Fashion Law 101: Applying for a DBA
co-written by Dana Shultz, Esq.
California based fashion clients often ask if they need a fictitious business name ("FBN"), which is also known as a DBA, which means “doing business as.” Luckily, Dana Shultz of the High-touch Legal Services® Blog recently posted the answer to this question:
California Business & Professions Code Section 17910(a) states that a Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed within 40 days of the time when the FBN first was used by the registrant to conduct business in the state.
The Statement is files with the County Clerk in the county where the registrant’s principal place of business is located in the state, or in Sacramento County if there is no such place (Business & Professions Code Section 17915). In addition, if the registrant wishes, FBN Statements can be filed in other counties.
After the FBN Statement is filed, it must be published in a newspaper of general circulation once per week for four successive weeks (Business & Professions Code Section 17917; Government Code Section 6064).
The process is not difficult, and there is a statutory incentive to do things right: No lawsuit may be brought based on a contract or transaction entered into under the FBN until the filing and publication procedures have been complied with (Business & Professions Code Section 17918).
One word of caution, filing your FBN aka DBA (or registering your entity with the Secretary of State) DOES NOT protect your company name. To turn your "name" into a company asset you must Trademark it.
