The Nebraska DBA process can be daunting, but we’re here to help. Whether you want to switch your business name for branding purposes or just seek a different name other than your legal name, all steps related to the assumed business name in Nebraska are covered in this article.
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 Nebraska you need to file the application to the Secretary of State. Here is what you need to do:
Nebraska Business Entity Search
Your company’s trade name should be unique and have not been acquired by any other entity in Nebraska. Moreover, this name must also meet the business name requirements of Nebraska.
First, you have to search the Nebraska Secretary of State’sBusiness Nmae Search portal for the DBA, Business, & Fictitious names. Check the portal thoroughly to know whether the name that you wish to have for your business has already been taken by someone or not. 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 Nebraska. In general, your DBA should not include:
- Any term indicating that your business is established for unlawful ourposes.
- LLC, Incorporated, Corp., or any other business entity suffix unless the business is actually an LLC or corporation.
- Any term that is used for financial institutions, including: “bank,” “banco,” “banc,” “banque,” “banker, “savings and loan association,” ”trust company,””savings bank,” “credit union” or related words.
- The term geologist
Register Your Nebraska DBA ($100)
File a Nebraska DBA Online with Nebraska Secretary of State’s Corporate Document eDelivery or download the LLC Assumed Name Application and send it to
DBA Filing Address:
Secretary of State’s Office
Business Services Division (Corporations)
P.O. Box 94608
Lincoln, NE 68509
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The following information must include in the Nebraska trade name form:
- Your business name and adress
- State under which an entity is registered (if applicable)
- Owners/partners of the business and addresses
- Entity type (eg; LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation)
- Trade name’s description
- The date at which the DBA was first used. No future date is permitted.
Publish Notice of Your Nebraska DBA
After your name is registered, the state of Nebraska requires you to publish a legal notice of your trade name in a newspaper. The newspaper where you publish the notice must circulate in the city or village of your business’ principal location. In case, there is no newspaper in the city or village, you can publish this notice using a newspaper in the county in which your business is located.
There should be no mismatching in the notice of the DBA and the trade name application.
Renew, Change or Withdraw Your Nebraska DBA
Renew Your Fictitious Name With the State ($100)
After every 10 years, the certificate of Assumed Business Name in Nebraska expires. So you need to renew your NE DBA after every 10th calendar year. For the renewal of DBA in Nebraska, call the Nebraska Secretary of State office (402) 471-4079.
Change Your Fictitious Name ($10)
If you wish to make changes in your Nebraska assumed business name, you can do it by filling the respective DBA Amendment application and sending it to:
Mailing Address:
Secretary of State’s Office
Business Services Division (Corporations)
P.O. Box 94608
Lincoln, NE 68509
Withdraw Your Fictitious Name
You can cancel your Nebraska assumed business name by filling the voluntary request for the cancellation of the DBA. Call the Nebraska Secretary of State office (402) 471-4079 to cancel NE DBA.
