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Contractor glossary

DBA (doing business as)

Updated

Definition

A DBA (doing business as) is a filing that lets a person or company operate under a name other than its legal name. Depending on the state, it may be called an assumed name, fictitious business name or trade name. It doesn't create a separate legal entity.

Also called: Doing business as, Assumed name, Fictitious business name, Trade name

What a DBA does

A DBA puts a business name on the public record next to the person or company that owns it. That lets you use the name on your truck, website, estimates and invoices, and it lets customers look up who they're actually hiring.

Example: Dana works alone as a sole proprietor and wants her van and invoices to say "Clear Path Drain Service." Without a DBA, her business name is her own name. With one, she can advertise and bill as Clear Path Drain Service, but the business is still her: same taxes, same personal responsibility for its debts. The names are made up for illustration.

What a DBA doesn't do

A DBA is only a name filing. It doesn't:

  • Create a separate business. A sole proprietor with a DBA is still a sole proprietor. A separate legal entity takes a state filing such as an LLC or a corporation.
  • Protect your personal assets. Whatever liability protection you had before the filing (none, for a sole proprietor) is what you have after it.
  • Change your taxes. Income is reported the same way as before; for a sole proprietor, that's Schedule C. Your federal tax ID is a separate question, covered under EIN.
  • Reserve the name. The filing records that you use the name; it isn't a trademark registration. Before you pay for truck lettering and a website, search your state's business records and the federal trademark records for names close to yours.
  • Replace anything else. You still need the contractor license, insurance and tax registrations your work requires.

Who files one

  • Sole proprietors and partnerships using a name other than the owners' legal names. States differ on whether adding a word like "Plumbing" to your own name counts, so check instead of assuming.
  • LLCs and corporations using a name other than the one registered with the state. If Ruiz Mechanical LLC wants to advertise as North Ridge Heating and Air, the LLC files the DBA, and contracts should still make the LLC's legal name clear. Ask your attorney how to show both.

Where to file

Where you file depends on your state, and sometimes on your county or city. Start with your secretary of state's office; if DBAs are filed locally where you are, it can point you to the right office. Ask two more questions when you file: whether the filing has to be renewed, and whether you must publish a notice in a local newspaper, because some places require one or both. If your state files DBAs by county and you work in several counties, ask whether you need a filing in each.

Keep the name the same everywhere

If your trade needs a license, ask your licensing board how a trade name must appear on the license and in your advertising before you letter a truck. Then match the name across your bank account, insurance certificates, W-9s, estimates, invoices, website and Google Business Profile. Ask your bank what it needs to open an account in the trade name, and bring your filed DBA. Commercial customers may compare these documents when they set you up as a vendor, and a mismatch can hold up payment.

If you change the name later, update every one of them at the same time, starting with the license.

Go deeper

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LLC (limited liability company)A limited liability company (LLC) is a business entity formed by filing with a state. It generally keeps the company's debts and legal obligations separate from its owners' personal assets, but it doesn't cover debts you personally guarantee, and it doesn't replace insurance.EIN (Employer Identification Number)An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS assigns to a business. You need one once you have employees or operate as a partnership, corporation or certain LLCs, and you can get it from the IRS for free.Schedule CSchedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business, is the IRS form a sole proprietor uses to report the business's income and expenses. The net profit or loss flows onto the owner's personal Form 1040, and a single-member LLC generally files it too unless it elected corporate treatment.Google Business ProfileA Google Business Profile is the listing that shows your business on Google Search and Google Maps: name, category, phone, hours, service area, photos and reviews. Contractors who work at the customer's home can hide their address and show a service area instead.

See every term in the glossary