Business filing services in Long Beach, California
LLCs, corporations, DBAs, EINs and license guidance for Long Beach business owners — prepared and filed by a real office you can call or walk into. We also file in all 50 states.
Long Beach is a port city, and it shows in who walks through the door: owner-operators and small trucking outfits, freight and drayage businesses, warehousing, and the trades and restaurants that grow up around them. It is also its own licensing jurisdiction — Long Beach issues its own business licenses rather than deferring to the county.
For trucking in particular, the sequence matters. The entity comes first because the USDOT registration, the insurance and the carrier authority all attach to it, and redoing that after the fact is expensive. We form the entity and get the EIN so the rest can be built on top of it correctly.
What a Long Beach business usually needs
- A City of Long Beach business license — nearly every city in Los Angeles 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 LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, plus the four weeks of newspaper publication California requires
- A California seller's permit through the CDTFA if you sell tangible goods
- A Los Angeles County health permit if you prepare, serve or sell food
Filing a DBA from Long Beach
Los Angeles County fictitious business name statements are filed with the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, whose main office is on Imperial Highway in Norwalk — the same stretch of road as CNBB's Norwalk office.
Then comes the step 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 Los Angeles County, within 30 days of filing, with proof of publication filed back with the county. Without it the registration is incomplete. We handle the filing, the publication and the proof together.
Working with us from Long Beach
Long Beach is about twenty miles from Santa Ana and a similar distance from CNBB's Norwalk office at 12501 E. Imperial Hwy. Most Long Beach filings are done by phone and email without a visit.
What we do
What we file for Long Beach businesses
LLC Formation
Form an LLC in any state. Formation documents, EIN, operating agreement and the compliance calendar your state expects.
Learn moreDBA / Fictitious Name
Operate legally under a business name. We file it with the right office and handle the newspaper publication California requires.
Learn moreIncorporation
C-Corp, S-Corp or nonprofit, in any state. Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, stock certificates and the S-Corp election.
Learn moreQuestions
Long Beach business filing questions
Do I need a Long Beach business license?
Yes. Long Beach runs its own business licensing, and the requirements vary by activity — commercial location, home occupation, and mobile or vendor businesses are treated differently. We confirm the current requirements for your specific case before you apply.
Should my trucking company be an LLC or a corporation?
For most owner-operators and small fleets an LLC is simpler and cheaper to maintain, and it gives the liability separation that matters most in this industry. A corporation earns its extra formality when you are bringing in investors or issuing stock. Either way, form the entity before you file for authority, not after.
Where does a Long Beach DBA get filed?
With the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, followed by four consecutive weeks of publication in an adjudicated LA County newspaper and proof of publication filed back with the county. We handle both halves.
Important: California New Business Bureau is a private document preparation and business filing service. We are not a government agency and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by any Secretary of State, the IRS, or any other government body. We are not a law firm or a CPA firm, we do not provide legal or tax advice, and we do not represent you before any agency. Government filing fees are set by the agencies and are separate from our service fees. Self-filing directly with the agency is always an option and forms are available from the agencies at their published fees.
Other Los Angeles County cities we serve
Ready to get your paperwork started?
Call us or request a free consultation. We will walk you through exactly what your filing needs in your state, what it costs and how long it takes — and if you are in Southern California, you are welcome to come in.