DBA

A DBA stands for “doing business as”, and can be referred to as a “trade name” or “fictitious name” for a company, partnership or sole proprietorship. It’s like a pen-name or pseudonym, but for companies or others doing business in a state. https://www.l4sb.com/blog/what-is-a-dba/

No. Think of a DBA as an “alias” for an existing company, which means that the existing company must be registered in the state (or states) you’re doing business in.

If you want to operate in another state, you must first foreign file (for LLC’s or Corporations) your existing company in the new state, and THEN create a DBA. Note that some states will permit you to do this in one step with the foreign filing.

If you don’t already have a company, then we’d strongly encourage you to form an LLC first.

If you’re confused about all of this, we recommend a 30-minute business attorney consult, to help you understand the issues and figure out next steps/priorities, before you spend money and make a potentially costly mistake.

Yes. A DBA or “Doing Business As” can also be referred to as a “trade name” or a “fictious name”, depending on which state your company is registered in. They all do the same thing: they allow you to expand your company’s products or services, while using a different name. Each state has different rules and requirements for this process.

Each state has different rules and requirements, but L4SB is here to help guide you through this process.

No. This is for one (1) DBA filing. If you have two states you’re operating in, then you must order two (2) DBA filings with this form. You will complete this process twice, and be sure to choose the relevant state for each order (since different states have different costs and requirements). This will be true of all of the states you operate in.

By “operating in” we mean “registered to do business in”. You cannot order a DBA for a state where you don’t already have a company registered. If you have questions about this or want to talk to someone, we recommend a 30-minute business attorney consult.

No. In most states, you do not need a DBA if you’re using the SAME NAME, without the entity type abbreviation.

However, you DO need to indicate to the public that you are an entity, and you need to specify the type of entity. We recommend that you continue to use “LLC”, “Inc”, etc. in contracts, in the footer information on your website, and in your About pages.

This is a rather complicated area of the law: therefore, if you feel your company runs a high risk of potential liability or lawsuits, you should consider talking with a local attorney in your jurisdiction, to ensure that you are “putting the public on notice that they are doing business with your entity type.” A plaintiff’s attorney could try to use this information as an argument to pierce the corporate veil or otherwise remove the liability protection that a corporate entity (like an LLC or a corporation) provides.