Fictitious Business Name (FBN)

A Fictitious Business Name, or “doing business as” (DBA), is a name that you can use instead of your legal name when conducting business. For example, if your legal name is John Doe and you want to do business as “John’s Painting Company”, you would file a Fictitious Business Name statement with your local county clerk’s office. This is a very simple process and can be done online in most cases.

There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a Fictitious Business Name:

• The name cannot be the same as another business registered in your state
• The name cannot be misleading or deceptive
• The name must include your last name if you are the sole proprietor

If you are doing business under a Fictitious Business Name, you will need to renew it every few years. You will also need to publish a notice in a local newspaper announcing your new business name. This may seem like a lot of work, but it is a relatively simple process and well worth it if you want to do business under a different name than your legal one.

Now that you know what a Fictitious Business Name is, you can decide if it’s the right choice for your business. If so, follow the steps above to get started. If not, that’s okay too! There are many other ways to do business without using a Fictitious Business Name. Whatever you decide, make sure it’s the best decision for your business.