Get Ohio Secretary Of State - Trade Name Or Fictitious Name Registration

Sometimes it makes sense for a company to do business under a different name. To do this, the company has to file what's know as a DBA, meaning "doing business as." A DBA is also known as a "fictitious business name," "trade name," or "assumed name."

A trade name is used for advertising or trade purposes. A fictitious name (sometimes called a d/b/a or "doing business as" name) is a name registered with your city or county to let people know who owns the business.

A legal name is the name of a person or entity that owns a business. A legal name must be registered with a state government and includes a legal ending, such as an LLC or LLP, after the title. ... A trade name is generally considered the name a business uses for advertising and sales purposes.

This is a mandatory requirement in Ohio. To file your fictitious business name, you must fill out a Fictitious Business Name Registration and mail it to the Secretary of State at the address listed in the application. The filing fee is $50.

Under Ohio law a trade name means a name used in business or trade to designate the business of the use and to which the use asserts a right to exclusive use. ... These are not required to be distinguishable from the records of any other previously registered name and provide no protection or ownership of the name.

Abbreviated DBA or d/b/a, doing business as is a term indicating that the name under which the business or operation is conducted and presented to the world is not the legal name of the legal person (or persons) who actually own it and are responsible for it. This is often used in the case of brand names or franchises.

States That Require Publication The seven states are: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania.

Before filing your name reservation request, you can use Ohio's Business Entity Search to check the availability of your desired name. To perform the most effective search, type in the name you would like to use, excluding identifiers like LLC. This will return all entities using the same or similar names.

A DBA (doing business as) name can also be used by a sole proprietor, but it must be registered with the Secretary of State to ensure that the name is not currently in use by any other company in the state of Ohio.

Any entity planning to transact business in Ohio using a name other than their personal name must register with the Secretary of State. ... The DBA name must be registered with the Secretary of State to ensure the name is not currently being used by any other company in the state of Ohio.