There are dozens of decisions to make when you start a business, but one of the most important ones is your business name. Some might even say that it’s harder than naming a baby. After all, the government doesn’t give “rules” about what you can name your children. They do give rules for business names.
Thanks to those legal regulations, trade names are one type of business name that can get a bit confusing. So if you’re wondering what a trade name is, if you need one, or how you can get one, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ll cover all the essentials to Washington trade trade names so you don’t have to sort through the legal jargon and focus on what really counts: your business.
Important Tip
What is a Washington Trade Name?
A trade name—often called a DBA or fictitious name or assumed name—is a type of business name. More specifically, it’s a fake name used by a business, much like you might use a nickname around family and friends.
A bit more technically, a trade name differs from the business’s legal name. Here’s where it becomes important to note what kind of entity you’re running.
For example, let’s say Lauren Smith operates as a sole proprietorship. From a legal standpoint, her business is indistinct from her own person. So her business’s legal name is, well…Lauren Smith. Not many people want to call their business by their own name.
Lauren sells handmade baby clothes, so she decides to name her shop “Sew Sweet Creations.” Unless she incorporates as an LLC or corporation, she’d be using a trade name. Because of this scenario, trade names are most commonly used by unincorporated entities.
That said, many corporations and LLCs also choose to use trade names. For example, a local restaurant, “Becky’s Bistro,” might want to expand across their county, with a slightly different name for each location. Instead of creating a new LLC for the new locations, Becky might get a trade name for it. Corporations might do something similar for new product lines, too.
But that’s trade names in a nutshell!
Is trade name registration required in Washington?
Washington does require you to register a trade name, but how you register the trade name is unique. Instead of having a separate registration for the trade name, you’ll register it as part of your business license application. And if you want to register more than one, you can do so.
Thankfully, the state grants you exclusive rights to a trade name if you’re the first one to use it. So if you are the first to use your name and the first to register it, no one else will be able to use that name. This allows your business to stand out from the competition, so even if the state didn’t require registration, we’d recommend completing it for the name exclusivity alone.
Benefits to Registering a Washington Trade Name
There are several benefits to registering a trade name. Like we’ve just mentioned, one of the biggest benefits is that you’ll have exclusive rights to that name. Once you’ve been the first to use the name and registered it, no one else in Washington can use that name. This doesn’t apply to businesses in other states, of course, but while you’re just starting out, there’s a lot of peace of mind knowing that no one else in Washington has a name like yours.
One benefit you might not think of right away is that a trade name allows you to get a business bank account in that name. This isn’t a necessity for many entrepreneurs, but from an accounting standpoint, it’s really helpful. You can keep all your “business funds” in one place, separate from your personal funds. That’s a good habit to start from the get-go (especially if you ever intend to become an incorporated entity later).
On a similar note, a trade name gives your customers peace of mind. It’s not uncommon for customers to write checks, right? Without a trade name, they’d write the check to you personally. Some people are leery about that. But thanks to a business bank account, Lauren can tell her customers to make their checks out to “Sew Sweet Creations.” It’s just a psychological thing, but a trade name gives your business an extra layer of legitimacy.
Register your Washington Trade Name in 2 Steps
1. Check that your trade name doesn’t infringe on any legally protected names.
Before you register a trade name, you have to do your homework to ensure that you actually have clearance to use that name. Here are a few of the names you cannot use:
- Names that are already in use as the legal names of any corporations, LLCs, and other protected entities in Washington
- Names that have already been registered as trade names in Washington
- Names that have been reserved for future use as the legal names of incorporated entities
- Names that are protected by U.S. trademark law
The Washington Business Licensing Service will automatically reject your trade name if it infringes on other names registered in the state. They won’t check the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s database for you. That’s why it’s important to complete a few different searches.
First you’ll need to run two searches: a Business Lookup and a Corporation Search. These searches are your way to check the state database for any exact matches to your trade name. As a general rule, if you search your desired trade name and the tool pulls up any matches, you’ll need to change your name.
Next, we recommend searching the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s trademark database. Even though trademarks are usually regarded as visuals or logos, any names and text included within those visuals are nationally protected. That means no other names or visuals in the entire United States can’t be the same or similar as a trademarked name.
There are plenty of examples of different small businesses being taken to court for infringing on the name of large international chains, but we won’t get into them. Just rest assured that you’ll be doing yourself a big favor by ensuring that your name is completely unique.
Another optional search is just your tried-and-true Google search. This won’t give you any systematic, organized results like what you’d get from the Business Lookup and Corporation Search. But it will give you insight into names being used everywhere.
For example, you might find that your desired name is being used by another business in a neighboring state. That’s fine as long as the name isn’t trademarked and you intend to run business exclusively in Washington. But if you have any aspirations of expanding into other states, you’ll want to know what names are in use there.
2. File the appropriate trade name application.
The process of registering a trade name is pretty simple as long as you use the right form: the Business License Application. If you’re a brand-new business, you can complete the trade name application and the business license at the same time. If you already have your business license, you’ll still use the business license application, but you can disregard the sections that don’t relate to your trade name.
Washington also allows you to register multiple names with the same application; there’s a $5 fee for each name you register, plus a base $19 processing fee for the form itself. So at a minimum, you’ll pay $24 for this application.
Once the application is complete and approved, you’re all set to go! Washington trade names do not expire, so you won’t need to worry about renewals or anything.
Other Considerations for Your Trade Name
Now that you’re a proud owner of a Washington registered trade name, there are a couple things to keep in mind.
Most importantly, you should note that a trade name does not give you any personal asset protection. That’s a perk that comes with incorporating your business, such as forming an LLC or corporation.
If you already are (or you’re thinking about forming) an LLC or a corporation, then you get personal asset protection and even privacy through a registered agent service. This means that if something ever goes wrong with your business, your personal belongings—your car, your house, your personal savings account—are protected. Creditors or legal plaintiffs cannot touch them.
That protection is not available to unincorporated entities like partnerships or sole proprietorships. Moreover, applying for a trade name does not grant you that protection. In these cases, if something went wrong with your business, you’d have to pay any debts out of personal funds. So please don’t rely on a trade name for those protections.
Next, keep in mind that registering a trade name doesn’t prevent businesses in other states from using that name. The same applies for business’s legal names, too. We won’t get too technical with this, but each state governs its own businesses with no effect on businesses in other states. So as a businessperson in Washington, you’ll follow Washington law and federal (national) law for businesses. Oregon, for example, has no jurisdiction over your business unless you choose to expand into Oregon. This affects business names, too.
If you want to protect your trade name or legal name outside of Washington, you do have options. Foremost among them is applying for a trademark with USPTO. If that’s something you’re interested in, we recommend seeking additional legal counsel. Trademarks are a very complicated (and expensive) process, and a lawyer will help you conquer every aspect of the application.
Conclusion
Trade names might sound a bit complicated, but they don’t have to be. As long as you follow the proper state guidelines, it’s actually as simple as filling out the form and paying the filing fee. Hopefully this guide has taken away some of the guesswork to Washington trade names.
If you decide that forming an actual entity is right for you, we recommend forming a Washington LLC for most small businesses and entrepreneurs. You can either register it yourself or hire a WA LLC filing service.