Certificate of Registration of a Business Name

The legal name of a business is not necessarily the name by which the public knows that business. For consumer protection in those cases, many states require business owners to register a "fictitious name certificate" with a government agency.

Legal vs. Fictitious Names

The legal name of a business is the full name of the owner of a sole proprietorship, the last names of the partners in a partnership or the name registered with the state government by a corporation or limited liability corporation. When the name a business operates under is different from the legal name, that name is called a fictitious name, or a "doing business as" name, or dba.

Different State Requirements

Some states require business owners to register for a fictitious business name certificate with the county offices, others require registration with the state and others don't require registration. For example, if business owner Linda Seals wants to operate 'Shady Lady Ice Cream' in Tennessee, she isn't required to register a fictitious name. If she opens 'Shady Lady Ice Cream' in Delaware, she needs to register a fictitious name certificate in the Superior Court Prothonotary's office of the county in which she will be doing business.

Registration Duration

Depending on the particular state, a certificate of fictitious name registration must be renewed after certain time periods, for example, after 5 years in Florida. A filing fee accompanies that renewal.

References

• Business: Business Name Registration