California Fictitious Business Name 

SAN FRANCISCO Fictitious Business Name (FBN)  Instructions
 

• Note:
  • A  principal place of business address outside of San Francisco will not be accepted.

1. Purchase your Fictitious Business Name (FBN) - 5 minutes.
2. You will be directed to a webpage or receive an application form.
3. Print and Fill out FBN application  - 5-10 minutes
4. Mail it to us    - Normally, takes one day to get to our San Francisco Location.
5. When we receive your application, we inspect it; then, our courier files it with gov't.
6. Then, courier takes the certified original copy  to a legally adjudicated Newspaper and pay for its publication in the newspaper for four weeks
7. We mail you certified original, with receipt for payment of publication
8. You take the original and the publication receipt and you open a bank account with it.
9. We file a publication proof with the gov't after four weeks of publication.

Purchase your Fictitious Business Name

How will you Help me File my DBA / fictitious business name (FBN)?

	After you purchase our service you are going to receive a form to fill out.    - we send you a confirmation email.
	If you pay by phone  (877-588-7974) , we direct you both on the web page and email/fax/or mail you the form.
	We will   send to you the  DBA forms by email, (or if you don't have an email address, by fax or regular mail)  and a return envelope. You MUST sign the forms, and return the forms to us for processing and official filing. You must sign, because the government requires an original signature. Mailing  the form to us by regular mail.  Takes about one day to reach our office.
	We then take the documents to the filing office for recording and payment of the filing fees. We then take the certified copy and  publish your dba in a legally adjudicated newspaper for 4 consecutive weeks. We then  email, fax and/or mail the original filed  DBA along with a receipt of the newspaper publication.
	Subsequently, the government sends a proof of publication
	NOTE YOU ONLY NEED THE PUBLICATION RECEIPT AND THE CERTIFIED DBA COPY TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT
	The process of filing takes about a week.

 Benefits:

• It allows you to open bank accounts in the DBA  name. 
• Can file as many names as you wish.

Disadvantages 

• Other business or corporations may have the same name. 
• Other business may file the same name even after you file yours
• A DBA is simply a filing of  the business name and the real name of the business owner.

"DBA" or Fictitious Business Name (FBN).  What is it?

"DBA" means   "Doing Business As..."    A person or a company is using a business name other than their personal or corporation name. 

Example:  Tony Soprano starts a business called "Rob 'em and Cheat 'em".  Obviously, he does not want his name to be associated with the  business name , so a DBA registration is required, unless he uses "Tony Soprano" or even Tony Soprano, the Robber" as his business name because in the latter case his real name is incorporated in the business name. 

The same applies  when a Corporation, an LLC, a General Partnership, etc. wants  to do business in another name.   Example, your corporation name is "Rob 'em and Cheat 'em"  and you want to do business as "Rob 'em".  You need to obtain a DBA for that name.