Starting a business in California
The free official name check, the office that actually handles California filings, and the order to work through setup in — so you aren't left stitching it together from blogs written for someone else's situation.
Where California keeps its records
Find the right office before you spend anything
Half the difficulty of a California search result is that the useful page is buried under five pages of marketing. This is the office that holds the entity records — and the search is free.
California Secretary of State (bizfile Online)
Step one, and it's free
A name is clear only if it's clear in all three places
A free search in California proves the name is available in California. It says nothing about the rest of the country, and nothing about the web address. This is the first step of the roadmap — and it's the one you can finish today without paying anything.
The California registry
Confirms another business isn't already using the name in California. Free, and fast. Open the search
The federal trademark record
A name free in California can still belong to someone else nationally. Search the USPTO before you spend on signage. Search trademarks
The web address
The name is only usable if you can actually be found. Check the domain is free before you commit. Look it up
What happens next
The name is the easy part. The other fifteen are where people stall.
Every founder hits the same wall: the advice out there is written for everyone, so it never answers the question in front of you. S.A.M. walks the sixteen steps with you, in order, and answers for California — with the questions you didn't know to ask, and as many follow-ups as you want.
- Every step written down, in the order it actually happens
- Answered for your state and your kind of business
- The things to be aware of, said before you hit them
- A human mentor wrote the map and checks what's in it
The plain version
Step one free. All sixteen for $47, once.
Make an account and step one opens in full — every sub-step, the state-specific links, and things to be aware of — so you can judge the depth before you pay anything.
Start free with the first stepHow pricing works