Publication Requirements

The San Francisco Office of the County Clerk is delighted to welcome you back into City Hall and to our offices.

Beginning November 1, 2021, our office hours will be as follows:

Monday to Friday
8:00 am to 4:00 pm processing hours
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm information only

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, all mail and online orders are experiencing processing delays of 4-6 weeks. Please plan accordingly and we thank you for your patience.

 

You are REQUIRED to publish a fictitious business name statement IF:

  •  It is your first time filing;
  • You have filed in the past but have made ANY changes to the information you
    had filed in the past;
  • You have allowed the previous statement to expire more than 40 days even if
    there are no changes;
  • Filing a Statement of Abandonment; OR
  • Filing a Withdrawal of Partnership.

If you are renewing a statement that you filed 5 years ago (which has not lapsed more than 40 days) and there are absolutely NO changes to the information filed previously, there is no need to follow the publication requirements stated below.

 

To publish:   

  1. Contact any of the listed legally adjudicated newspaper companies and choose to publish with ONE of them.
  2. Inform them you just filed a Fictitious Business Name Statement and must satisfy the publication requirement.
  3. Provide them with a copy of the FBN filing.
  4. The first publication MUST be published within 30 calendar days from the filing date. Be sure to contact newspaper companies early, as they may not publish immediately. If you pass the 30-day requirement, the statement automatically expires and you will be required to file a new Fictitious Business Name Statement and pay all applicable fees. The law does NOT allow for any extensions.
  5. Publication must be once a week for four consecutive weeks.
  6. After the 4th publication, the newspaper company should send you Proof of Publication (A signed affidavit indicating dates of publication in their newspaper).
  7. Proof of Publication must be filed with the County Clerk's Office within 30 days after the 4th publication. The filing fee for proof is $9.00. Some newspaper companies provide the service of filing this for you; therefore, check with the newspaper company of your choice. In any case, filing the proof is your responsibility.

 

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl., City Hall #168 SF CA 94102-4678 - Map Directions