Do you want to file a DBA but don’t know how? Firstly, what is a DBA? Doing Business As (DBA) is not recognized as a business structure, therefore you are not guaranteed protection against your assets. When opting to form a DBA, you merely opt to operate under a fictitious name, so forming a DBA is merely for branding purposes.

Did you know that filing a DBA in Florida is as simple as following a three-step process?

Step 1: Start with a Sunbiz Florida fictitious name search

The first step of the process is to start by visiting the Sunbiz Florida fictitious name search website and start by completing the fictitious name search. You need to be sure that your name is different from other names on the Sunbiz fictitious name website. There is no issue if the business names are similar to any of the other names listed on the Sunbiz fictitious name website, however, it is best practice to choose a unique name instead.

Business owners need to be mindful that when choosing a name, it should not include any business entity suffixes such as Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), Incorporated, S Corporation or S Corporation unless the business is one of those business structures. You should also be mindful to not use any terms that are relevant to financial institutions including, “bank”, “banc”, “banco”, “banque”, “banker”, “trust company”, “savings and loan associations”, “savings bank”, “credit union” or any other similar words.

Next step of action is to search via the US Trademark Electronic search systems, this will allow for you to check whether or not someone has already trademarked your name. This is also the ideal time to check that there is a web domain available for your Florida DBA as well.

Step 2: Publish a notice for your Florida fictitious name

For all new fictitious names, it is a requirement in Florida that the name is published at least once in a newspaper before the business name can be registered. You are expected to file a legal notice of intent to file a fictitious name with a newspaper in the county where your principal location is located. You can start this process by contacting a newspaper in the county of your principal location, requesting that the newspaper publish a legal notice of intent to file a fictitious name. when drafting the notice you need to be sure to incorporate the following into the notice: “NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of [Your DBA Name Here] intends to register the said name with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Tallahassee FL and/or Clerk of the Circuit Court of [County], FL. [Your Company Name, Address, City State, Zip Code]”.

To avoid unnecessary delays and to ensure that you adhere to the exact newspaper requirements you can refer to the chapter of Florida Statutes. Most importantly you should not register your DBA in Florida before publishing first.

Step 3: Register your Florida fictitious name with the State

You are required to register your DBA with the secretary of state. You can file via two platforms, you can either choose to file online via the Sunbiz fictitious name portal or you can opt to complete the application for registration of fictitious name form.

Understanding upfront what the form requires from you helps makes the process so much easier, section one of the form requires that you list the new fictitious name, the business address as well as the principal place of business (the county) and the FEI (EIN) if this applies to your business. Section four is the section that is applicable if you would like to cancel or change registration, or if you plan on changing the name of registration (please note that this can only be done by completing the physical application form, unfortunately, you cannot do this via the online platform). Lastly, the bottom of the form is the section that you complete to receive a “Certificate of Status” or “Certified Copy” for your fictitious name.