The company itself · A term for founders abroad
What is a DBA?
doing business as. A trade name a company uses instead of its legal name, registered with the state or county; not a separate company.
Checked against the IRS's instructions and the states' own rules. Reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
Term 24 of 105 in the glossary, filed under D.Wyoming Secretary of State: business filing fees
DBA, for a founder abroad.
A company can trade under a name other than its legal one by registering a DBA, also called a trade name, fictitious name or assumed name. It gives no liability protection and creates no new company. It lets customers see the brand rather than the LLC's legal name, and lets a bank accept payments made out to the brand.
Wyoming registers trade names with the Secretary of State for $100, renewed for $50. A trade name isn't a trademark: it records that you use the name, but doesn't stop anyone else using it elsewhere.
What founders ask next.
- Do I need a DBA if my brand differs from my LLC's name?
- It helps when customers pay or contract with the brand, so the bank and payment processor can match the two. Many founders register one rather than renaming the company.
- Is a DBA the same as changing my LLC's name?
- No. The legal name stays the same; the DBA is an extra name. Changing the legal name is an amendment to the articles.
03 · See also
- The company itselfTrademarkA registered right to a name or logo for particular goods or services, granted in the US by the USPTO; separate from forming a company.Read the term
- The company itselfLLCA US company whose owners aren't personally liable for its debts, and whose profit is taxed once, to the owners, unless it elects otherwise.Read the term
- The company itselfC-CorporationA US corporation taxed on its own profit, which issues stock and is what US investors' paperwork assumes; usually formed in Delaware.Read the term
- The company itselfS-CorporationA tax election that lets a US corporation or LLC pass its profit through to its owners; not available if any owner is a non-resident alien.Read the term
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