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 West Virginia Secretary of State.

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 West Virginia Secretary of State then you have to Register a DBA Name with the West Virginia Secretary of State.

Other names for a West Virginia DBA Name include:

• West Virginia Alternate Name
• West Virginia Assumed Business Name
• West Virginia Assumed Name
• West Virginia Business Name
• West Virginia Fictitious Name
• West Virginia Trade Name

Yes. You can Register a DBA Name with the West Virginia Secretary of State.

Yes. You can register a West Virginia DBA Name with the WV Secretary of State for a West Virginia Corporation or a West Virginia LLC.

Before a West Virginia Corporation or LLC can register a DBA Name, the WV Corporation or WV LLC must be in good standing with the West Virginia Secretary of State.

Yes. You can register a West Virginia DBA Name even if you have not formed a West Virginia 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 West Virginia Secretary of State for an existing West Virginia business.

You Reserve a Company Name with the West Virginia Secretary of State for use with a West Virginia business that will be formed and legally registered with the WV Secretary of State sometime in the future.


When you Register a Corporation or LLC with the West Virginia Secretary of State 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 West Virginia company by the West Virginia Secretary of State.

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

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

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