A Fictitious Business Name is the same as a trade name. It is the name of the business when officially registered with the government.For example, you do business as a sole proprietor using the business name "Joe's Painting Company". The business name is called an Fictitious Business Name, or fictitious firm name (as in Nevada).
In other states, it goes by a fictitious business name, as in California, and assumed business name in Texas or Business Name Certificate in New York etc. It is also known as Doing Business As ( DBA ) because a business is doing business as a certain name as in the example above.The point is that it has to be registered with a DBA certificate and in some cases also be published in a legal newspaper and a proof of publication obtained.You can obtain it here online.In some cases, it can be obtained on the same day but normally it takes about 3-5 business days or if expedited can be done same day. You will have the opportunity to choose expedited service when you check out.
Businesses using a name other than the owner's name are required to register a DBA / Fictitious Business Name Certificate. Note that you can incorporate or form an LLC instead of filing a DBA. If you are an LLC or Corporation you don't need a dba.