Connecticut DBA is filled to use a name for your sole proprietorship other than your legal name or acquiring an appealing name for branding purposes of your LLC or corporation. We make getting a DBA easier with our 2-step DBA guide.
Important! Please keep in mind that DBA is not a business structure, so it won’t protect you from liabilities, lawsuits, or any other unforeseen situations. DBA stands for Doing Business As. – often precedes the name under which a business operates, which is not the legal name of the business.
Therefore, before starting, make sure you understand the difference between informal business structures such as sole proprietorship and formal ones like corporations and LLCs.
To register or renew the trademark, trade name, or service mark for your company in Connecticut you need to file the application to the Secretary of State. Here is what you need to do:
Connecticut Business Entity Search
Your company’s trade name should be unique and have not been acquired by any other entity in Connecticut. Moreover, this name must also meet the business name requirements of Connecticut.
You need to search city records before filing your trade name to make sure your exact name isn’t already taken. First, visit the Connecticut town clerks directory to find your local town clerk and make sure this name isn’t already in use.
Note: You can also find a complete guide on business name search here.
Once you are done searching, the next step is to review the naming requirements of the state of Connecticut. Your DBA should not include:
- Words that are commonly used by a government agency such as Treasury, FBI, State Department, etc.’
- Business entity suffix such as corp, LLC, inc, etc unless the entity is registered as the respective entity with the state.
- Any word or phrase that implies or suggest that the LLC is operating for a purpose other than the one contained in its Articles of Organization.
- Words indicating or implying that your company is engaged in an unauthorized business by law to pursue.
- Words related to banking, trust, savings, etc.
- Words related to professional designation (i.e., engineering, consultant, attorney). To include such prefixes or suffixes, you need license or extra paperwork.
Register Your Connecticut DBA ($10)
Connecticut assumed business names are filed with the city clerks where your principal place of business is located. However, since trade name regulations are managed by the state of Connecticut, the steps for getting an assumed business name are similar for every city.
To find the contact information of the city clerk of the principal location of your business, visit the Connecticut town clerks directory.
The following information must include in the Connecticut trade name form:
- Your business name
- Entity type (eg; LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation)
- Trade name’s description
- Signature of all the authorized person
- Forms must get notarized
Top Tip:
Instead of doing it yourself, save some time by hiring a reliable formation service like ZenBusiness. You can see editors’ Review on ZenBusiness to decide if it’s the best choice for your company.
Editor’s Insight
Filing a Connecticut fictitious business name, aka a Connecticut DBA (doing business as), is an easy and straightforward process. If you want to save time and effort, LLC filing companies like LegalZoom and ZenBusiness can help you get that at a fraction of the cost.
However, if you are interested in DIY, you just need to follow the above-mentioned step-by-step guide or see how to Get a DBA in any of the 50 states.
Aisha Noreen is an owner of a small business with more than 9 years of experience in the marketing industry. With the wisdom of an old soul, she always seeks innovation and mind-blowing ROI techniques. Her unique approach helped many small businesses thrive and she can surprise you in many ways as well. Believe it or not, her energy, passion, and creativity are contagious enough to transform your business and take it to another level.
