What is my company trade name?
Michael Gray
Updated on March 08, 2026
A trade name is the name your business is commonly known as or the name you use when advertising or doing business. A trade name is also called a DBA (doing business as) name.
What is operating or trade name?
An operating trade name registration is a registration by an incorporated company pursuant to which the company carries on business under a name other than its corporate name.
Can I add a trading name to my company?
It is possible to officially register a company name at Companies House, but then use one or more ‘trading names’ as required by yourself or your organisation. Some companies trade under different names, with the name registered at Companies House belonging to the original company.
How many trading names can a company have?
You can register two business names under the one ABN, as long as both businesses are the same structure.
Can one company have two trading names?
A company may only have one registered name, but can have multiple trading names, as required.
How do you create a trade name?
Registering a trademark for a company name is pretty straightforward. Many businesses can file an application online in less than 90 minutes, without a lawyer’s help. The simplest way to register is on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Web site,
How do you create a trading name?
How to register a business name using ASIC Connect
- Step 1 – Log in to ASIC Connect and select the ‘Licences and Registrations’ tab at the top of the page.
- Step 2 – Select ‘Business name’ from the drop-down box.
- Step 3 – Enter your Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Step 4 – Enter the proposed business name.
Does a trading name need to be registered?
A trading name is the name (or names) used by a person, partnership or company for carrying out business which is not the same as their own name or official registered name. A business may use as many trading names as it requires, but these cannot be registered as official names of the company.
Can a business name be the same as a trading name?
This is known as a ‘business name’ or ‘trading name’. Trading names must not: be the same as an existing trade mark include ‘limited’, ‘Ltd’, ‘limited liability partnership, ‘LLP’, ‘public limited company’ or ‘plc’
When do you need to register a trade name?
If a company wishes to conduct business under a name other than its corporate name this name must be registered in the province in which the company is carrying on business using that name. Below are some examples of what operating trade names are. 2225522 Ontario Limited, carrying on business under the name “Joe’s Dry Cleaning”.
Is it an offence to trade under an unregistered name?
It’s an offence to carry on business under an unregistered business name unless you trade under your own name such as Mary Jones. If you want your business to trade under a name that is different from your legal name, then you’ll have to register it as a business name.
Can a company have more than one business name?
A company can register any number of business names. It may want to have a “gardening division”, a “landscaping division” or a “snow blowing division” and may wish to register separate names for each division and track the profits from each division separately or combine them all.
