Before you can register a fictitious name on Sunbiz, Florida makes you run a notice in a local paper. Once. In Pinellas County that paper is the Tampa Bay Times. Plan on one to two weeks, and keep the affidavit the paper sends back.
This applies if the business's principal place of business is anywhere in Pinellas County: St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, Dunedin, or unincorporated.
The papers
Tampa Bay Times. Daily, from about $57 depending on the length of the notice.
La Gaceta and Business Observer also qualify. Three papers, three forms, three price lists, and the notice has to match your Sunbiz filing character for character whichever one you choose.
The timeline
- Submit the notice to the Tampa Bay Times online.
- The notice prints once.
- The paper sends the affidavit of publication. Keep it.
- Register your DBA on Sunbiz, pay the state $50, and certify that you advertised.
What it costs
~$57 to the paper. $50 to the state. Nothing else.
Or have it handled
$75 flat, newspaper fee included. I draft the notice, place it, and email you the affidavit. Sunbiz's $50 is yours to pay the state.
The full walkthrough, including the $275 letters that show up afterwards, is in the Florida DBA publication guide.