What’s the Difference Between a Trade Name and a Business Name?

A trade name identifies the owner and multiple trade names can be used.
To protect your business, you may need to file paperwork to cover all names used.
For a corporation, the legal name is on incorporation papers, and for an LLC, it’s the name on formation papers.
Trademarking provides legal rights to the business name.
A DBA name promotes the business and is often catchier than the legal name.
For a domain, a DBA name works better and is more memorable.
You must check that the business name isn’t taken in your state and legally establish it by filing forms.
A business name is used on legal documents while a DBA name is for marketing purposes.
A trade name allows a corporation to operate under a different name and helps states track companies for taxation and regulation.

The key difference lies in legal status.
Business names must be registered while trading names don’t need to be registered.
Trading names can’t mislead, and business names have legal protection against infringement.