How to file a DBA in Maryland?
Guideline to Register a business ‘Trading As’ name with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation:
Do I need to register a trade name?
- Full legal name "John J. Jones" : You do not need to register it
- John Jones Consulting: You need to register it.
- You cannot add Inc. Corp or LLC with your trade name
Follow an example to decide, if you need to register a dba in Maryland:
File a DBA as a Sole Proprietorship: A business name registration is required to register to transact business as a sole proprietorship. A sole proprietorship dba must be filed with the state.
File a Maryland Trade name under a corporation or a Limited Liability Company: You can add additional dba names under your legal entity to advertise each product or service separately instead of creating a separate entity for each product. A dba does not either give your company a legal protection and multiple businesses can use the same name unless it is protected by a trademark or a service mark.
- You will file a trade name application in order to use a business name to advertise.
- You may register a "trade name" with the Department of Assessments and Taxation. A trade name, is the name by which a business is known to the public to distinguish it from another business or person.
- Naming the business is a critical step. You can select a business name yourself, or you can hire a professional to do the search on availability and file the necessary forms.
- Full legal name of the owner of a business or individual using the trade name.
- Complete address of owner
- Description of business
- Check the name availability to ensure the name you are going to submit is available. You can send a request using InfoTaxSquare.com free business name search online form.
- Owner must sign (corporate officer if corporation; manager or officer if limited liability company; general partner if partnership; trustee if trust).
- County Clerks are responsible for determining the acceptability, not the legal sufficiency of all documents presented for filing.
- The State Department of Assessments & Taxation staff does not offer business counseling or legal advice.
- A separate application will be submitted for each trade name.
File a DBA Online
You can file a dba application electronically with the Maryland Business Express
State Processing time to approve a trade name
State of Maryland usually takes 1-2 working days to process your application.
Maryland Trade name Renewal
This filing is effective for five years from the date of acceptance by SDAT. During the last six months of the period the filing may be renewed for an additional five years. If not renewed, the Department will forfeit the trade nameand a new application must be filed.
