There are many good reasons to do business under an assumed name (aka DBA – “Doing Business As”).
Whether you operate your business as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietor, or general partnership, you must follow every state’s specific DBA requirements for your business type. Some states even require registering in multiple locations, like the county or city where you’re doing business.
In most states, a DBA name isn’t protected from use by another business—unlike your legal name. DBA registration is meant to inform the public, not protect the business owner. To protect a business name that is not your legal name, you should consider registering a trademark.
In some states, you’ll need to publish notice in a specific type of newspaper for a certain period of time and provide proof of publication before your DBA certificate is issued. Our experts are familiar with publication requirements throughout the country and can handle every detail on your behalf.
