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

Other names for a South Dakota DBA Name include:

• South Dakota Alternate Name
• South Dakota Assumed Business Name
• South Dakota Assumed Name
• South Dakota Business Name
• South Dakota Fictitious Name
• South Dakota Trade Name

Yes. You can Register a DBA Name with the South Dakota Secretary of State.

Yes. You can register a South Dakota DBA Name with the SD Secretary of State for a South Dakota Corporation or a South Dakota LLC.

Before a South Dakota Corporation or LLC can register a DBA Name, the SD Corporation or SD LLC must be in good standing with the South Dakota Secretary of State.

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

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


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

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

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

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