Name/DBA Fictitious Business Name Notice - Preparation Worksheet - California

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILING AND PUBLICATION WORKSHEET

(California Business & Professions Code §§ 17900 et seq.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Document Header
2. Definitions
3. Operative Provisions
4. Representations & Warranties
5. Covenants & Restrictions
6. Default & Remedies
7. Risk Allocation (Not Applicable)
8. Dispute Resolution
9. General Provisions
10. Execution Block

1. DOCUMENT HEADER

1.1 Title.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME NOTICE (the “Notice”).

1.2 Parties.
(a) Registrant(s): [LEGAL NAME OF REGISTRANT] (“Registrant”).
(b) Filing Office: County Clerk of [NAME OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY]. The County Clerk is not a party to this Worksheet.

1.3 Effective Date.
This Notice is effective as of [EFFECTIVE DATE] (the “Effective Date”).

1.4 Governing Law & Jurisdiction.
This Worksheet is governed by Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17900 et seq. It creates no exclusive judicial forum.

1.5 Recitals.
WHEREAS, Registrant intends to conduct, or is conducting, business in the State of California under the fictitious business name set forth herein; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17910–17917, a covered for-profit registrant must file a fictitious business name statement and publish the same;

NOW, THEREFORE, Registrant files and publishes this Notice and undertakes the obligations set forth below.

2. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this Notice, each capitalized term below has the meaning assigned.

“Applicable Law” means Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17900–17930 and all regulations and ordinances promulgated thereunder.

“Business Address” means the street address where Registrant conducts or will conduct business in California: [ADDRESS].

“DBA” means the fictitious business name: [FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME].

“Expiration Date” has the meaning given in Section 3.4.

“Filing Date” means the date the County Clerk accepts the Fictitious Business Name Statement.

“Publication Period” means publication once a week for four successive weeks in the county of filing, an adjoining county if the filing county has no qualifying newspaper, or Sacramento County when the Registrant has no California place of business.

3. OPERATIVE PROVISIONS

3.1 Filing.
(a) Registrant shall file a Fictitious Business Name Statement (“FBN Statement”) within forty (40) days after commencing business under the DBA. File in the California county of the principal place of business or, if there is no California place of business, with the Sacramento County Clerk.
(b) Registrant shall provide the following in the FBN Statement:
(i) DBA;
(ii) Business Address;
(iii) Registrant’s full legal name(s) and residence or principal place of business;
(iv) Type of entity (individual, partnership, LLC, corporation, etc.);
(v) Whether Registrant has begun transacting business under the DBA and, if so, the date business commenced;
(vi) Signature by an authorized person.

3.2 Publication.
Within forty-five (45) days after filing, Registrant shall cause the statement prescribed by Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17913 to be published once a week for four successive weeks in a qualifying newspaper under § 17917. The affidavit of publication shall be filed with the County Clerk within forty-five (45) days after publication is completed.

3.3 Abandonment or Discontinuance.
Upon ceasing to transact business under a fictitious name covered by a statement filed during the preceding five years, Registrant shall file a Statement of Abandonment with the same County Clerk and publish it in the same manner as a fictitious business name statement. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17922 does not state a forty-day abandonment deadline.

3.4 Expiration & Renewal.
The FBN Statement expires five (5) years from the Filing Date or forty (40) days after a change in facts required by § 17913, whichever occurs first (“Expiration Date”). Registrant must file a new FBN Statement before the Expiration Date to continue compliance. A five-year refiling need not be republished if the required information has not changed and the refiling occurs within forty (40) days after expiration. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17917(c), 17920.

3.5 Fees & Consideration.
Registrant shall pay all statutory filing fees, publication costs, and any ancillary charges imposed by the County Clerk or the newspaper of general circulation.

4. REPRESENTATIONS & WARRANTIES

4.1 Authority.
Registrant represents that it possesses full legal power and authority to adopt and use the DBA in California and, if an entity, that its signatory is duly authorized to execute this Notice.

4.2 Non-Infringement.
Registrant represents that the DBA does not infringe on any registered or common-law trademark, service mark, or trade name.

4.3 Accuracy.
Registrant warrants that all information provided in the FBN Statement and this Notice is true, correct, and complete as of the Effective Date.

4.4 Filing Effect.
Filing does not itself authorize use of a name that violates another person's federal, state, or common-law rights.

5. COVENANTS & RESTRICTIONS

5.1 Compliance Covenant.
Registrant shall comply with all Applicable Law related to fictitious business names, including timely renewal, publication, and notice of changes.

5.2 Notice of Change.
Registrant shall file an amended FBN Statement and republish this Notice within forty (40) days of any change to the DBA, Registrant’s legal status, or Business Address.

6. STATUTORY EFFECTS

6.1 Contract-action bar. A person transacting business contrary to this chapter may not maintain a California action on a contract or transaction made in the fictitious name until the statement has been executed, filed, and published as required. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17926.

6.2 False statements. Knowingly false material statements may constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000 under §§ 17913(c) and 17930.

6.3 No invented cure or fee right. This Worksheet creates no ten-day clerk cure period, automatic injunction, or prevailing-party attorney-fee entitlement.

7. RISK ALLOCATION

8. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

8.1 Governing Law.
See Section 1.4.

8.2 Forum Selection.
No exclusive forum is created by this Worksheet.

8.3 Arbitration.
Not applicable.

8.4 Jury Waiver.
Not applicable.

9. GENERAL PROVISIONS

9.1 Amendments.
Any amendment must be executed in writing by Registrant and filed with the County Clerk.

9.2 No ownership transfer.
This Worksheet does not transfer or adjudicate rights in the DBA.

9.3 Severability.
If any provision is held invalid, the remainder shall remain in full force.

9.4 Entire Notice.
This Notice, together with the FBN Statement and proof of publication, constitutes the entire understanding concerning the DBA.

9.5 Submission Method.
Follow the filing County's current signature, identity-verification, mail, in-person, and electronic-filing instructions.

10. EXECUTION BLOCK

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Registrant executes this Notice as of the Effective Date.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• California Legislative Information — Business and Professions Code §§ 17900–17930