Know Your "Doing Business As" Responsibilities

D.B.A. or "Doing Business As" is not only a cool bar in the East Village, it also refers to individuals, partnerships, corporations and other entities that do  business under a name different from their real name.  For example, Joe Smith operates a computer service business under the name "Computer Geeks to the Rescue," (fictional example) and Town Sports International, LLC operates a popular gym under the name "New York Sports Club" (real life example.)

Can you just do D.B.A. when the mood strikes you?  Generally, yes, if you comply with the rules.  There are two sets of rules and requirements:

1. For Individuals and Partnerships

If you conduct business under an assumed name as an individual or partnership, you must file a "certificate of assumed name" or "business certificate" in the county in which you conduct business.  Such certificate basically has to set forth the real name and the address of your business and certain other information ( New York General Business Law Section 130(1)(a) .)

In New York County, you have to file your business certificate with the County Clerk at 60 Centre Street.  The filing fee is $100.  For more information see here. 

2. For Corporations and other Entities

If you conduct business under an assumed name as a corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership, you also must file a business certificate (New York General Business Law Section 130(1)(b).) 

This time, however, you have to file the certificate with the Secretary of State.  The filing fee is $25.  However, for corporations it can become expensive.  They collect an extra $100 for each county within New York in which the corporation does business and an extra $25 for each county outside of New York City, with a maximum fee of $1,950.

For more information, including a pdf form with instructions, see here.

p.s. photo by Beau Wade

Comments

[todd martin]

currently the appl. fee for business cert. is $120.00, not $100.00.

[Logan Susnick]

What if you have a New York S corp doing business online under a different name? Do you still have to file a DBA for all the New York counties?

[Angela]

the bus. cert. filing fee is $100 but you pay $10 for certified copies and usually you get 2, one for the bank to open a bank acct. and the other for you to keep for your records, that why you usually pay $120

[Keith]

I'm not sure but I may have read on one of these legal sites that you would have to go through an additional publication process for each D.B.A. you file, consequently incurring an addition $1k+ fee for each one. Is this true?

[why]

Why file anything? There is no punishment or even an agency specified to complain to in the law.

[Rachel Cook]

I am an individual who will be using an assumed name for my company. I am located in NYC. The forms all ask for "Entity" and "Assumed Name". Please clarify. Am I (Individual) the Entity? and my companies name the "assumed name"?
Thank you

[Apostille]

Good post....

[Dubai Boy!]

Its amasing how even my Harvard Law buddies don't know how to do this ...! I've been opening and closing DBAs and EINs for years - while doing legitmate business! Good luck all u rookies! ;)