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 Montana LLC.
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 Montana-based plumbing business called “Missoula Plumbing,” and you want to expand beyond Missoula, you can register a DBA for “Billings Plumbing” and use that name in the Billings market.
The state of Montana prevents the registration of assumed business names if there is already another assumed name that is “the same as or not distinguishable” from the name you’re trying to register. This exclusivity makes the DBA a better option in Montana than in most other states because most states do not provide any sort of exclusivity for DBAs.
When you file a DBA in this state, you will receive the exclusive rights to that name for a period of five years, after which you may renew if you choose to. In the next section, we’ll walk you through the process of registering a DBA in this state.
How to Get a DBA for a Montana LLC
First off, we’ll note that Montana typically refers to DBAs as “assumed names,” but for the purposes of this article, we’ll continue to use both terms interchangeably because most states use the term “DBA.”
The process for obtaining a DBA in Montana begins with a business name search to determine whether the name you want to register is still available, or if it is already in use. Once you’ve determined the eligibility of your desired name, you can start filling out the Application for Registration of Assumed Business Name.
This is an incredibly simple form that requires far less information than most states require for DBA registrations. All you’ll need to tell them is the official business name of your LLC, your LLC’s business address, the assumed name you’re registering, and a description of your LLC’s business activities.
When you’re ready to file this form, you can submit it to the Secretary of State online. This filing has a $20 fee. The typical turnaround time for this filing is 2-5 days, but you can expedite your order if you need it sooner. For an additional $20, the state will process your filing within 24 hours, while an additional $100 upgrades your service to a one-hour turnaround.
hould You Hire a DBA Service?
Would you rather pay a reasonable fee to a business services company and have them register your DBA on your behalf? While you can certainly save some money by doing it yourself, it’s nice to have the peace of mind that your new trade name was registered by a professional who really knows what they’re doing.
Here are a few of our favorite services for DBA registrations, all offering the same low price point of $99:
- IncFile: IncFile is one of the best business service providers available, and their DBA service is top-notch. IncFile receives tremendous customer feedback, with thousands of positive reviews all over the web. They also have plenty of experience, as they’ve been around since 2004 and they’ve formed more than 250,000 businesses.
- LegalZoom: LegalZoom actually has two different packages for DBA services, as their $119 Premium package includes a trial of their Business Advisory Plan. LegalZoom is one of the biggest names in the industry, and they’ve served millions of customers. It’s hard to argue with a track record like that!
- Swyft Filings: Swyft Filings really lives up to their name, as they’re one of the fastest business services companies you’ll ever find. Not only do they have some of the industry’s quickest turnaround times, but they also say that you can fill out their entire DBA application in “as little as 10 minutes.”
In Conclusion
To be honest, we often say that entrepreneurs shouldn’t bother with DBAs because they don’t provide any exclusivity for your business name. However,
Montana actually does a solid job in this regard compared to most states. Montana’s pledge to provide five years of name exclusivity for any trade name registered here makes the DBA an interesting proposition in this state, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this option to any of our readers.
If you’re looking for a new way to market your LLC in Montana, a DBA isn’t a bad idea.
