A Trade Name Certificate is the legal name of a business or name of the person or entity owning a business. If you are the sole owner of your business, its legal name is your full name. If your business is a partnership, the legal name is the name given in your partnership agreement or the last names of the partners. For limited liability corporations (LLC) and corporations, the business' legal name is the one that was registered with the state government.
Your business' legal name is required on all government forms and applications, including your application for employer tax IDs, licenses and permits. However, if you want to open a shop or sell your products under a different name, then you may have to file a "fictitious name" registration form with your government agency.
A fictitious name (or assumed name, trade name, or DBA name, short for "doing business as") is a business name that is different than your personal name, the names of your partners or the officially registered name of your LLC or corporation. If you're starting a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, your business name will be automatically registered when you file your articles of incorporation with your state government.
If you are a sole proprietor, where you register a fictitious name depends on where you live. For example, let's say Mary Smith is a sole proprietor of a catering company she runs out of her house. Mary wants to name her business Seaside Catering instead using her business' legal name, Mary Smith. In order to use Seaside Catering, Mary will need to register that name as a fictitious business name with a government agency. Which government agency, depends on where she lives. In some states, fictitious names are registered with the state government; while in others, you register trade names with the county clerk's office who issues your newly registered trade name certificate.
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