A Fictitious Business Name or DBA ( "Doing Business As") should be created if you do not want to use your own legal name as the title of your business or if you're a Corporation, LLC, etc and want to operate multiple businesses.
Sole Proprietors can use their full name in their business, ie. James Gunford Interior Design. If you have multiple partners or if you use first names ie., Joe's Garage, you have to file an assumed name or DBA. A DBA also lets you use a typical business name without creating a formal legal entity like a corporation or LLC.
For Corps and LLC, it allows you to open multiple businesses without having to create a legal entity for each business. For instance, you're a S-Corp and want to open multiple optometry offices. You can set up a corporation name like Eye Corp and open an office called Opto World in one city and Eye World in another.
When you figure out a name for your DBA, you should trademark that name, especially if its retail or food industry. Go to http://www.uspto.gov/teas/ to find out if the name has been taken and file an online application to get it trademarked. The fee is $250 and the process takes about 2-3 months. Concurrently, you need to file your DBA with the local county office or state government agency. In California, after you file for your DBA, you have to publish a notice in your local newspaper and submit an affidavit to show that you have fufilled the publication requirement.
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