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

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

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

• Indiana Alternate Name
• Indiana Assumed Name
• Indiana Business Name
• Indiana Fictitious Name
• Indiana Trade Name

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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