicable” if you haven’t started (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17913). The owner types include “an individual,” “a general partnership,” “a limited liability company,” “a corporation,” “a trust,” and “a married couple.”
3. File in the right county. File with the clerk of the county where you have your principal place of business in California, or with the Sacramento County Clerk if you have no place of business here (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17915). You may also file in other counties where you operate.
4. Bring identification. The person filing presents a California driver’s license or other acceptable government ID, and the clerk may require an affidavit of identity (§ 17913(d)). If the registrant is an LLC or corporation, the clerk may require Secretary of State evidence that the entity exists and is in good standing (§ 17913(e)).
5. Sign correctly. An individual signs for themselves, either spouse signs for a married couple, a general partner signs for a partnership, a manager or officer signs for an LLC, an officer signs for a corporation, and a trustee signs for a trust (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17914).
6. Pay the fee. The statute sets a base fee of $10 for the first name and owner and $2 for each additional name or owner on the same statement (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17929(a)), but the section is expressly subject to Gov. Code § 54985, which lets a county board of supervisors raise a fee to recover its costs. County fees are higher than the base, so check your clerk’s current schedule before you file.
7. Publish. Covered in the next section.
8. File the affidavit of publication. The newspaper provides it, and you file it with the clerk.

How does the newspaper publication requirement work?

You have 45 days after filing to get the statement published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where you filed (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17917(a)). The newspaper should be one that circulates where you’ll do business (§ 17917(b)). If the registrant has no place of business in California, publication goes in a Sacramento County paper.

Publication runs “once a week for four successive weeks,” and four publications in a weekly or more frequent paper, with at least five days between them, are enough (Gov. Code § 6064). Then file the affidavit showing publication with the county clerk within 45 days after publication is complete (§ 17917(d)).

Some national guides say these deadlines vary by county. In California the statute sets both at 45 days.

A worked example

Maria Lopez, a sole proprietor in Oxnard, starts doing tile work as “Coastal Tile Works” on March 1.

Step	Deadline	Authority
File the FBN statement with the Ventura County Clerk-Recorder	By April 10 (40 days after March 1)	Bus. & Prof. Code § 17910(a)
Begin publication in a Ventura County newspaper	Within 45 days after filing	Bus. & Prof. Code § 17917(a)
Publish once a week for four successive weeks	Four runs, at least five days apart	Gov. Code § 6064
File the affidavit of publication	Within 45 days after the last run	Bus. & Prof. Code § 17917(d)
Refile before it expires	Five years after the filing date	Bus. & Prof. Code § 17920(a)

If she files on April 1, she’s covered through April 1 five years later. If she takes on a partner in year two, the change in facts starts a 40-day clock, and she needs a new statement.

What happens if you don’t file a DBA?

You can’t enforce your contracts in court until you fix it. No person doing business under a fictitious name contrary to the chapter, or that person’s assignee, “may maintain any action upon or on account of any contract made, or transaction had, in the fictitious business name” in a California court until the statement is executed, filed, and published (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17918).

That’s usually curable. You file and publish, then proceed. But it hands a customer who owes you money a delay tactic, and it tends to surface at the worst moment, like the week before a small claims hearing. The practical costs come sooner. Banks commonly ask for a filed statement before they’ll open an account in the business name, and checks made out to that name can be hard to deposit without one.

Lying on the form is a crime. A registrant who declares as true any material matter they know to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 (§ 17913(c); Bus. & Prof. Code § 17930).

How long does a California DBA last?

Five years, unless something ends it sooner. The statement expires five years from the date it was filed, 40 days after any change in the facts it sets out, or when you file a statement of abandonment (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17920). The expiration date is printed on the form (§ 17921).

• Renewing. If you refile within 40 days after the statement expires and nothing has changed, you don’t have to publish again (§ 17917(c)).
• Changing facts. A new owner, a different business structure, or a new principal address calls for a new statement (§§ 17910(b), 17920(b)).
• A partner leaves. A withdrawing general partner can file a statement of withdrawal, which is published like the original. If the partner files it, the partnership’s statement doesn’t expire because of the withdrawal (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17923).
• Stopping. When you stop doing business under a name filed in the last five years, file a statement of abandonment, publish it, and file the affidavit (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17922). The statutory base fee is $5 (§ 17929(b)). My guide to closing a California business covers the other steps.

Does a DBA protect the business name?

Partly, and only in the county where you file. Several national guides say a DBA gives you no rights to the name. In California that’s wrong.

If you’re the first to file a statement containing the name in a county and you’re doing business under the name there, your filing creates “a rebuttable presumption that the registrant has the exclusive right to use as a trade name the fictitious business name, as well as any confusingly similar trade name, in the county in which the statement is filed” (Bus. & Prof. Code § 14411). That presumption shifts the burden of producing evidence to the other side. It doesn’t reach other counties, and it doesn’t beat someone with earlier rights. The statement form itself warns that filing doesn’t authorize use of a name in violation of someone else’s rights under federal, state, or common law (§ 17913(a)).

For broader protection, look at a state or federal trademark registration, and for an entity name, the Secretary of State’s name rules when you form the LLC or corporation.

Does a DBA give me liability protection?

No. A DBA is a name, not an entity. If you’re a sole proprietor doing business as “Coastal Tile Works,” a customer who sues Coastal Tile Works is suing you, and your house and savings are on the table. The same is true for partners in a general partnership. My partnership vs. LLC guide explains that exposure.

If you want protection, form an LLC or corporation. The LLC can then use a DBA of its own, filed in the LLC’s name and signed by a manager or officer. Choosing between entities is the subject of my LLC vs. S corp guide.

Special cases

Medical practices

Physicians and podiatrists who want to practice under a name that would otherwise violate the Medical Practice Act need a fictitious-name permit from the Medical Board, or the Podiatric Medical Board, in addition to the county filing (Bus. & Prof. Code § 2415). Other licensed professions have their own naming rules. My professional corporation guide covers the entity side.

Married couples

A married couple can register together, with both names listed and either spouse signing (§§ 17913(b)(3), 17914(b)). If the couple runs the business through an LLC instead, the LLC is the registrant. See my guide to spouses owning an LLC together.

A business held in a trust

A trust can be the registrant, with each trustee listed and a trustee signing (§§ 17913(b)(3), 17914(e)). That matters for sole proprietors who hold business assets in a living trust. When a sole proprietor dies, the business name and assets don’t pass on their own, and the successor trustee may need a new statement. My guide on what happens to a business when the owner dies covers the planning.

Frequently asked questions

Do I file a DBA with the Secretary of State in California?

No. California fictitious business name statements are filed with the county clerk where your principal place of business is located, or with the Sacramento County Clerk if you have no place of business in California (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17915). You can also file in other counties where you do business.

How much does a DBA cost in California?

The statute’s base filing fee is $10 for one name and one owner (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17929(a)), but a county may raise it to cover its costs under Gov. Code § 54985, so check your county clerk’s schedule. Newspaper publication is a separate charge set by the paper. The total is usually modest compared with forming an entity.

How long do I have to file a DBA after I start doing business?

Forty days from the time you start doing business under the name (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17910(a)). You can also file before you start, and the form lets you write “Not applicable” for the start date.

Does an LLC need a DBA in California?

Only if it does business under a name other than the one in its articles of organization (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17900(b)(5)). An LLC named “Lopez Holdings LLC” that operates as “Coastal Tile Works” needs a statement, signed by a manager or officer.

Do I need a DBA if I use my own name?

Not if the name includes your surname and doesn’t suggest additional owners. “Maria Lopez Tile” doesn’t need one. “Lopez & Sons Tile” or “Coastal Tile Works” does (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17900(b)(1), (c)).

How often do I renew a California DBA?

Every five years, or sooner if the facts on the statement change (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17920). If you refile within 40 days after expiration and nothing changed, you don’t need to publish again (§ 17917(c)).

Can someone else register the same DBA in my county?

The clerk may accept it, but if you filed first and are using the name there, you have a rebuttable presumption of the exclusive right to it in that county (Bus. & Prof. Code § 14411). Enforcing that right against someone who won’t stop is a dispute, and if it reaches a lawsuit you’ll need litigation counsel, whom I can refer you to.