Many businesses operate under a name different than the one the legally registered their business with (the one that ends in Inc. or LLC). In order to do this legally, the business must register the name their doing as a fictitious name, also known as “doing business as (DBA).”
Some facts to know:
– Registering a fictitious name does not give you legal rights to the name.
– It is your responsibility to check for previous trademarks, service marks, or corporate name rights. If your fictitious name violates one of these, you will probably be sent a cease and desist letter. If you do not comply, you may be facing a lawsuit
– The name to be registered must be advertised once in a newspaper.
– Fictitious names are valid for five years
– You register fictitious names with the Division of Corporations
– If ownership of the company changes, you must file a cancellation and re-registration within 30 days of the change.
Fictitious names are one of the many aspects of starting a business. If you are looking to incorporate, need a business litigation attorney, or need assistance with business planning, contact Boyer Law Firm today.
