Doing Business As (DBA) Name Registration

Filing a Doing Business As name (DBA) allows you to operate and receive payments under a name that is different from your legal business name, helping you create an identity for your business that presents it in a professional light to customers and vendors.

File your DBA Name
$99+ state fees

Why should you get a “doing business as” name for your business?

Accept payment as your business

In many states, you are required to file a DBA to open a bank account and accept checks and payments under your business name.

Separate your lines of business

For established LLCs and Corporations, filing a DBA allows you to operate under additional business names that more accurately represent a subset of your business.

Gain credibility

Operating under your business name provides added legitimacy for your customers and suppliers and separates your brand from your competitors.

We complete all of the documents

Our filing experts can quickly and accurately file a DBA for sole proprietors, LLCs, Corporations and partnerships. We handle all of the paperwork on your behalf.

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Doing Business As (DBA) Name FAQs

  • What is a Doing Business As name?
    DBA stands for “Doing Business As” and is an official registration of your business name. In some states, this can be referred to as a “fictitious business name” or “assumed” name. A DBA name is different from your personal name. If your business conducts any business – such as transactions, marketing, advertising, or printing out business cards – under a name that isn’t your own name, you will need to file and register a DBA in the state or county you’re doing business in. A good example is if Jane Smith wanted to start “Jane’s Tax Services,” she would need to file for a DBA. Once you have conducted a name search and filed for a DBA, you’ll be able to claim the name for yourself. This helps to reduce any potential chances of fraud.
  • What are the benefits of filing as a DBA?
    The benefits vary depending on who is filing. A sole proprietor can operate under a name other than their legal name which can have many benefits, including added credibility and professionalism, as well as level of separation or anonymity. Filing a DBA also means a sole proprietor can open up a separate bank account under the business name (requirements vary), allowing your customers can make payments to the business itself, instead of to you personally. For an established business, a DBA can allow you to conduct business under any number of alternate names in addition to the one filed with the original formation. That means as a business expands into other markets or takes on new business ventures, the business owner can add additional names or lines of business with ease.
  • What are the requirements of filing a DBA?
    A DBA can be almost any name under which you are doing business. You cannot, however, make your DBA a corporate name such as XYZ, Inc. if you do not have a corporate name that is XYZ, Inc. In other words, when filing a DBA do not add “Inc.” or “Corp.” to your name to create the impression that your business is a corporation when, in fact, it is not.
  • What is an example of a DBA and how it works?
    As an example to demonstrate the usefulness of a DBA, let’s imagine that Jane Brown was a pastry chef who wanted to open her own shop called “Donuts Unlimited.” She wants to eventually open a bank account and accept payments on behalf of Donuts Unlimited, so she files a DBA : “Jane Brown, doing business as Donuts Unlimited.” By filing her DBA, she is able to set up a bank account for her business, and cash checks written to Donuts Unlimited.