One of the most important parts of any business is its name. Your limited liability company’s name is your first impression with prospective clients, whether they hear about your business by word of mouth, drive past a billboard advertising your business on the freeway, or if they stumble upon your business as a result of a Google search.
One way to change your business name — or to add an additional name that your LLC can use interchangeably — is by filing a “doing business as” name application, commonly known as a DBA. There are many reasons to get a DBA — from marketing a new product line to granting a sole proprietorship the ability to use an assumed name — so this article will walk you through the process of registering a DBA for your Missouri LLC.

A solid name goes a long way in establishing your brand in customers’ minds. Doing Business As (DBA) names give you increased customization, flexibility, and versatility with your business identity. Once you're ready to lock it down, have ZenBusiness file all the paperwork.
Alternatively, if you’d rather just setup an LLC, we have a special discount running and will do it for $0 + state fee ($79 less than LegalZoom).
What Is a DBA?
To begin, let’s quickly run down what exactly a DBA is. One point of confusion we often hear about is that a DBA is not a business entity, like an LLC, corporation, sole proprietorship, general partnership, etc. Instead, you can think of a DBA as an add-on feature of sorts.
The DBA allows you to create alternate business names for your entity, which you can then use interchangeably with your LLC’s official business name. In addition, for informal business entities that don’t have exclusive business names (like sole proprietorships and general partnerships), a DBA can be a great way to inject some additional professionalism into a business venture.
But let’s talk strictly about LLCs, shall we? Why would an LLC want an additional business name? There are several potential reasons, although they obviously vary considerably depending on what your business does. One popular reason is to differentiate a new product line from a company’s existing offerings.
Let’s say that you own a business called “Fine Footwear, LLC” that produces high-end shoes. If you decide to also start a new product line that sells inexpensive flip-flop sandals, you might want a way to differentiate this brand from your core business. In this circumstance, you could register a DBA for “Flip-Flops by Fine Footwear,” and you can use this name to market your new products, while your original product line remains unaffected if your sandal side business fails.
It could also be helpful if you decide to expand your local business into a new market. For instance, if you own a Missouri-based plumbing business called “St. Louis Plumbing,” and you want to expand beyond St. Louis, you can register a DBA for “Kansas City Plumbing” and use that name in the Kansas City market.
The state of Missouri does not provide any level of exclusivity for DBA names. This means that if another entrepreneur likes the fictitious name that you register and wants to use it for themselves, they are legally allowed to do so. In fact, the Secretary of State’s website specifically notes that “there may be an infinite number of businesses using the same name.”
Due to this, if you want to lock up the exclusive rights to use an additional business name, you will need to form an additional LLC instead of registering a DBA. It’s definitely more of a hassle, and it’s also more expensive, we think it’s worth it because you’ll gain the unique rights to the name.
That said, if you still want to register a DBA for your Missouri LLC, we’ll outline the process in the next section.
How to Get a DBA for a Missouri LLC
First off, we’ll note that Missouri often refers to DBAs as “fictitious names,” so for the purposes of this article, we’ll continue to use both terms interchangeably.
The process for obtaining a DBA in Missouri begins with a search of the state’s business database to make sure your desired name hasn’t already been officially registered by a formal business entity. Once you’ve verified the name’s availability, you can start filling out the Registration of Fictitious Name document.
This document requires the following information: the fictitious name you’re registering, your LLC’s business address, your LLC’s official business name, the Missouri charter number of your LLC, the names and signatures of your LLC’s owners, and the date.
When you’ve finished filling out the form, you can submit it to the Secretary of State online, by mail, or by hand. Regardless of how you choose to file this document, there is a nominal $7 fee associated with it. Mailed documents take up to seven business days to process, while online or in-person filings are typically much quicker, usually around one business day.
In Conclusion
The doing business as (DBA) name varies more from state to state than most other business filings. In some states, a DBA grants you exclusive rights to your new trade name, but in states like Missouri, that simply isn’t the case. Due to this lack of exclusivity, we’re not fans of registering DBAs in this state.
Instead, it’s probably a better option to form an additional LLC if you want to be able to use multiple names for your business. This is certainly more of a hassle that registering a DBA, but at least you’ll have exclusive rights to your name.
If you’re looking for a new way to market your LLC in Missouri, a DBA might not be the best idea.
Get a DBA for an LLC in all States
We break down the DBA filing process in every state. View all of our guides below.
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Alabama
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Alaska
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Arizona
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Arkansas
- Get a DBA for an LLC in California
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Colorado
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Connecticut
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Delaware
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Florida
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Georgia
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Hawaii
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Idaho
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Illinois
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Indiana
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Iowa
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Kansas
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Kentucky
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Maine
- Get a Trade Name for an LLC in Louisiana
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Maryland
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Massachusetts
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Michigan
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Minnesota
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Mississippi
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Montana
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Nebraska
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Nevada
- Get a DBA for an LLC in New Hampshire
- Get a DBA for an LLC in New Jersey
- Get a DBA for an LLC in New Mexico
- Get a DBA for an LLC in New York
- Get a DBA for an LLC in North Carolina
- Get a DBA for an LLC in North Dakota
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Ohio
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Oklahoma
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Oregon
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Pennsylvania
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Rhode Island
- Get a DBA for an LLC in South Carolina
- Get a DBA for an LLC in South Dakota
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Tennessee
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Texas
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Utah
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Vermont
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Virginia
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Washington
- Get a DBA for an LLC in D.C.
- Get a DBA for an LLC in West Virginia
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Wisconsin
- Get a DBA for an LLC in Wyoming