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Written by : Vincent Kett |
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welcome to how to register a business name in Washington presented by starting your business comm this video is a part of a series of videos on starting a business in Washington after deciding on the legal entity of your business it's time to decide on a name while it's not required we would recommend checking to see if there is a trademark protecting the name you want to use here's a quick guide on how to check first go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office at uspto.gov when you get to USPTO click on trademarks you can learn more about trademarks here but to search names that are currently trademarked click on the search trademark database next click on the basic word mark search in the search term field type in the business name you want to use in this example let's enter mr. handyman and click Submit there are a number of listings that come up there are a few causes of concern that would likely want you to have a legal professional review before attempting to register your name there are names that include mr. handyman along with some additional words that are probably safe to use the names in this column that are dead are likely safe too as the previous registrant did not renew their name now here is a live listing for mr. handyman to be concerned about you can click on that listing to see more information in some cases a name that is trademarked can still be used since trademarks are grouped in categories and what the USPTO calls classes in this example mr. handyman is registered under home repair and general maintenance services within the goods and services category you could potentially register mr. handyman if your business operated outside of home repair and general maintenance services if you do a search and the name you want is registered you may want to consider getting professional help if you don't you may invest a lot of time and money establishing a business name that you may have to later abandon once the trademark search is out of the way the process of registering a business name will vary depending on the type of organization chosen for sole proprietorships or partnerships there are two options one is to operate under the owners full first and last name like John Smith this type of name does not need to be registered most businesses will however want to operate under a trade name like John Smith's handyman service mr. handyman and so on the term trade name is sometimes referred to as fictitious business name doing business as DBA or assumed name applying for this type of name allows your business to legally operate and transact business with a name other than your personal name to register a business name for a sole proprietorship or partnership first search for available names with the Secretary of State the right to use a trade name belongs to the one who first uses and continues to use it in connection with their business next file with the Secretary of State the fee to file is $5 to register a name for a corporation or LLC you must also have a unique name at the time of filing to check the availability of names you will also visit the Washington Secretary of State's website just like the sole proprietorship and partnership while nobody else can form a corporation or LLC with your business name in Washington someone else can still legally use your business name regardless of which entity you use to register your business name registering does little to stop anyone from using your name to keep others from using it consider getting a trademark for more information about registering your business name in Washington check out starting your business com if you like this video on how to register a business name in Washington be sure to watch the others in the starting of business and Washington series starting a business can be difficult but you don't have to do it on your own the start of your business comm site has lots of information to help get your business started and we have experienced business advisors ready to answer your questions at no cost
Thanks for your comment Marcus Fauci, have a nice day.
- Vincent Kett, Staff Member
okay let me quickly go over the name reservation filing for the state of Washington that's for reserving LLC corporation or partnership names so it'll cost thirty dollars for-profit entities and twenty dollars for nonprofit corporations making a reservation will allow you to have additional time with which to prepare for filing um that all actually lost for a total of 180 days which is more than most secretaries of state grant before you file for a name reservation it's a good idea to do a name availability check you can do that with a business entity search and we've gone over exactly how to do that with this tutorial us all you need to do is click here to download the name reservation form and enter in all the requisite information which is pretty minimal the name to be reserved the entity type the person is reserving it and then you send it through the mail with the attached check made out to the Secretary of State to this address that's all there is to it alright you like
Thanks Elois your participation is very much appreciated
- Vincent Kett
About the author
I've studied nanoengineering at Pensacola State College in Pensacola and I am an expert in reference. I usually feel grateful. My previous job was food science technicians I held this position for 6 years, I love talking about fantasy sports and qigong. Huge fan of Kurt Cobain I practice curling and collect disneyana.
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