FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
PREPARE AND FILE A DBA OR FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
Required by Many States if You Want to Do Business Under a Different Name From Your Legal Business Name
WHAT IS A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME?
A “Fictitious Business Name” (FBN) is a name you choose to do business under that can be different from the official legal name of your LLC or corporation. Fictitious business names normally need to be filed with the Secretary of State or other entity that governs business formation in your state. If your business operates in multiple states, you’ll likely need to file a fictitious name in any state where you have a presence.
We can take care of the details.
INCORPORATING IN MULTIPLE STATES
You are incorporating in multiple states under the same name, but you want your business name to reflect specific locations. For example: “Arizona Natural Resource Survey Reports LLC,” “North Dakota Natural Resource Survey Reports LLC,” etc.
WHY BUSINESSES MAY CHOOSE TO USE A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
Some entrepreneurs will simply choose to do business using the name they were formed under, but other business owners might want to use different names. Here are some examples of when you might use another name…
CHANGE OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
The products and services you provide have changed. For example: You own a business called “Johnson’s Auto Parts LLC” but have recently diversified into car repairs, so you may use an assumed business name like “Johnson’s Complete Car Repair Services.”
PRIVACY PURPOSES
Your legal business name is similar to your own name, but you want to do business under a different name for privacy purposes.
OTHER TERMS FOR A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
A fictitious business name may be described in different ways by different states. For example, Maryland uses the term “Trade Name” and Illinois calls them “Assumed Names,” while other states may call them “Doing Business As” names. Regardless of the specific term, they all do similar things: allow your business to operate under a different name than the one it was formed with.
HAVE THE BUSINESS HATCHERY REGISTER AND FILE ON YOUR BEHALF
Alternatively, here at The Business Hatchery we can take care of registering a business trade name for you. Just order our “Fictitious Business Name” service, and we’ll collect all the information we need. We deal with all the forms, filing, registration and fees on your behalf. It’s fast, simple and hassle-free.
USE ANYTIME
You can take advantage of our service when you first incorporate your business, or at any time after that.
FICTITIOUS NAME SEARCH
You can easily complete a fictitious business name search to see if specific names are taken on your state authority’s website.