Trade name (DBA) registration allows a business in Georgia to operate under a name that differs from its official legal name (the name that was used when the company was formed).
For example, let’s say you have an LLC called Sally’s Burgers LLC that you use for your burger store, Sally’s Burgers, but you want to rebrand your offering to hotdogs? Well, you can use a trade name to operate as Sally’s Hotdogs without having to set up a new LLC.
[Note that a DBA in Georgia is officially known as a “Trade Name”.]
Filing for a trade name gives small business owners and startups freedom to choose their business name without having the costs and complexity of registering multiple LLCs or corporations.
There are many circumstances in which you might want to use a trade name for branding your business.
But, please note, a trade name (also known as a DBA or fictitious business name in some states) doesn’t provide legal protection for your personal assets in the way an Limited Liability Company (LLC) does.
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Do You Need a Georgia Trade Name for your Business Entity?
Before you follow the steps below to get a trade name in Georgia, it’s important to be clear on whether or not it is required for the type of business entity you are operating:
Sole proprietors – a sole proprietor and their business are effectively the same in terms of name, so sole traders do need a trade name if they want to operate under a different business name. For example if a sole trader called Garret Smith wants to operate as Garrett’s Mowing, they need a trade name.
LLCs and Corporations – the same principle applies to these business entities. If corporations or limited liability companies want to operate under a different business name than the official registered name, they need to get a trade name. For example, if you had an LLC called Garrett Smith Holdings and want to operate as Garret’s Mowing, you would need a trade name.
How to Get a Trade Name in Georgia
Here is our step-by-step guide to getting a trade name in Georgia.
The process is very easy and is explained in these four steps.
- Do a search via the Georgia Secretary of State’s business entity search website to see if the trade name you want is available.
- Check that your trade name is available as a domain name (optional)
- File your trade name application
- Pay the filing fees
Step 1: Do a Trade Name Search in Georgia
Your trade name must be unique (i.e., not taken by someone else) and it must meet the state’s requirements for business names.
Once you have a name in mind, you can use the Georgia Secretary of State’s business search at https://ecorp.sos.ga.gov/BusinessSearch to see if it is available.
Once you’ve ensured it is not already in use, then you need to check that it meets the state’s naming requirements.
Step 2: Check if your name is available as a web domain
This is a practical step rather than a legal requirement. If you are doing business today it is pretty much certain you will need a website, so it makes sense to check if your name, or a variant of it, is available as a domain for you to put a website on. You can check if your preferred domain is available here: godaddy.com/domains
Chances are the exact match of your domain may not be available, so you might have to get a bit creative.
Hints:
- Try to get the .com version of the domain if you can as .org or .net aren’t as suitable for businesses
- Don’t just insert a hyphen between words. It doesn’t look professional
- Sometimes a quirky word (“guru”, “school” or “base”) makes for a good brand/domain.
Step 3: Register your Georgia trade name
To register your trade name in Georgia, you need to file a trade name registration with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where your business is located. This process is not handled at the state level in Georgia.
To find your local Clerk of Superior Court office, visit: https://georgiacourts.gov/superior-court/
You’ll need to provide the following information:
- The trade name you want to register
- Your business name and address
- The names and addresses of all owners
- A brief description of the business
The filing fee for registering a trade name in Georgia varies by county, but it’s typically between $10 and $170.
After registering with the county, you must publish a notice of your trade name registration in the legal organ (usually a specific newspaper) of the county where you registered. This must be done once a week for two weeks.
Georgia trade name registrations do not expire, but if you stop using the trade name, you should file a cancellation with the Clerk of Superior Court.
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After You get a Trade Name For Your Limited Liability Company or other entity
Once you have your trade name, your business is almost up and running. Here are a few things to consider as next steps to get fully operational.
Create a website for your business: Pretty much all businesses need a website these days and it is often an advantage (although not essential) to have social media pages too.
Set up a bank account for your business entity: Keeping your own finances separate from your LLC’s finances is important and the only way to do that is by operating a separate bank account for the LLC. We recommend Mercury Bank as a great online banking option, although you can bank with the traditional bricks and mortar banks too.
