To legally operate a business in Idaho, you must choose a unique and distinguishable name that does not infringe on any existing trademarks. It’s important to carefully consider the Idaho business name requirements and consult with legal and business professionals to ensure that your chosen name complies with all necessary regulations.
Reserving Your Business Name
Once you’ve determined the availability of your desired name, you can begin the process of reserving it with the state. To reserve your business name, you must file the Application for Reservation of Legal Entity Name with the Secretary of State’s office. This form can be filed online or by mail. The filing fee is $20 and you will need to provide the following information:
- Your LLC’s name
- Your name and contact information
Idaho Secretary of State will reserve a company name for a period of 120 days. After that, the reservation must be renewed. When reserving a name in Idaho one must use the name with appropriate company identifier (to learn more about specific identifiers, acceptable for filing in Idaho please visit our Idaho LLC, corporation, or nonprofit pages). IMPORTANT! Company name reservation is NOT the same thing as company registration.
Registering an Assumed Business Name
To use a different name to conduct business, the business owner(s) must file for an Idaho assumed business name — also commonly referred to as a doing business as (DBA) name or trade name. The fee for getting an Idaho Assumed Business Name Certificate is $25 plus $20 to process it manually. You will need to provide:
- The name of the business
- The address of the business
- The address of the registered agent
- The names of the owners
Registering a DBA name in Idaho provides legal protection for your business name, allows customers to easily identify your business, and simplifies the opening of business bank accounts.