Can I incorporate business for someone else?

Yes, with some exceptions. When you’re forming a corporation or an LLC in a state, the name must be unique to your business within that state. Others can form LLCs and businesses in other states that have the same name as yours. If you want to protect your business name across all states, you will need to trademark it.

How do you run a business under another name?

If you operate your business under a name other than your personal name, you will need to register your DBA with the appropriate state, county, city, or town office. incorporate.com can help sole proprietors file DBAs with some state and local government offices.

Can someone use my corporation name?

Once you register, nobody else can use the name locally, which protects your business brand. If someone new starts using your name, contact the city or county office you registered with. It may be the new business hasn’t registered its DBA. In that case, the county can inform the company it’s violating the law.

Can I open a company without my name on it?

You can’t legally use any business name until you have registered it as an officially recognized business entity, both with your local state authorities and with the Internal Revenue Service. Becoming recognized as a business by the Internal Revenue Service does not require any special steps or documents.

Should I open a LLC or corporation?

Both types of entities have the significant legal advantage of helping to protect assets from creditors and providing an extra layer of protection against legal liability. In general, the creation and management of an LLC are much easier and more flexible than that of a corporation.

Can a corporation be a DBA?

A DBA (“doing business as”) is also known as a fictitious business name. A corporation is not required to file a DBA, but a corporation can file a DBA if the shareholders of the company choose to do so.