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

In Oregon a DBA Name is called a Assumed Business Name.

In Oregon a DBA Name is called a Assumed Business Name. Other names for an Oregon Assumed Business Name include:

• Oregon Alternate Name
• Oregon Assumed Name
• Oregon Business Name
• Oregon Fictitious Name
• Oregon Trade Name

Yes. You can Register a Assumed Business Name with the Oregon Secretary of State.

Yes. You can register an Oregon Assumed Business Name with the OR Secretary of State for an Oregon Corporation or an Oregon LLC.

Before an Oregon Corporation or LLC can register a DBA Name, the OR Corporation or OR LLC must be in good standing with the Oregon Secretary of State.

Yes. You can register an Oregon Assumed Business Name even if you have not formed an Oregon 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 Oregon Secretary of State for an existing Oregon business.

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


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

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

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

You can renew the Oregon Assumed Business Name before the expiration date if you want to retain ownership of the Oregon Assumed Business Name.