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Companies of all structures andsizes often find themselves desiring to conduct business under a name that isdifferent from the legal name that the business entity was formed with. Thevariance could be as slight as wishing to drop the entity type from the end,such as “LLC” or “Inc”, or may be a completely different name altogether. Ineither circumstance however, the required fictitious business name (FBN)paperwork still needs to be filed. It is critical to note that this processtakes 4-5 weeks from beginning to end so should be initiated well in advance ofwhen your business wants to begin using its new FBN.
When choosing a fictitiousbusiness name, the name must be “sufficiently different” from names that otherentities are already using. If your entity is an LLC, it can have the same FBNas an INC, but not as another LLC. There are online searches that your Lloyd& Mousilli team can run on your behalf to check the availability of the FBNyou’ve chosen.
After an FBN has been selected, if your business is not already registered with the county tax office, that paperwork needs to be filed. In California, FBN’s are done only on a county by county basis, so for each county requested, separate tax registrations are required. While these business registrations are done online, there is both a cost and diligence aspect as they also need to be renewed annually. From the time the registration is submitted online, it usually takes 48 hours to become effective. Depending on the needs of your company, your Lloyd & Mousilli attorney can help direct you on which counties are necessary to register within to maintain compliance.
After your business has filedits registrations with the tax office in the appropriate counties, it is timeto submit the FBN application itself. There is a fee associated with this whichvaries by county. In addition to being accepted by only by hand delivery or byregular mail.
After your business has filedthe FBN application, it is time to begin fulfilling the publishing requirement.In many California counties, FBN need to run in an approved publication for aminimum of four (4) consecutive weeks. There is a cost associated with this,which can vary greatly depending on which publication is chosen. Many publishingvendors will also file the appropriate paperwork with the county afterpublication is complete.
While it is fairly straightforward, the process is lengthy. If you need help filing the appropriate paperwork or making sure you're following the law, reach out to your contact at Lloyd & Mousilli and we will make sure that your business successfully registers its FBN in California.
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