DOING BUSINESS AS (DBA) NAME MANAGEMENT SERVICES

CSC’s Doing Business As (DBA) Name Management service puts your entire DBA portfolio at your fingertips. You’ll have instant access to your complete DBA filing history and be able to view the status of each DBA. CSC takes ownership of the complete life cycle of managing your DBA names, including DBA name registrations and renewals. You can rest assured that your DBAs will be filed on time, every time.

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Unmatched, nationwide service

CSC provides the industry’s best tools, so you can manage your DBA portfolios in all U.S. states and counties where DBA names are filed.

Robust technology

With CSCNavigator^®—our powerful portfolio management system—you get total control over all of your DBAs and corporate compliance activities and analytics.

Streamlined process

CSC will handle the administrative burden of staying on top of filing deadlines and completing the associated renewal filings.

If you decide to use a DBA name, your first step is registering your name. Whether you need to register 1 or 100 DBA names, CSC can handle the process from start to finish, saving you time and paperwork.

Rather than manually tracking individual DBA names in a spreadsheet, outsource your DBA management to CSC. CSC handles the DBA process from start to finish, organizing all documentation in our online corporate compliance and legal management portfolio. You’re freed up to focus on other priorities. CSC will proactively:

Track DBA status and renewal due dates
Prepare and send subsequent DBA renewal filings, including publishing and recording requirements
Register new DBAs as needed
Automatically tie DBA filing confirmation documents to your entities in CSCNavigator

If you’re managing the registrations and renewals for your DBA names, it can be tedious and time-consuming to track if and when a DBA name is facing expiration. Expiration requirements vary from location to location, and renewal dates are often calculated based on when a DBA was initially filed or most recently renewed. Without technology, all of this can be hard to manage. CSC’s DBA Name Calendar automatically shows you when your DBA renewals are coming due based on the compliance rules of each jurisdiction. Plus, it automatically notifies you in advance of when each DBA will expire so you can act accordingly.

When you combine our DBA Name Calendar with CSC Entity Management^SM, you get even more hands-on management of your DBA names. View your DBAs for each of your entities, seeing status and health at a glance.

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

CSCNavigator

CSCNavigator—our unified legal and compliance portfolio management system—powers our corporate compliance solutions. Corporate legal departments, compliance professionals, and business owners use this platform to securely manage their entities, annual reports, corporate filings, service of process (SOP), litigation, deals, business licenses, contracts, and many other business needs.

CSC Entity Management

CSC Entity Management software offers you a clear view of governance and compliance activities throughout your company, as well as valuable insight into the health and status of all your entities.

FAQs

What does DBA mean?

DBA stands for “doing business as.” It’s a general term for when a business registers a name other than its legal name. Sole proprietors and corporate entities alike can use DBAs, especially when they need a name for marketing and brand awareness but don’t need a separate entity.
What does a DBA do for a business?

A DBA allows an organization to legally conduct business in a location using a name that is not the “true name” of the legal entity. A DBA filing connects the “doing business as” name to the owning entity, whether that’s an individual sole proprietor or a corporate entity such as a limited liability company (LLC). A DBA filing, with the state or county, provides a way for companies to connect the names they use in the course of business to their legal entity.
What is an example of a DBA name?

Businesses generally choose DBA names when they want to use a name other than their full legal entity name. For example, a firm named Smith, Haddad & Maniscalco LP may want to abbreviate its name for certain activities to SHM LP. The DBA filing connects the SHM LP name to the owning entity—in this example, Smith, Haddad & Maniscalco LP.

Sometimes a jurisdiction will force the entity, upon registration, to use a DBA name. This can happen when another business within that jurisdiction is already using the legal name of the entity, or when the jurisdiction does not allow the use of certain words in the “true name” of the legal entity. Such DBAs are often called forced fictitious names; one example is “Corporation Service Company which will do business in California as CSC-Lawyers Incorporating Service.”
What is the difference between an LLC and a DBA name?

A DBA name isn’t a separate entity from the business owners, like a corporation or LLC. A sole proprietor can file a DBA name so they can use a name for their business other than their personal first and last name. However, the DBA name filing is different from a corporate entity, like an LLC, because it doesn’t provide the same tax flexibility and liability protection for the business owners.
What is a trade name or assumed name certificate?

DBA names go by a multitude of names, both conversationally and officially among the many state and county offices that accept filings. A DBA name is often called an assumed name, trade name, business name registration, business certificate, or fictitious name. The form that gets submitted to register the name is often called a trade name certificate or assumed name certificate.
What is the difference between an assumed name and a fictitious name?

It really all depends on where the business operates and what terms those jurisdictions use for the filings they accept.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

VIEW MORE CSC RESOURCES

DOING BUSINESS AS (DBA) NAME MANAGEMENT SERVICES

OR GET STARTED WITH CSC

Unmatched, nationwide service

Robust technology

Streamlined process

SERVICES

DBA name registration

DBA name management

DBA name calendar

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

CSCNavigator

CSC Entity Management

FAQs

What does DBA mean?

What does a DBA do for a business?

What is an example of a DBA name?

What is the difference between an LLC and a DBA name?

What is a trade name or assumed name certificate?

What is the difference between an assumed name and a fictitious name?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Best Practices for Corporate Transactions

Doing Business Outside Your State

15 Steps to Corporate Entity Management Guide

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