I'm considering starting an ecommerce website where I would accept payments using PayPal and for privacy reasons, I would like to not reveal my name and address in the transaction details.

After some research, I learned that in order to list a business name instead of my real name, I would need to get a business license. The remaining problem is that since I do not have a business location, my home address would still be displayed.

If I apply for a business license for a sole proprietorship and I use a random address for an office building, will I be required to prove that I own, rent or lease that unit? As far as I know, I can also list a different mailing address in my business license application and for this, I will use my home address.

The online business I want to start is legitimate and the products I intend to sell are pretty standard items, not controversial at all. I just wanted to mention this in case someone gets the wrong idea about why I want to avoid displaying my name and home address in the PayPal transaction details.

I just rather retain my privacy as best as I can and I'm wondering how strict the business license approval process is. Using a PO Box seems to be out of the question, so the only other possible option I can think of is using an office address that I don't actually use.