DBA for an LLC: Using a Business Name Other Than Your LLC Name
Your LLC's legal name and your brand name do not have to match. The bridge between them is a DBA registration: cheap, simple, and widely misunderstood. Here is what a DBA actually does, when an LLC needs one, and how the filing works in the states we cover.
What a DBA is, and is not
DBA stands for "doing business as." It is a registration that says: this existing business also operates under this other name. States call the same filing an assumed name, a fictitious name, or a trade name, depending on the state. What it creates is a public record linking the brand name to the legal entity behind it, so customers, banks, and courts can trace who is actually responsible.
What it does not create is just as important. A DBA is not a business entity. It has no liability shield of its own, no separate taxes, no separate EIN, and no existence apart from the LLC that registered it. "Acme Ventures LLC doing business as Acme Coffee" is one company with two names, and every obligation under either name is the LLC's. Owners who believe a DBA protects them personally, or protects the name the way a trademark does, are relying on a filing that does neither.
When an LLC needs one
- Your brand differs from your legal name. The common case. You formed Summit Holdings LLC and the storefront says Summit Bakery. The bakery name needs a DBA.
- You run a second brand or product line. One LLC can hold several DBAs, one per brand, instead of forming an LLC per idea.
- Your legal name is awkward publicly. A name built for investors, a partner's surname after they left, or a name with "LLC" styling you do not want on signage. The DBA is the public face; the legal name stays on the filings.
- A bank, marketplace, or payment processor asks. If checks or payouts will be made out to the brand name, the bank will want the DBA registration to accept them into the LLC's account.
And when you do not need one: doing business under the exact legal name minus the designator is generally fine. "Summit Bakery LLC" operating as "Summit Bakery" is the same name in the eyes of most state rules. The DBA question starts when the name genuinely changes.
DBA vs. a second LLC vs. a trademark
| Tool | What it does | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|
| DBA registration | Lets the existing LLC operate under another name. No new entity, no new shield. | The second name is a brand of the same business, with the same owners and the same risk profile. |
| A second LLC | A separate entity with its own shield, EIN, bank account, and state obligations. | The second line is genuinely a different business, especially one with different risk, different owners, or property to protect. |
| A trademark | Protects the name itself against competitors, state or federal depending on the registration. | The name is an asset worth defending. A DBA registers a name; it does not grant exclusive rights to it. |
How filing works in the states we cover
Where and how you file a DBA varies more than almost any filing in this guide: most of our fifty states take it at the Secretary of State, a few take it at the county or town clerk or the parish, four of them (Alabama, Kansas, New Mexico, and South Carolina) have no state DBA registration at all, and New Jersey splits the system (state level for entities, county level for individuals). From the official sources:
| State | Where | Filing | Fee | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Nowhere. Alabama has no DBA or assumed-name registration | None. The closest state product is a trademark-style trade name registration | $30 for that registration | 5 years for the registration. Rights in a name come from use, not registration |
| Alaska | Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (state level) | Business Name Registration (AS 10.35) | $25 | 5 years; renewal is $25 |
| Arizona | Secretary of State | Trade name registration | $10 | 5 years; renewal is another $10 |
| Arkansas | Secretary of State, plus a copy with the county clerk of the registered office county (except Pulaski County) | Fictitious name (Form DN-18) | $22.50 online, $25 by paper | No term or renewal appears in the Secretary of State materials |
| California | The county clerk, in the county of the principal place of business. There is no state filing | Fictitious Business Name Statement | Set by each county | 5 years from filing; California also requires publishing the statement in a newspaper |
| Colorado | Secretary of State | Statement of Trade Name | $20 | For an LLC, as long as the entity stays in good standing or noncompliant status; there is no yearly renewal for entities |
| Connecticut | Town clerk, in the town where the business is principally transacted | Trade name certificate (sections 35-1a to 35-1e) | $20 | 5 years. Certificates filed before 2025 expire December 31, 2029 |
| Delaware | Division of Revenue, via Delaware One Stop (statewide since February 2, 2026) | Trade name certificate (Title 6, Chapter 31) | $25 | Does not expire and requires no renewal; updates and cancellations are free |
| Florida | Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), under the Fictitious Name Act | Fictitious Name Registration | $50 | 5 years, expiring December 31 of the final year |
| Georgia | County Clerk of Superior Court, in the county where the business is located | Trade name registration, with two weeks of publication in the county legal organ | Set by each county | The statute sets no renewal |
| Hawaii | Business Registration Division, DCCA (state level) | Trade name registration (Form T-1) | $50, plus the $1 State Archives fee | 5 years; renewal is $50 |
| Idaho | Secretary of State | Certificate of Assumed Business Name | $25 | Does not expire; there is no renewal |
| Illinois | Secretary of State | Application to Adopt Assumed Name, Form LLC 1.20 | $30 to $150, prorated within the cycle | Runs in a five-year cycle; renewal is $150 |
| Indiana | Secretary of State (LLCs file at state level; individuals and general partnerships file at the county) | Certification of Assumed Business Name, State Form 30353 | $30 per name | Indiana's form states no expiration or renewal term |
| Iowa | Secretary of State | Fictitious name filing (the LLC's DBA, adopted by resolution) | $5 | The county trade name system in chapter 547 expressly does not apply to LLCs; no term is stated for the state filing in the materials we checked |
| Kansas | Nowhere. Kansas does not register DBA, fictitious, assumed, or trade names with the Secretary of State | None | None | No filing exists to renew |
| Kentucky | Secretary of State, plus a stamped copy with the county clerk of the registered agent's county | Certificate of Assumed Name | $20 to the Secretary of State; the county fee is set by statutory cross-reference | 5 years |
| Louisiana | Clerk of Court, in the parish where the business is located | Assumed business name certificate (section 51:281) | No fee is stated in the statute; any charge is set by the parish | No duration is stated in the statute |
| Maine | Secretary of State | Assumed name statement (Form ASUM-5) | $125 | No term is stated in the statute; the statement is filed before the name is used |
| Maryland | Department of Assessments and Taxation (state level) | Trade Name Application | $25 | 5 years; renewal is $25 |
| Massachusetts | City or town clerk, in every city or town where an office is situated | Business Certificate | Set by each city and town | 4 years |
| Michigan | Corporations Division (state level) | Certificate of Assumed Name (section 450.4206) | $25 | Expires December 31 of the fifth full calendar year after filing; renewable for further five-year periods. The county clerk filing under Act 101 of 1907 does not govern LLCs |
| Minnesota | Secretary of State | Certificate of Assumed Name | $50 online or in person, $30 by mail | Only while a $0 annual renewal is filed each year; also requires publication in a legal newspaper for two successive issues, at the paper's price |
| Mississippi | Secretary of State | Fictitious Business Name Registration (voluntary) | $25 | 5 years, renewable; it grants no exclusive rights to the name |
| Missouri | Secretary of State | Registration of Fictitious Name, Form Corp. 56 | $7 | 5 years |
| Montana | Secretary of State | Assumed business name registration | $20 | 5 years; renewal is $20 |
| Nebraska | Secretary of State | Trade name registration | $100 online, $110 in office | 10 years; renewal is the same price. A one-time publication is required, with proof filed within 45 days |
| Nevada | County clerk, in each county where the business operates | Fictitious firm name certificate | Set by each county (Clark County charges $25) | 5 years in counties that have adopted the standard state ordinance |
| New Hampshire | Secretary of State | Trade name registration (RSA 349) | $50 | 5 years |
| New Jersey | Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, Department of the Treasury (state level, for entities) | Alternate Name registration, Form C-150G | $50 | 5 years; renewal is $50. County trade name certificates cover sole proprietors and partnerships instead |
| New Mexico | Nowhere. New Mexico has no state DBA registration for an LLC | None. A different name is adopted inside the Articles of Organization themselves (section 53-19-3) | None | No filing exists to renew |
| New York | Department of State, Division of Corporations (for LLCs) | Certificate of Assumed Name | $25 | The Department publishes no expiration or renewal term |
| North Carolina | County Register of Deeds, indexed in the statewide database | Assumed Business Name certificate | $26 | Certificates filed since 2017 do not expire |
| North Dakota | Secretary of State | Trade name registration | $25 | 5 years |
| Ohio | Secretary of State | Trade name or fictitious name registration, Form 534A | $39 | 5 years; renewal is $25 |
| Oklahoma | Secretary of State | Trade Name Report (section 1140) | $25 | No term or renewal appears in the state materials |
| Oregon | Secretary of State, filed by county (an all-counties option exists under the single fee) | Assumed Business Name registration | $50 | 2 years; renewal is $50 |
| Pennsylvania | Department of State | Registration of Fictitious Name | $70 | No renewal required |
| Rhode Island | Secretary of State (for LLCs, under section 7-16-9(b)) | Fictitious business name statement | $50 | No fixed term; it runs until a statement of abandonment is filed or the company ends, and there is no renewal |
| South Carolina | Nowhere. The Secretary of State's office does not register DBA or trade names, per its own FAQ | None | None | No filing exists to renew |
| South Dakota | Secretary of State | DBA registration | $10 | 5 years; renewal is $10 |
| Tennessee | Secretary of State | Registration of Assumed Name, Form SS-4402 | $20 | 5 years; renewal is $20 |
| Texas | Secretary of State (since 2019, LLCs file at state level only) | Assumed Name Certificate, Form 503 | $25 | Up to 10 years, set on the certificate |
| Utah | Division of Corporations and Commercial Code (state level) | DBA registration | $22 | 3 years; renewal is $18 |
| Vermont | Secretary of State | Assumed business name registration | $70 | 5 years; reregistration is $65 |
| Virginia | State Corporation Commission (state level, the central filing office since January 1, 2020) | Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name | $10 | No expiration or renewal requirement appears in the Commission's materials; a $10 certificate of release ends the name |
| Washington | Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service | Trade name registration | $5 per name | Registered indefinitely, until you cancel it; the business license underneath it renews yearly |
| West Virginia | Secretary of State | Trade name registration (Form NR-3) | $25 | No term is stated in the Secretary of State materials |
| Wisconsin | No DBA filing exists. An optional tradename registration runs through the Department of Financial Institutions' trademark program | Tradename registration under chapter 132 (optional) | $15 | 10 years |
| Wyoming | Secretary of State | Trade name registration (Title 40, Chapter 2; voluntary) | $100 | 10 years; renewal is $50 |
Banking, contracts, and payments under a DBA
Two habits keep a DBA from becoming a paperwork problem. First, sign as the LLC. Contracts, leases, and invoices should read "Summit Holdings LLC dba Summit Bakery," with the signer signing for the LLC. A contract signed in only the DBA name invites an argument about who is bound, and the argument resolves to the LLC anyway, just more slowly and at legal rates. Second, tell the bank. Bring the DBA registration when you open or update the business account so deposits made out to the brand name clear without a fight, and give the registration to marketplaces and payment processors when their name-matching asks for it. Renewals are the quiet risk: a lapsed DBA in Florida or California means operating under an unregistered name, so put the expiry on the same calendar as your annual report.
Common questions
Does a DBA protect my business name?
Not the way you mean. It registers the name and links it to your LLC in public records, which stops nothing by itself. Exclusive rights to a name come from trademark law and actual use in commerce. If the name matters, the DBA is step one and a trademark search is step two.
Can one LLC have several DBAs?
Yes. Owners commonly register one DBA per brand or location style. Each registration is its own filing and fee in most states, and each one renews on its own schedule.
Do I need a new EIN or bank account for a DBA?
No. The DBA is the same LLC: same EIN, same tax returns, same entity bank account (the bank just records the additional name). A new EIN belongs to a new entity, not a new name.
Does the DBA name need "LLC" in it?
No. The designator requirement applies to the LLC's legal name. The whole point of the DBA is operating under a name without it. Contracts should still identify the LLC behind the name, as the section above explains.
What happens if I just use the brand name without filing?
Depending on the state: trouble opening accounts in that name, checks you cannot deposit, and in states like Florida, where registration is required before conducting business under a fictitious name, a compliance problem on its own. The filing is cheap and fast in every state we cover. File it.
General Information Only
LLCForming publishes general information about forming and running an LLC. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and it does not create an attorney or advisor relationship. Rules vary by state and by your situation. For a decision that matters, talk to a licensed attorney or tax professional in your state.