There are many types of business structures available to register as, such as LLC, corporate and sole proprietorship. But what happens when you decide that you want to expand your business by selling a new product line that’s unrelated to your existing one or by focusing on a new service? That’s when you can register for a DBA, which is known as ‘Doing Business As’.
A DBA is not a type of business structure and it doesn’t protect your business in any way. However, you can create a fictitious name to operate under and it’s considered to be part of your existing business. This means that if you own a restaurant called ‘Dave’s burgers’, but you wish to open up a salad bar under the same business, you can register a DBA and give it a fictitious name such as ‘healthy salad fun’. Taxes are not added to DBA’s, which means your taxes won’t increase as it’s not a separate legal entity.
We have created a simple yet informative guide for you to use, so that you can know how to file a dba in florida.
Table of Contents
Can I use a professional service to help me file a DBA?
As a business owner, it may be time consuming for you to follow the step by step process for filing a DBA in Florida, which is why there are two recommended professional services to use. The first one is called MyCompanyWorks and has always given customers 100% satisfaction with their service. The cost for hiring this professional service is $99, plus the state fee.
The second option to consider hiring is SwyftFilings, they offer a great customer service and help you relax as they take care of all the work for you. Their services cost $99, plus the state fee.
Coming up with a name
In Florida specifically, you can create a DBA name that sounds similar to other businesses. However, it is advised to come up with something unique and that stands out. It’s forbidden to use terms such as ‘LLC’, ‘Corp’, ‘Bank, or ‘Banker’ in the title. If you need help coming up with a name, then use the SunBiz Fictitious Name Search that can generate ideas for you. Once you’ve decided on a name, you can search it up on the U.S Trademark Electronic Search System, to see if it’s available for you to use. If you’re planning on using your DBA name online, then it’s best to claim a domain name as soon as you can.
Publishing your DBA name
In Florida, they want you to publish an article about your DBA name in your local newspaper.It’s required to do so and cannot be avoided, otherwise you will be taken to court for skipping this action. Your article must be interesting to the readers, be available at your local post office, have 25% of the writing in English, be published weekly and for at least a year.
Registering your DBA
The final part of obtaining your DBA is registering it with the secretary of state. There’s two ways to do this, one is to fill out an application form and send it and the second is to access the Sunbiz portal and fill out your details there. It’s a simple and straightforward procedure, but it’s important to include the relevant details such as the DBA name, your location for business and the address.
Can I change or withdraw my DBA?
It’s possible to do both. In order to cancel or change your DBA name, you would have to fill out section 4 of the application and submit it. However, if you wish to keep it, it’s vital for you to renew it every 5 years by 31st December as a deadline. The renewal process is exactly the same as either submitting an application or applying through the portal.