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A trade name, also known as a trading name, business name or operating name, is a pseudonym used by companies and other organizations that do not operate under their registered legal name. Registering the trade name with a relevant government body is often required.
In a number of countries, the phrase " trading as" (abbreviated to t/a) is used to designate a trade name. In the United States, the phrase " doing business as" (abbreviated to DBA, dba, d.b.a., or d/b/a) is used, Pinkerton's, Inc. v. Superior Court , 49 Cal. App. 4th 1342, 1348-49, 57 Cal. Rptr. 2d 356, 360 (1996) (collecting cases and explaining term of art "doing business as" (DBA)). among others, such as assumed business name or fictitious business name. California Business and Professions Code Section 17900 et seq. In Canada, " operating as" (abbreviated to o/a) and " trading as" are used, although " doing business as" is also sometimes used.
A company typically uses a trade name to conduct business using a simpler name rather than using their formal and often lengthier name. Trade names are also used when a preferred name cannot be registered, often because it may already be registered or is too similar to a name that is already registered.
Legal agreements (such as ) are normally made using the registered legal name of the business. If a corporation fails to consistently adhere to such important legal formalities like using its registered legal name in contracts, it may be subject to piercing of the corporate veil.
In English language, trade names are generally treated as .Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing, pg. 57. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1993.
Numbered company will very often operate as something other than their legal name, which is unrecognizable to the public.
The Office for Students, the higher education regulator for England, uses the term trading name in the register of higher education providers, and requires these to be registered. The Charity Commission of England and Wales uses the terms working name and operating name on the register of charities,e.g., with the term working name being used in the Charities Act 2011 (as amended by the Charities Act 2022). The term operating name is also used for government agencies.e.g.,
For consumer protection purposes, many U.S. jurisdictions require businesses operating with fictitious names to file a DBA statement, though names including the first and last name of the owner may be accepted. This also reduces the possibility of two local businesses operating under the same name, although some jurisdictions do not provide exclusivity for a name, or may allow more than one party to register the same name. Note, though, that this is not a substitute for filing a trademark application. A DBA filing carries no legal weight in establishing trademark rights. In the U.S., trademark rights are acquired by use in commerce, but there can be substantial benefits to filing a trademark application. Sole proprietors are the most common users of DBAs. Sole proprietors are individual business owners who run their businesses themselves. Since most people in these circumstances use a business name other than their own name, it is often necessary for them to get DBAs.
Generally, a DBA must be registered with a local or state government, or both, depending on the jurisdiction. For example, California, Texas and Virginia require a DBA to be registered with each county (or independent city in the case of Virginia) where the owner does business. Maryland and Colorado have DBAs registered with a state agency. Virginia also requires corporations and LLCs to file a copy of their registration with the county or city to be registered with the State Corporation Commission.
DBA statements are often used in conjunction with a franchising. The franchisee will have a legal name under which it may sue and be sued, but will conduct business under the franchiser's brand name (which the public would recognize). A typical real-world example can be found in a well-known pricing mistake case, Donovan v. RRL Corp. (2001), Donovan v. RRL Corp., 26 Cal. 4th 261, 109 Cal. Rptr. 2d 807, 27 P.3d 702 (2001). where the named defendant, RRL Corporation, was a Lexus car dealership doing business as "Lexus of Westminster", but remaining a separate legal entity from Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
In California, filing a DBA statement also requires that a notice of the fictitious name be published as a public notice in local for some set period to inform the public of the owner's intent to operate under an assumed name. The intention of the law is to protect the public from fraud, by compelling the business owner to first file or register his fictitious business name with the county clerk, and then making a further public record of it by publishing it in a newspaper. Several other states, such as Illinois, require print notices as well.
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