An assumed name is a New Jersey DBA (doing business as). Obtaining a DBA registration in New Jersey will not safeguard your personal assets. Forming a formal company structure, such as an LLC or corporation, can provide you with liability protection as well as a business name.
To begin with a New Jersey DBA, choose your business entity type:
Partnership or sole proprietorship (if your business is not a formal structure)
Corporation, LLC, or LLP (if your business has a formal structure such as LLC or corporation)
Create a DBA in New Jersey for a sole proprietorship or general partnership.
General partnerships and single proprietors must register their New Jersey DBA with the County Clerk in the county in which their company is situated. Estates and real estate investment trusts must also register with the county.
A general partnership is a company created by two or more persons that does not have a formal corporate structure. A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business held by a single person. In either scenario, the company name is the same as the proprietors’ names. In these circumstances, a DBA might be advantageous for altering the company name to a more marketable one.
A DBA is solely used for branding purposes. A DBA does not safeguard your personal assets in the event that your company is sued. As a result, we highly advise that a DBA be utilised exclusively by a formal company structure such as an LLC or corporation to add new brands to an existing firm.
If you operate an informal company (sole proprietorship or partnership), we highly advise you to create an LLC to keep your business and personal assets distinct. The name of the LLC might be chosen to serve as the business’s brand name.
Step 1: Conduct a New Jersey trade name search.
New Jersey trade names must be distinct and comply with the state’s company name criteria.
To begin, go to the website of the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services and search for your new DBA name to ensure it isn’t currently in use.
Review the New Jersey naming criteria next. Trade names in New Jersey should NOT include:
Words that may cause confusion between your company and a government agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.)
Bank, banker, banking, blind, cemetery, citius, con-con, dba, e-com, express mail, handicapped, little league, mail, olympiad, olympia, olympian, altius fortius, olympic, olympus, realtor, trust, United States Olympic Committee, urban renewal insurance, zip code, and USPS are all banned terms.
Read state legislation 42:2C-8 and 14a:2-2 relating to company names to learn more about New Jersey naming standards.
We suggest that you check to see whether your name is accessible as a web domain (URL). You may not want to launch a company website right now, but you may wish to prevent others from gaining your URL.
Step 2: File a DBA with the County Clerk in New Jersey.
To operate under a DBA, sole proprietors and partnerships must submit a Trade Name Certificate with the relevant county clerk’s office(s).
Sole proprietors and partnerships must file in any county where they conduct or transact business.
We will walk you through the process of obtaining a Middlesex County DBA. Please contact your county clerk for guidance in other counties.
The Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey website has contact information for your county.
How to Register a DBA in Middlesex County
It is a good idea to check the Middlesex County trade name database before beginning the DBA application procedure.
After you’ve decided on a name, fill out the Trade Name Certificate and return it to the Middlesex County Clerk. The certificate may be sent or delivered in person.
Maintain Control of Your Middlesex County DBA
DBA Concerns
Please contact the Middlesex County Clerk’s Office at (732) 745-3827.
Remove Your DBA
In Middlesex County, you may cancel your trade name by submitting the Dissolution of a Business Name Certificate form. If the paperwork is already notarized, the filing cost is $25; otherwise, it is $31 if it is notarized at the clerk’s office.
Create a New Jersey DBA for your LLC, Corporation, or LLP.
Incorporated companies must register their alternate name with the New Jersey Department of State.
The following sorts of businesses are considered incorporated:
Corporations, both for profit and non-profit
Professional Corporations and Associations
Limited Partnerships, often known as Limited Liability Partnerships,
Companies with Limited Liability
Entities Filing from Outside the U.S.
Step 1: Conduct a search for New Jersey business entities.
New Jersey assumed names must be distinct and comply with the state’s business name standards.
To begin, go to the website of the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services and search for your new DBA name to ensure it isn’t currently in use.
Review the New Jersey naming criteria next. In New Jersey, assumed names shall NOT contain the following:
Words that may cause confusion between your company and a government agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.)
Bank, banker, banking, blind, cemetery, citius, con-con, dba, e-com, express mail, handicapped, little league, mail, olympiad, olympia, olympian, altius fortius, olympic, olympus, realtor, trust, United States Olympic Committee, urban renewal insurance, zip code, and USPS are all banned terms.
Step 2: Register Your Alternate Name in New Jersey
If your company is incorporated, you must register your DBA with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services.
The Registration of Alternate Name form will request your new DBA name as well as company details. You have the option of filing a paper copy or submitting it online.
Manage Your New Jersey DBA
DBA Concerns
Call the Division of Revenue at the New Jersey Department of Treasury at (609) 292-9292.
Renew Your Business Name with the State
Every five years, you must renew your New Jersey alternative name. This may be accomplished either online or by submitting the Renewal of Registration of Alternate Name form. The renewal price for companies is $25 and $50 for other organisations.
Remove Your DBA
By submitting the Certificate of Termination of Corporate Alternate Name form, you may terminate your New Jersey alternate name. The cost for filing is $75.