Orange County Clerk-Recorder

Fictitious Business Name (DBA) Statement

Any of the ten industries trading under a name other than the owner's own legal name must file a Fictitious Business Name statement with the OC Clerk-Recorder, regardless of whether the business sits inside one of the 34 cities or the unincorporated area — this is the one function among the Orange County records that applies countywide with no carve-out, because it implements a state statute through the county recorder. The filing costs $23 for one business name and one registrant, plus $7 for each additional business name and $7 for each additional registrant beyond two. It must then be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in an adjudicated newspaper within 45 calendar days of filing; missing that window makes the statement expire automatically and requires refiling with the fee paid again. The statement is valid five years from the filing date. Abandoning or withdrawing a statement each costs $23. A corporation, LLC or partnership operating exactly under its own registered legal name does not need this filing.