Do You Have To Register A Professionally Known As

DBA stands for "doing business as," referring to the name you desire the public to call your company.
The filing fee for a DBA ranges from $5 to $100 depending on the state.
To file for a DBA, you must fill out an application through a local, state or canton agency. In some cases, you also have to announce your new company's proper name in a local newspaper.
This commodity is for sole proprietors who are legally required to use their personal proper name as their business name. A DBA gives them the option to file under a name of their choosing.

Once yous've decided yous desire to start a business organisation and have chosen a concern structure, it's time to effigy out how you want to present your business concern to the public. Choosing a "doing business organisation as" proper name, or DBA, is non only ane of the offset steps to found your business, but too a good branding move. Some people choose to use their own name for their business, but if you want to give yours a unique proper noun – without registering as a corporation – you'll need to register your alternative business name with the correct people, which y'all can do in two or iii steps (depending on the country you lot file in). This can toll anywhere from $v to $100 and takes one to iv weeks to file.

What is DBA?

DBA stands for "doing business concern as." Your DBA is the name your business is referred to both legally and by consumers. A DBA has a few aliases itself: It is too known as a fictitious business concern name, assumed name or trade name. A DBA is ideal for sole proprietors who prefer non to use their ain names as their company proper noun and small business owners who want to option their own business concern proper noun without becoming a corporation.

Having a DBA "ways that the person or business concern entity intends to use that name to identify itself to the public," said Kimberly Hanlon, attorney at Lucēre Legal LLC. "The legal name remains the person's name (if an unregistered sole proprietorship) or the business organization entity (if a corporation or a limited liability company), only the name that the public knows the business organization as is the DBA name."

Key takeaway: DBA stands for "doing business as," the name your concern is referred to every bit past the public. This is a great choice for a sole proprietor who doesn't want their business under their personal proper name.

How practice you file a DBA?

Yous need to fill out specific paperwork and pay a filing fee when you file a DBA. You can do all of this with a local or canton agency, but some states require you lot to file with a state agency instead of or in addition to the county. Some states and counties might also require you to publish it in a local paper, giving the public notice that you have filed a DBA.

For example, in New York, sole proprietorships and general partnerships must file a business certificate listing their assumed names with the county clerk'southward offices. Corporations, LLCs, LLPs and limited partnerships, on the other mitt, must file assumed names with the New York Section of State. In contrast, the land of Kansas has no requirements for businesses to register fictitious names.

What happens after you file a DBA?

Once you've chosen your business organisation's fictitious name and registered it locally, you might desire to consider filing for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Role to protect your intellectual property. Trademarks protect words, names, symbols, sounds or colors that distinguish your appurtenances and services.

If the paperwork and filing process seems overwhelming, you lot can contact a business lawyer to complete all the necessary filings to secure your DBA name. Reputable business lawyers are listed by the American Bar Association.

Who needs to register a DBA?

The Small Business organisation Administration is a bang-up resources for those who aren't sure if they need to register a DBA, merely if yous plan on using a business name that differs from your given name or your business organization partner's name, you'll need to register one. Other reasons could be if your bank requires it to open a business business relationship, if a prospective client requires a DBA to award your company a job, if your company is entering a new business expanse not reflected in your current name, or if your company operates more one business organisation or website.

It's important to note, though, that a registered DBA doesn't institute a business in itself.

"It doesn't gear up up a business organization entity, similar a limited liability company or a corporation," Hanlon said. "It simply identifies a proper noun and notifies the public who is behind that name. A person or business entity could conceivably have many DBAs, each with a different production or service market place."

While a person tin register as many DBAs as they're willing to pay for, 2 LLCs cannot take the same DBA.

"A DBA, like any other business concern name that is registered, can only be registered one time and only has one owner," Hanlon said. "That said, in that location could exist multiple LLCs who are all owners of the company that registered for the DBA. For example, North LLC and West LLC are each owners of Northwest LLC, and Northwest LLC has a DBA of Compass Point Consulting."

Writing a DBA is simple; you would just write it out as the dissimilar proper name you've chosen to do business equally.

"A sole proprietor would non have concern cards saying, 'Jim Smith DBA Jim's Gutter Repair,'" said Anthony Babbitt of Babbitt Consulting. "Instead, the business cards would read, 'Jim's Gutter Repair.' DBAs are typically just spelled out on legal documents, such equally lawsuits, banking concern statements and contracts."

If your business is an LLC, no DBA is necessary. "If the express liability company was named Jim'southward Gutter Repair LLC, then this would be the correct way to list the name on concern cards," Babbitt said. "Each state has its own laws designating how sole proprietors, limited liability companies and corporations must note the legal entity from which they operate. If an owner created an LLC and wanted to drib the 'express liability visitor' function of the name, then he would need to annals a DBA. The same holds true for a corporation or partnership."

Tip Tip: Legally, sole proprietors must use their personal name equally their business name. Registering for a DBA allows them to name their business something of their choosing. Sometimes banks or clients will require you to have a DBA.

How much does registering a DBA cost?

"The fee will vary past land, merely it is typically between $5 and $fifty (just closer to $20 on average)," Babbitt said, although it tin can exist upwards to $100 in some states. "While the toll to annals is insignificant, the penalties and fees for declining to annals can be several thousand dollars. This is a function of consumer protection. The country wants to know who to contact when a consumer complains. While this is usually handled when obtaining a business license, some states practise non crave business licenses. Almost every state requires DBAs to be registered."

While there's no numerical limit to how many a person can register, it can get expensive if y'all register multiple names.

Alabama, Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Rhode Island are the simply states that don't require anybody operating under a DBA to annals, but it's best to check with your country about the local requirements.

Did you know? The filing fees for DBA registration vary by state, running from $5 to $100. Depending on how much you are willing to spend, yous can register for every bit many equally you desire.

What are the advantages of having a DBA?

A DBA can accomplish several things for a concern owner.

"If a business organization wishes to rebrand itself without forming a new corporation or limited liability company, they tin can simply register a DBA instead," Babbitt said. "If the business organization receives bad publicity, they may register a DBA to mislead the public into thinking the business is unlike."

There are also some less obvious reasons to register more than 1 DBA. For example, there's a scene inParks and Recreation where Tom and Ben are looking for a tent for an upshot. The deal falls through with one tent company, so they call another 1, only to find that it'southward owned by the aforementioned person. In fact, that same person owns all the tent rental companies in a certain mile radius. Babbitt says that this actually happens.

"Some businesses will create multiple DBAs to create the illusion of competition," he said. "For case, iv taxis could all have carve up DBAs even though they are all owned by the same person."

A DBA also comes in handy for entrepreneurs who want to brand a distinction amongst their numerous businesses.

Finally, if you are a sole proprietor, information technology gives you the chance to build a brand nether a proper name of your choosing instead of using your personal name. This helps you market better to your audiences and gets your make out there in a fashion that is beneficial to your business organization.

Michael Keller and Jennifer Post contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.