Applying for a Fictitious Name

There are a number of things that need to be done when opening a business location in the City of Boca Raton. Among those obligations are the things that the State of Florida requires.

When you open a new business in the State of Florida you’re expected to file an application for a Fictitious Name. This can be done at SunBiz.org, a website published by the State. Basically you fill out a form online and pay $50.  There’s also a technical obligation to advertise your business at least once in a local newspaper, but the State doesn’t require submitting proof of the ad or a tear sheet, a copy of the ad run in the paper. Your company’s name will then be registered with the State’s Division of Corporations, a requirement for registering the business at City Hall.

We’ve had our online marketing company, Massive Impressions, registered with the State since 2006, when we first moved to Boca Raton. We didn’t realize that we had obligations above and beyond the State at that time, and that oversight had expensive implications later on.

You’ll find out, in an upcoming post, exactly what those implications were and how expensive they ended up being.