Who needs a fictitious name registration (DBA) in Pennsylvania?
Issued by Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations, at step 1 of 6 in the opening sequence: set up the business.
Every kind of business in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania table lists this for every kind of business.
Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name. When an individual is a party, the registration is advertised in two newspapers of general circulation in the county, one of them a legal newspaper where there is one.
Checked Oct 21, 2026 against the agency’s page.
Step 1 of 6: Set up the business
1Set up the business
2Register for tax
3Approve the space
4Get the permits for your kind of business
5Alcohol permits
6Before the first hire
Issued by Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations.
Sources and dates
Department of State fictitious names page and form DSCB:54-311. Checked against the agency’s page on the date shown; cities add their own fees.
Questions about opening here.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Yes. Needed when the business trades under any name other than the owner’s or the entity’s exact registered name.
Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations.
Step 1 of 6, set up the business. It is the first step.
Who needs a fictitious name registration (DBA) in Pennsylvania?
