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

Fred Kingston

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
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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