How to Register a Business Name in Pennsylvania

Registering a business name is an important step in the process to open your own business. While a business operating under your own legal name is automatically registered in Pennsylvania, if you want to do business under a name other than your own, you must register a fictitious name with the state. Pennsylvania makes it simple for any business owner to register a name, offering online and mail-in options to make the process as convenient as possible.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer

1. File an Application for Registration of Fictitious Name (form DSCB: 54-311) with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Corporation Bureau. This application is available on the Pennsylvania Open for Business website. Registration is only necessary if a business owner does not use his own name for his business. If your legal name is Joseph Smith and you will be naming your store “The Joseph Smith Store,” you do not need to register the store’s name. If you will be naming your store “Cinderella’s Closet,” you will need to register the name as a fictitious name with the state.

2. Check to make sure that the name you wish to use is available. You can do this by clicking a link when you register your business using the Online Business Registration Interview (OBRI). You can also determine this information on the Pennsylvania Open for Business website before completing the interview.

3. Publish an announcement in two newspapers, one of them a legal newspaper if possible, after you register your company’s fictitious name. If there is no legal newspaper in your area, you may choose two general circulation newspapers. If there is only one newspaper in your area, you may publish the announcement in that newspaper only. The announcement must state: the fictitious name, address of the principal office, name and address of the person filing the registration and a statement that an application for registration of a fictitious name is to be or was filed “under 54 Pa.C.S. (relating to names).”

4. Incorporate your business if you need the exclusive right to use the name. Registering a fictitious name does not give your business the exclusive right to use the name. If you need exclusive rights, incorporate your business by filing Articles of Incorporation with Pennsylvania Department of State. Your corporate name will not be accepted if it is too close to another incorporated company’s name. You can file for incorporation online on the State Department’s website or submit your application to: Pennsylvania Department of State, Corporation Bureau, 206 North Office Building, Commonwealth Avenue and North Street, Harrisburg, PA, 17120. If you don’t wish to obtain forms via the Internet, you can request forms by calling the automated voice mail system at [phone], option 1.

Tips & Warnings

• You can pay for registering your business by sending a check or money order if submitting your application by mail. Credit card and Automatic Clearing House payments are accepted if you are paying for your application online.
• If you fail to register your fictitious name, you may not use the courts of Pennsylvania to enforce a contract entered into using the fictitious name. Not registering your fictitious name won’t void your contracts, but prevents enforcement of the contract until you register the name. If you register a name after you have decided to try to enforce a contract, you will be subject to a penalty by the State of Pennsylvania.

Resources

• Pennsylvania Department of State

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