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, DBAs are one type of business name that can get a bit confusing. So if you’re wondering what a DBA 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 Alaska DBAs so you don’t have to sort through the legal jargon and focus on what really counts: your business.
Important Tip
What is an Alaska DBA?
A DBA—often called a trade 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 DBA 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 DBA. Because of this scenario, DBAs are most commonly used by unincorporated entities.
That said, many corporations and LLCs also choose to use DBAs. 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 DBA for it. Corporations might do something similar for new product lines, too.
But that’s DBAs in a nutshell!
Is DBA registration required in Alaska?
Not exactly! Alaska actually does things a bit differently than most states when it comes to business names. You do have to “declare” every single name you intend to use when you fill out your business license application (required for all businesses). So on that license application, you might list your business’s legal name, and the two DBAs you hope to use.
If you do that, you’ll meet all of Alaska’s legal requirements (provided your name isn’t infringing on reserved names, but more on that in a moment). However, stating a name on your business license doesn’t give you exclusive rights to that name. In fact, dozens of businesses in Alaska can list the same DBA on their business license.
But if you complete an additional step and actually register your DBA, you’ll gain exclusive rights to your name. By registering, you stake your claim to the DBA in Alaska. Anyone else using the name would have to stop using it once your registration was approved. On the flipside, if you and another business operated under the same DBA and your competitor registered it, you’d be up the creek without a name.
Because of that, we recommend registering your DBA.
Benefits to Registering an Alaska DBA
There are several benefits to registering a DBA. Like we’ve just mentioned, one of the biggest benefits is that you’ll have exclusive rights to that DBA. Once you’ve registered, no one else in Alaska can use it. 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 Alaska has a name like yours.
One benefit you might not think of right away is that a DBA 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 DBA gives your customers peace of mind. It’s not uncommon for customers to write checks, right? Without a DBA, 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 DBA gives your business an extra layer of legitimacy.
Register your Alaska DBA in 3 Steps
1. Check that your DBA doesn’t infringe on any legally protected names.
Before you register a DBA, 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 DBA
- Names that have already been registered as trade names (reminded that this doesn’t mean names listed on the business licenses; they must be registered)
- Names that are protected by U.S. trademark law
The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development will automatically reject your DBA 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 a Business License Search and a Corporations Database Search. This is your way to check the state database for any exact matches to your DBA. As a general rule, if you search your desired DBA and the tool pulls up any matches, you’ll need to tweak your name.
Resource: Need help with the Business License Search or the Corporations Database Search? Check out our full name search guide here.
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 License Search or Corporations Database 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 Alaska. 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 DBA registration form.
In Alaska, the actual process of registering your DBA is pretty simple. A reminder, though: you must list the name on your business license. The registration we’re talking about now is the one that actually protects your name for your exclusive use.
This process is as simple as filing a New Business Name Registration. There’s a $25 fee to file it, but one you’ve completed this registration, your DBA is exclusively yours.
3. Renew your DBA.
In some states, your DBA lasts forever. But in Alaska, your registration lasts for five years. Before that five-year period expires, you’ll need to file a renewal. The specific filing period is October 1 through December 31. Like the registration, this filing costs just $25.
If you don’t renew in time, you run the risk of losing your exclusive rights to your DBA. It wouldn’t happen immediately, but in theory, someone else could register the DBA out from under you on January 1. Thankfully, the renewal process is pretty simple, so it’s merely a matter of filing on time.
Other Considerations for Your DBA
Now that you’re a proud owner of an Alaska DBA, there are a couple things to keep in mind.
Most importantly, you should note that a DBA 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 DBA 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 DBA for those protections.
Next, keep in mind that registering a DBA 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 Alaska, you’ll follow Alaska law and federal (national) law for businesses. Washington state, for example, has no jurisdiction over your business unless you choose to expand into Washington. This affects business names, too.
If you want to protect your DBA or legal name outside of Alaska, 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
Important Tip
DBAs 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 Alaska DBAs.
If you decide that forming an actual entity is right for you, we recommend forming an Alaska LLC for most small businesses and entrepreneurs. You can either register it yourself or hire an AK LLC filing service.