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One of the first things you need to determine when starting a business is whether you need to registering a business name. Registering a business name is required if you are forming an LLC or corporation or if you are using a fictitious (DBA) or assumed business name (ABN).

Registering a business name in this context refers to registration with the state filing office which is usually the secretary of state. There are other forms of name registration such as registering a trade name or a domain name, but these types of registration are done separately and are not covered in this article.

The first thing to do is choose a name for your business that you want to register. You can choose almost any name so long as it is not the same or deceptively similar to a business name already registered with the secretary of state.

When you operate a business as a sole proprietor and use your own name, then you will likely not need to go through the process of registering a business name. However, if you are operating as a sole proprietor or general partnership and intend to use an assumed or fictitious business name (meaning a name different than your own name) then you will need to register a business name.

For example, if your name is Joe Jones and you operate a business called Plumbing Professionals, then you will need to go through the process of registering Plumbing Professionals as your assumed business name.

Be aware that some states will allow the registering of a business name for a corporation or LLC when the same name has already been registered as a fictitious or assumed business name. Other states will not allow the registering of any name which is already being used by another entity or as a fictitious or assumed business name.

When operating your business as a corporation, S corporation or LLC (limited liability company) then you will need to register a name. Registering a business name is part of the process involved in forming a corporation or LLC.

Every state operates separately or individually when it comes to registering a business name. Therefore, it does not matter if someone in a different state from the one you are filing in is using the same name. In other words, you could have an LLC in Ohio named XYZ Plumbing, LLC, and also an LLC in Michigan named XYZ Plumbing, LLC, and each one would be okay because they are filed in different states.

There may be a problem from a trademark or domain name standpoint even though there may not be a problem as far as your state secretary of state is concerned with registering the same business name which is being used in another state, Trademark and domain names must be searched separately. This whole area has become more confusing and complicated with the proliferation of internet use.

The words corporation, limited liability company, Inc. or LLC, are generally not considered part of the name for purposes of avoiding duplication. For example, you could not file your LLC as Smith, LLC, if the name Smith, Inc., was already being used in your filing state. The entity designation (like Inc., or LLC) is dropped off for purposes of checking the name for duplication.

There are a couple of different ways you can check for business name registration availability. One is to call the secretary of states office where you intend to file, and ask them to run a name check.

One of the fastest and easiest way to check business name availability is to use the free registering a business name table. You can find this table at the link below.

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