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LLC and DBA name

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qlasiq

Junior Member
I'm about to register an LLC in Utah, and have registered one other LLC in the past. I'm going to be starting a clothing brand which will require me to have a resellers license to acquire garments at wholesale. My question is when setting up my LLC does the LLC name and DBA have to match? (Ex: Jones clothing, LLC doing business as Jones clothing goods) also if lets say the DBA business doesn't work out, and I want to do the same type of business under a different DBA do I have to register a new LLC (ex: jones clothing, LLC doing business as Toms apparel)

Thanks for the help!
-ger
 


adjusterjack

Senior Member
I think you will find the correct answers to your questions at the following Utah government website which addresses business registration and licensing regulations:

http://www.utah.gov/business/starting/government_starting.html
 

quincy

Senior Member
I'm about to register an LLC in Utah, and have registered one other LLC in the past. I'm going to be starting a clothing brand which will require me to have a resellers license to acquire garments at wholesale. My question is when setting up my LLC does the LLC name and DBA have to match? (Ex: Jones clothing, LLC doing business as Jones clothing goods) also if lets say the DBA business doesn't work out, and I want to do the same type of business under a different DBA do I have to register a new LLC (ex: jones clothing, LLC doing business as Toms apparel)

Thanks for the help!
-ger
Here is a link to the Utah Division of Corporations & Commercial Code on "doing business as" (DBA): http://corporations.utah.gov/business/dba.html

Here is a link to the law on conducting business under an assumed name, Title 42 of the Utah Code, Names: http://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title42/42.html?v=C42_1800010118000101

You can register your LLC with your state as Jones Clothing LLC and operate several different and unrelated businesses under this LLC by registering and using d/b/a's that make no mention of Jones Clothing in their names.

However, one of a few problems with this type of LLC and d/b/a arrangement is that, should one of your d/b/a businesses be sued, your LLC and all of your other d/b/a businesses can be held liable, as well. DBAs do not qualify as separate legal entities.

Another important thing you need to consider carefully for your business(es) before investing too much money will be the names you choose to identify your company, its products/services. When you choose your names (trademarks) for your LLC and for your other businesses, you will want to make sure you do a thorough check of trademarks already in use and already registered federally. Trademarks do not need to be federally registered to have trademark protection so merely searching local, state, and federal registries will not be enough.

You will want to choose names for your company and product/service identifiers that are unique to you alone, so you do not risk infringing on any other company's rights. You do not want to start your new business off with a lawsuit.

Because this is a new business, I recommend you seek out professional legal assistance in your area now, to best ensure the problems that are common to all businesses are addressed properly at the start. There are far too many legal and tax implications that need to be discussed personally with a professional in your area so that what you want for your business is actually what you are getting with the corporate business structure you choose.
 

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