DBA stands for "doing business as." It is a filing that lets a company or a person operate under a name other than the one on their formation documents. A Wyoming LLC named "Riverbend Holdings LLC" can sell coffee under the name "Riverbend Coffee Co." Customers, banks and payment processors see "Riverbend Coffee Co." The state's own records still say "Riverbend Holdings LLC."
A DBA does not create a new legal entity. It does not change who owns the business or who is liable for its debts. It is a public record that connects a trading name to the entity or person behind it.
The part that trips people up is not the definition. It is that every state runs this filing differently, and some of those differences changed recently.
What the filing actually requires
There is no federal DBA. Each state, and in some states each county, has its own registry, its own form, and its own fee. Three examples show how far apart the rules can be.
Delaware changed its system in 2026. Trade name registration used to go through the Prothonotary's office in whichever county the business was in. As of February 2, 2026, that county-by-county system was replaced by a single statewide registry run by the Division of Revenue. The current text of 6 Del. C. §§3101 and 3103 already reflects the Division of Revenue as the filing office. Registration is required to trade under a name that does not disclose your legal name, and it has to be tied to a Delaware business license. Registrations filed under the old county system remain valid; re-registering under the new system is optional and free. Delaware is revising its filing fees, so take the current amount from Delaware OneStop rather than from any secondary page.
California requires a Fictitious Business Name (FBN) statement from anyone who regularly transacts business in the state for profit under a fictitious name, due within 40 days of starting that business (Bus. & Prof. Code §17910). It is filed with the County Clerk in the county where the business is located. If the business has no place of business in California, it files with the Sacramento County Clerk (§17915).
California is also the only one of these three states that requires publication. Under §17917, you must publish the statement in a newspaper of general circulation within 45 days of filing, and Gov. Code §6064 sets the schedule: once a week for four successive weeks. After publication is complete, you have another 45 days to file the affidavit of publication with the same county clerk. (Both deadlines were 30 days until a 2023 amendment moved them to 45.)
Missing those deadlines does not erase the filing, but there is a real consequence. Under §17918, a business that has not filed and published cannot maintain a court action on a contract made under that name until it has done both. Separately, an FBN statement expires five years from the date it was filed (§17920), and earlier than that if the facts in it change.
Wyoming does not use a county office at all. Trade names are filed with the Secretary of State under Title 40 of the Wyoming statutes. The filing is voluntary: W.S. 40-2-104 says a person who adopts a trade name may file, not that they must. Registration lasts ten years, and it is renewable for further ten-year terms, but the renewal has to be filed in the six months before it expires (W.S. 40-2-105). Current registration and renewal fees are on the Secretary of State's fee schedule.
The ten-year term is twice California's five-year FBN term. Delaware sets no expiration in its statute at all.
None of these three states asks where you, the owner, live. They ask where the company is registered, or where the business operates. That is the one fact that decides which office you file with and which rules apply.
🇺🇸 If the IRS counts you as a U.S. person
You file exactly what anyone in your state files. If your company trades under a name in California, you send the FBN statement to the county clerk where the business is located, and you handle the newspaper publication and the affidavit like every other California filer. If it is Delaware, you file with the Division of Revenue and pay the fee on the state's current schedule. If it is Wyoming, you file with the Secretary of State and plan on renewing in ten years.
Your citizenship, your home address, and where you personally live inside the United States play no part in any of this. The only address that matters is the one tied to where the company is registered or where it does business.
🌏 If it does not
The filing is identical to the one above. There is no separate non-resident DBA process, no extra form, and no extra fee tied to living outside the country.
What changes for you is practical, not legal: you need a way to receive the newspaper's proof of publication if you filed in California, and a way to track a renewal date that is ten years out if you filed in Wyoming. Neither of those is a rule written for non-residents. They are just consequences of running a U.S. filing from somewhere else, the same way anyone managing a filing at a distance would deal with them.
What is the same for both lanes
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Does residency change which office you file with? | No. Only the state, and sometimes the county, of the business decides that |
| Does residency add a fee or a form? | No |
| Does residency change the publication rule in California? | No. If your business trades under a name there, you publish, wherever you live |
| Does residency change the five-year California term or the ten-year Wyoming term? | No |
| Does a DBA replace your formation filing? | No. It is a name record, not an entity |
Where the states differ from each other
| Delaware | California | Wyoming | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filed with | Division of Revenue (statewide, since 2026-02-02) | County Clerk (Sacramento if no CA place of business) | Secretary of State |
| Publication required? | No | Yes. Once a week for 4 successive weeks, then an affidavit | No |
| Mandatory or voluntary | Mandatory to trade under another name | Mandatory to trade under another name | Voluntary ("may file") |
| Term | No expiration stated in the statute | 5 years from filing (§17920) | 10 years, renewable in the 6 months before expiry |
| Fee | See the state's current fee schedule | Set by the county | See the state's current fee schedule |
Common mistakes
🇺🇸 If the IRS counts you as a U.S. person
- Filing the DBA and stopping there, when the state is California. Until the statement is both filed and published, §17918 blocks you from suing on a contract made under that name.
- Letting a California FBN statement lapse. It expires five years after filing, and sooner if the facts on it change.
- Assuming Delaware still uses the old county Prothonotary process. Some older state pages still describe that process. As of February 2026, the filing office is the Division of Revenue.
- Treating the DBA as if it changes ownership or liability. It does not. Your formation documents still control that.
🌏 If it does not
- Assuming a DBA filed in one state lets you use the name in every state. It does not. Each state's registry is separate.
- Missing the California publication deadlines because the newspaper's confirmation arrives by mail to an address you are not checking regularly.
- Forgetting a Wyoming renewal that is ten years away. Ten years is long enough that the filing outlasts most people's tracking systems.
FAQ
Does a DBA create a separate legal entity?
No. A DBA is a name filing. The company or person behind it is still the same legal entity that owns the formation documents. Liability, taxes and ownership all still run through that entity, not through the DBA name.
Do I need a DBA if I live outside the United States?
The same rule applies to you as to a U.S. resident: it depends on whether your company trades under a name different from the one on its formation documents, and on what the state where it is registered or operating requires. Living abroad does not add or remove that requirement.
Is Delaware's trade name registry still handled by the county courthouse?
No, not since February 2, 2026. Delaware moved trade name registration from county Prothonotary offices to a single statewide registry run by the Division of Revenue. Registrations filed under the old system remain valid without re-filing.
Does California really require a newspaper notice?
Yes. Bus. & Prof. Code §17917 requires the statement to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within 45 days of filing, on the schedule in Gov. Code §6064: once a week for four successive weeks. An affidavit of publication is then due within 45 days of the last insertion. The Delaware and Wyoming trade name statutes contain no publication step.
How long does a Wyoming trade name registration last?
Ten years from the date of filing, and it can be renewed for further ten-year terms if you file in the six months before it expires (W.S. 40-2-105). That is twice the five-year life of a California FBN statement. Delaware's statute sets no expiration date.
Can I use one DBA across every state my company operates in?
No. Each state's trade name registry is separate. Using the same trade name in Delaware, California and Wyoming means a separate filing, and a separate fee, in each state that requires one. Delaware and California require it; Wyoming's registration is optional.
What happens if I miss California's publication deadline?
The statute does not say the filing is wiped out. What it says (§17918) is that a business transacting under a fictitious name without having filed and published cannot maintain an action in court on a contract made under that name until it has done both. The two clocks are: publish within 45 days of filing, then file the affidavit of publication within 45 days of finishing publication. Check with the county clerk about how to cure a missed one, because practice varies by county.
Does a DBA affect who can be sued or who is liable for the business?
No. Liability follows the legal entity named on the formation documents, not the trading name on the DBA. A DBA is a public record of a name, not a shield or a separate party.