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Doing Business As (DBA) Name Management Services

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If you decide to use a DBA name, your first step is registering your name. Whether you need to register one or 100 DBA names, CSC can handle the process from start to finish, saving you time and paperwork.

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If you decide to use a DBA name, your first step is registering your name. Whether you need to register one or 100 DBA names, CSC can handle the process from start to finish, saving you time and paperwork.

Rather than manually tracking individual DBA names in a spreadsheet, outsource your DBA management to CSC. CSC handles the DBA process from start to finish, organizing all documentation in our online corporate compliance and legal management portfolio. You're freed up to focus on other priorities. CSC will proactively:

  • Track DBA status and renewal due dates

  • Prepare and send subsequent DBA renewal filings, including publishing and recording requirements

  • Register new DBAs as needed

  • Automatically tie DBA filing confirmation documents to your entities in CSCNavigatorSM

If you're managing the registrations and renewals for your DBA names, it can be tedious and time-consuming to track if and when a DBA name is facing expiration. Expiration requirements vary from location to location, and renewal dates are often calculated based on when a DBA was initially filed or most recently renewed. Without technology, all of this can be hard to manage. CSC's DBA Name Calendar automatically shows you when your DBA renewals are coming due based on the compliance rules of each jurisdiction. Plus, it automatically notifies you in advance of when each DBA will expire so you can act accordingly.

When you combine our DBA Name Calendar with CSC Entity ManagementSM, you get even more hands-on management of your DBA names. View your DBAs for each of your entities, seeing status and health at a glance.

FAQs

DBA stands for “doing business as.” It's a general term for when a business registers a name other than its legal name. Sole proprietors and corporate entities alike can use DBAs, especially when they need a name for marketing and brand awareness but don't need a separate entity.

A DBA allows an organization to legally conduct business in a location using a name that's not the “true name” of the legal entity. A DBA filing connects the “doing business as” name to the owning entity, whether that's an individual sole proprietor or a corporate entity such as a limited liability company (LLC). A DBA filing, with the state or county, provides a way for companies to connect the names they use in the course of business to their legal entity.

Businesses generally choose DBA names when they want to use a name other than their full legal entity name. For example, a firm named Smith, Haddad, and Maniscalco LP may want to abbreviate its name for certain activities to SHM LP. The DBA filing connects the SHM LP name to the owning entity—in this example, Smith, Haddad, and Maniscalco LP.

Sometimes a jurisdiction will force the entity, upon registration, to use a DBA name. This can happen when another business within that jurisdiction is already using the legal name of the entity, or when the jurisdiction does not allow the use of certain words in the “true name” of the legal entity. Such DBAs are often called forced fictitious names; one example is “Corporation Service Company which will do business in California as CSC-Lawyers Incorporating Service.”

A DBA name isn't a separate entity from the business owners, like a corporation or LLC. A sole proprietor can file a DBA name so they can use a name for their business other than their personal first and last name. However, the DBA name filing is different from a corporate entity, like an LLC, because it doesn't provide the same tax flexibility and liability protection for the business owners.

DBA names go by a multitude of names, both conversationally and officially among the many state and county offices that accept filings. A DBA name is often called an assumed name, trade name, business name registration, business certificate, or fictitious name. The form that gets submitted to register the name is often called a trade name certificate or assumed name certificate.

It really all depends on where the business operates and what terms those jurisdictions use for the filings they accept.

Technology

CSCNavigator

CSCNavigator is our proprietary secure hub for our unified legal and compliance management network of solutions—powering CSC corporate compliance solutions, entity and matter management, service of process, annual reports, and business licenses.

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