Business filing services in Fullerton, California

Fullerton has an unusual mix for north Orange County — a walkable downtown full of independent restaurants and bars, a large student population around Cal State Fullerton, and a long-established base of trades and light industrial businesses. We see a lot of first-time owners here, and a lot of side businesses that grew until they needed to be on paper properly.

The most common Fullerton conversation is about timing: someone has been operating informally for a year or two and now needs an entity, an EIN and a bank account in the business name, in that order, without losing the name they have been using. We handle that sequence often enough that it is routine.

What a Fullerton business usually needs

• A City of Fullerton business license — nearly every city in Orange County requires one, including for home-based businesses
• A California entity (LLC or corporation) or a fictitious business name, depending on how you are set up
• A federal EIN — required for a business bank account, employees and most license applications
• A fictitious business name statement filed with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder, plus the four weeks of newspaper publication California requires
• A California seller's permit through the CDTFA if you sell tangible goods
• An Orange County health permit if you prepare, serve or sell food

Filing a DBA from Fullerton

Orange County fictitious business name statements are filed with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder in Santa Ana — a few blocks from our office. That is the first half of the job.

The second half is the part most people miss. California requires the statement to be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in an adjudicated newspaper of general circulation in Orange County, within 30 days of filing, with a proof of publication filed back with the county afterward. Skip it and the registration is never properly complete. We arrange the publication and file the proof as part of the same job.

Working with us from Fullerton

Fullerton is about twelve miles north of our Santa Ana office, straight down the 57 and 22 or Harbor Boulevard. Walk-ins welcome, or we can do it entirely by phone and email.