Do you really need to register your business with your state?

G

gerfoto

New member
Hello,
I am question or a confusion. I have my business registered in Colorado as LLC. But, i do see other photographers who have "whatever" photography.com, their facebook page but they do not have it registered. i am saying this because i saw some photos of a photographer in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and could not find it registered.

So, what are the differences?

Thanks for your help,
 
Fred Kingston_RIP

Fred Kingston_RIP

Senior Member
Different states have different requirements.

Ex... in Florida... If I do business as "Kingston Photography, Inc. " <-- I need to register a fictitious name registration... however, if I do business as "Fred Kingston Photography" <-- I do NOT need a fictitious name registration... IOW, If I use my full name, no registration is necessary...
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Where I am in Pennsylvania, the county wants businesses registered. So even if it is someone's name or a fictitious name, they want a record of it.
 
R

Rick M

Senior Member
In New York State you can register in your county with a DBA name for your small business incorporating or LLC maybe different
 
S

Steve B

Senior Member
To make sure you do it right for your location talk to a lawyer. As soon as you start operating as a business that sells a product or service you have to be careful about things such as collecting and submitting sales tax if applicable. The fact that someone has a website and/or a Facebook page is meaningless and does not mean they are registered as required by state and/or local laws. Talk to a lawyer to be safe and avoid future headaches. Also remember that requirements for a unique business name will vary depending on the scale of your business and location. Filing as a DBA is usually a lot easier than setting up something like a corporation. You also need to talk to a lawyer about liability issues and how that changes depending on how you set your business up.
 
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