How To Register A Dba In South Carolina

DBA stands for "doing business as," referring to the proper noun you want the public to call your company.
The filing fee for a DBA ranges from $five to $100 depending on the state.
To file for a DBA, you must fill out an application through a local, state or county agency. In some cases, y'all also accept to announce your new visitor'south name in a local newspaper.
This article is for sole proprietors who are legally required to utilise their personal proper noun as their business organization name. A DBA gives them the option to file nether a name of their choosing.

Once you've decided yous want to get-go a business and have chosen a concern structure, information technology's time to figure out how you want to present your business to the public. Choosing a "doing business organisation as" name, or DBA, is not only one of the first steps to establish your business, but as well a good branding motility. Some people cull to use their own name for their business, just if y'all want to requite yours a unique name – without registering as a corporation – you'll need to register your alternative business organisation name with the right people, which you can practise in two or three steps (depending on the land you file in). This tin cost anywhere from $5 to $100 and takes one to four weeks to file.

What is DBA?

DBA stands for "doing business as." Your DBA is the name your concern is referred to both legally and by consumers. A DBA has a few aliases itself: It is besides known every bit a fictitious business proper name, assumed proper noun or merchandise proper name. A DBA is platonic for sole proprietors who prefer not to use their own names as their company name and small business organization owners who want to pick their own concern name without becoming a corporation.

Having a DBA "means that the person or business entity intends to use that name to place itself to the public," said Kimberly Hanlon, attorney at Lucēre Legal LLC. "The legal proper name remains the person'southward proper name (if an unregistered sole proprietorship) or the business entity (if a corporation or a limited liability company), only the proper name that the public knows the concern as is the DBA name."

Key takeaway Fundamental takeaway: DBA stands for "doing business as," the name your business organisation is referred to equally by the public. This is a great pick for a sole proprietor who doesn't want their business organization under their personal proper noun.

How do y'all file a DBA?

Y'all need to fill up out specific paperwork and pay a filing fee when you file a DBA. You can practise all of this with a local or county agency, but some states crave you to file with a state agency instead of or in addition to the county. Some states and counties might besides require you to publish information technology in a local paper, giving the public find that yous take filed a DBA.

For example, in New York, sole proprietorships and general partnerships must file a business certificate listing their assumed names with the canton clerk's offices. Corporations, LLCs, LLPs and limited partnerships, on the other manus, must file causeless names with the New York Department of State. In contrast, the state of Kansas has no requirements for businesses to register fictitious names.

What happens afterwards you lot file a DBA?

Once y'all've called your business'southward fictitious name and registered it locally, y'all might want to consider filing for a trademark with the U.Due south. Patent and Trademark Role to protect your intellectual property. Trademarks protect words, names, symbols, sounds or colors that distinguish your appurtenances and services.

If the paperwork and filing process seems overwhelming, you tin contact a business organisation lawyer to consummate all the necessary filings to secure your DBA proper name. Reputable business concern lawyers are listed past the American Bar Association.

Who needs to register a DBA?

The Small Business organization Administration is a great resource for those who aren't certain if they need to register a DBA, simply if yous programme on using a business name that differs from your given proper noun or your business organisation partner's name, you'll need to register i. Other reasons could be if your bank requires it to open up a business organization account, if a prospective customer requires a DBA to award your visitor a task, if your visitor is entering a new business organisation area not reflected in your current name, or if your company operates more than one business or website.

Information technology's important to note, though, that a registered DBA doesn't institute a business in itself.

"It doesn't prepare upward a business entity, similar a express liability company or a corporation," Hanlon said. "It simply identifies a name and notifies the public who is behind that name. A person or concern entity could conceivably have many DBAs, each with a unlike product or service market place."

While a person tin register equally many DBAs as they're willing to pay for, two LLCs cannot take the aforementioned DBA.

"A DBA, like any other business name that is registered, can only be registered one time and only has one possessor," Hanlon said. "That said, there could be multiple LLCs who are all owners of the visitor that registered for the DBA. For instance, N LLC and Due west LLC are each owners of Northwest LLC, and Northwest LLC has a DBA of Compass Point Consulting."

Writing a DBA is elementary; yous would but write it out as the dissimilar name you lot've called to do business as.

"A sole proprietor would not take business cards saying, 'Jim Smith DBA Jim'southward Gutter Repair,'" said Anthony Babbitt of Babbitt Consulting. "Instead, the business cards would read, 'Jim's Gutter Repair.' DBAs are typically only spelled out on legal documents, such as lawsuits, bank statements and contracts."

If your business is an LLC, no DBA is necessary. "If the express liability company was named Jim's Gutter Repair LLC, then this would be the right style to listing the name on business cards," Babbitt said. "Each state has its own laws designating how sole proprietors, express liability companies and corporations must note the legal entity from which they operate. If an owner created an LLC and wanted to drop the 'limited liability company' part of the proper name, then he would need to register a DBA. The same holds true for a corporation or partnership."

Tip Tip: Legally, sole proprietors must use their personal name as their business organisation name. Registering for a DBA allows them to proper name their business something of their choosing. Sometimes banks or clients will crave you to accept a DBA.

How much does registering a DBA cost?

"The fee will vary by state, but it is typically between $5 and $50 (just closer to $twenty on average)," Babbitt said, although it can be upwardly to $100 in some states. "While the toll to register is insignificant, the penalties and fees for failing to register tin be several thousand dollars. This is a role of consumer protection. The country wants to know who to contact when a consumer complains. While this is usually handled when obtaining a business license, some states do not require business licenses. About every land requires DBAs to be registered."

While there'south no numerical limit to how many a person can annals, information technology can go expensive if you register multiple names.

Alabama, Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Rhode Island are the but states that don't require anybody operating under a DBA to register, but information technology'due south all-time to check with your country most the local requirements.

Did you know? The filing fees for DBA registration vary past state, running from $v to $100. Depending on how much you are willing to spend, you lot can annals for as many as you want.

What are the advantages of having a DBA?

A DBA tin accomplish several things for a concern owner.

"If a business wishes to rebrand itself without forming a new corporation or limited liability company, they tin can only register a DBA instead," Babbitt said. "If the business receives bad publicity, they may register a DBA to mislead the public into thinking the business is different."

There are also some less obvious reasons to annals more than than ane DBA. For example, in that location's a scene inParks and Recreation where Tom and Ben are looking for a tent for an event. The bargain falls through with one tent visitor, then they call another i, only to find that it's owned by the same person. In fact, that same person owns all the tent rental companies in a certain mile radius. Babbitt says that this actually happens.

"Some businesses will create multiple DBAs to create the illusion of contest," he said. "For instance, four taxis could all accept separate DBAs fifty-fifty though they are all endemic by the same person."

A DBA also comes in handy for entrepreneurs who want to brand a distinction among their numerous businesses.

Finally, if you are a sole proprietor, it gives you the risk to build a brand nether a name of your choosing instead of using your personal name. This helps yous market amend to your audiences and gets your brand out in that location in a mode that is beneficial to your business.

Michael Keller and Jennifer Post contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.