Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary

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Doing Business As (Dba): A situation in which a business owner operates a company under a name different from its legal name. The owner must file a fictitious name statement, dba statement, or an assumed name statement with the appropriate agency -- for example, the county clerk or Secretary of State -- that records the names of the business's owners. This enables consumers to discover the names of the business owner(s), which is important if a consumer needs to sue the business.