§ 17910 Fictitious Business Name Filing

• •If you run a business in California under a name that isn't your real name (like 'Joe's Pizza' instead of 'John Smith'), you have to tell the government about it.
• •You must do this within 40 days of starting your business.
• •If anything changes (like your address or who owns the business), you have to update the government.
• •You have to renew this information every few years.

You open a lemonade stand called 'Sunny's Lemonade' but your real name is Lisa.

You have to tell the government within 40 days that you're using 'Sunny's Lemonade' as your business name. If you move your stand to a new street, you have to update that info too.