Closing a business, converting your DBA to an LLC, or dropping a business name you no longer use? California requires one last step: filing — and publishing — a Statement of Abandonment of Use of Fictitious Business Name.
Publication Is Required for Abandonments, Too
Under California Business & Professions Code §17922, a Statement of Abandonment must be published in an adjudicated newspaper of general circulation, once a week for four consecutive weeks, in the county where the original FBN was filed. For San Diego County filings, NewFBN publishes your abandonment in Heartland News, a court-adjudicated San Diego County newspaper on the county’s approved publication list — $66 flat, all four runs and the affidavit included.
When You Need an Abandonment
- Closing the business — formally ends your public registration of the name.
- Converting to an LLC or corporation that will operate under its own legal name.
- Selling the business — the buyer files their own FBN; you abandon yours.
- Partnership changes — when the registration no longer reflects the actual owners.
How It Works
- File the Statement of Abandonment with the San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk (ARCC) — main office at 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, or any branch office.
- Upload your stamped statement to NewFBN — a phone photo works. Start your abandonment order.
- We publish for 4 consecutive weeks in Heartland News and email your Proof of Publication after the final run.
Publish Your Abandonment — $66