DBA (dba) stands for *doing business as*. When you decide the name for your company, if you use your legal name in the company name (ie: John Doe Plumbing) then usually you are not required to file a DBA. If you do not use your legal name in the company name, then usually you are required to file a DBA (ie: John Doe "doing business as" Southern Coast Plumbing Company).

A reader asked me recently, would a person be required to obtain a DBA if they used their initials instead of their legal name.... Many thanks to Ron Wilson, President of Desert Community Bank, for his response:

"Initials do not work with regards to a DBA. For instance, The Bank of Ron Wilson would not require a DBA whereas The Bank of R. W. or Our Dub :-) :-) would.

Legal notice is required for the DBA because other vendors need to be put on notice that the company exists. Additionally, it is another way to let a business know that someone has that name. There is more than one Ron Wilson in the world."

Your DBA provides the general public with an opportunity to make themselves aware of new businesses in the area(s) and, who the owners of those new businesses are. At one time a person was required to file their DBA with the County Recorder's office and have it published in a local publication, but these days you can get it done online!

Most newspapers handle DBA's as well. Contact several publications that distribute in your local area to check pricing, because the fees can vary. Make sure to check your local community papers, as many times they handle DBA's for less money than the larger newspapers charge. Before you decide, make sure that the fee includes submission of your paperwork to the County Recorder's office.

Once you have decided which publication you wish to go with, contact the office of that publication for the required paperwork. After you complete the paperwork they have provided you, submit it back to them, along with the required fee. The publication will (usually) submit your DBA paperwork to the County Recorder as well as publish the information in the newspaper. Typically, the DBA publishes on the same day each week for four weeks in a row.

Sometimes, the publication that published your dba notice will mail you a "clipping" from the newspaper, of your dba notice, attached to a photocopy of the form they submitted to the County Recorder's office. The County Recorder's office that the publication submitted your paperwork to should mail you an original "recorded" DBA document with the County Recorder's stamp on it. KEEP THE ORIGINAL DBA DOCUMENT IN A SAFE PLACE!

If you are required to file a DBA then, in order to set up your business bank account(s), your bank will probably require, 1) to see the original dba document and 2) the right to make and retain a photocopy of the original. If you do not have the original DBA document, the financial institution might refuse to set up the account(s) for you!

-- Here's a "been there done that" for ya... :)

When I realized that I couldn't find my original dba, and that I had to have it to open my business bank accounts, and that it had to have the County Recorder's stamp on it, to open my business accounts, I had to contact the County Recorder's office (usually the same office that handles birth certificates, deeds, etc.), and pay a fee and they mailed me a new original. So, all is not lost when and if you lose that document in the shuffle of paperwork!
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The DBA usually expires in five years and then you'll have to have it published and recorded again (yep, ya gotta pay again too!). You don't have to use the same publication you used the first time, to run your announcement the second time. You can do new research and find out who is the cheapest and go with them. I wanted to use the same publication because they had been the least expensive, but unfortunately they went out of business during my first five years so I had to find a different one, which I did.

Thank you for visiting. I hope that this article has helped you! We have many more articles pertaining to business available by clicking here. Have a great day! Diane