DBA means "Doing Business As".  If you are an Individual Sole Proprietor and want to do business under a name which is different from your legal name then you have to Register a DBA Name with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth.

If you are a Corporation or LLC and want to do business under a name which is different from the name which is registered with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth then you have to Register a DBA Name with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Other names for a Pennsylvania DBA Name include:

• Pennsylvania Alternate Name
• Pennsylvania Assumed Business Name
• Pennsylvania Assumed Name
• Pennsylvania Business Name
• Pennsylvania Fictitious Name
• Pennsylvania Trade Name

Yes. You can Register a DBA Name with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Yes. You can register a Pennsylvania DBA Name with the PA Secretary of the Commonwealth for a Pennsylvania Corporation or a Pennsylvania LLC.

Before a Pennsylvania Corporation or LLC can register a DBA Name, the PA Corporation or PA LLC must be in good standing with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Yes. You can register a Pennsylvania DBA Name even if you have not formed a Pennsylvania Corporation or LLC. In fact that's what most skilled craftsman and professionals do when they want to use a business name other their own name.

You Register a DBA Name with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth for an existing Pennsylvania business.

You Reserve a Company Name with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth for use with a Pennsylvania business that will be formed and legally registered with the PA Secretary of the Commonwealth sometime in the future.


When you Register a Corporation or LLC with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth there are certain tax and administrative obligations which must be met to keep the company in Good Standing.  Failing to keep up with those obligations can result in the administrative dissolution of your Pennsylvania company by the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth.

The Pennsylvania state fees for Registering a DBA Name are less than the fees for Registering a Corporation in Pennsylvania or Forming a LLC in Pennsylvania and there are no tax or reporting obligation for a Registered Pennsylvania DBA Name.

No. The Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth will not issue a good standing certificate (Certificate of Existence) for a registered Pennsylvania DBA Name. Pennsylvania good standing certificates are issued only for companies which have registered with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth as a Corporation, LLC or LP.

You can renew the Pennsylvania DBA Name before the expiration date if you want to retain ownership of the Pennsylvania DBA Name.