Want to contribute to the fifth-largest economy in the world? Consider starting a business in the Golden State. But to hang your shingle in California, you’ll have to register your business name first.
Read on to learn how to register a business in California.
Registering a business name reserves it in a state or local database for use by your business. It’s a good idea to register a business in California for a few reasons:
In California, business name registration requirements depend on your business entity type.
Partnerships, LLCs and corporations must register their businesses at the state level. And if the business owner wants to operate under a name other than his or her own? He must also file an extra fictitious business name statement at the county level. This is a “doing business as” (DBA) statement.
Sole proprietors in California don’t have to register at the state level. But they must file a fictitious business name statement at the county level.
Use the guidelines below for how to register a business in California.
To register the name of a partnership, LLC or corporation:
To register the name of a sole proprietorship:
Business name registration is one step of many in the business registration process. Other key steps for how to register a business in California include:
In California, the cost of registering a business name depends on the form you file and where you file it. And filing fees are always subject to change.
You can reserve a business name for $10 with the SOS, for example. But it costs $70 to file articles of organization for an LLC. That fee goes up to $100 for a general stock corporation filing articles of incorporation.
The cost of filing a fictitious business name statement varies by county. For example, it now costs $53 to file the statement in San Francisco County. It only costs $26 in Los Angeles County.