How to change your business name legally
Written byGerri Detweiler & Robin Saks Frankel
Summary
- Changing your business name? At Nav, we changed our name three years after we launched. Although we were a relatively young company, it was still a lot of work — but well worth it.
- To help make the process easier for you, we’ve put together a checklist we used to help us stay organized. You can download it below and customize it to your needs.
- We recommend you start planning at least three months ahead of time; longer if your business is larger, has multiple locations, or is well established.
Editorial note: Our top priority is to give you the best financial information for your business. Nav may receive compensation from our partners, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions or recommendations. Our partners cannot pay for favorable reviews. All content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.
Business name change vs. DBA
Not every business needs to formally change its legal name to operate under a different name. In some cases, you may be able to register a “doing business as” (DBA), also called a trade name, which allows you to market and operate under a different name without changing your legal business entity.
However, if you want your official business name — the name registered with your state — to change, you’ll typically need to file a formal name change with the appropriate state agency. The right option depends on your business structure, goals, and how you plan to use the new name.
Changing your business name: The financials
Bank and financial accounts: Notify your bank or credit union. Order new checks.
Credit and debit cards: Ask your issuers if you need replacement cards. If so, and the numbers change, make sure you update any payments automatically paid through the old account numbers.
Clients, suppliers, and vendors: Notify them as well. Your accounting software may make it easy; if not, you may need to notify each one individually.
Credit agencies: Notify the major commercial credit agencies.
- Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) does not require you notify them of a name change unless it involves a change of ownership. If it does, visit Dun & Bradstreet’s free company update page here.
- Experian recommends small business owners visit BusinessCreditFacts.com to update their reports.
- Equifax does not require a business owner to notify them of a name change as long as the business maintains the same tax ID number and credit accounts.
Monitor your business credit before, during, and after your name change to make sure information is reported accurately and continues to be. Check your personal and business credit scores for free at Nav. No credit card is required.
Physical presence
All those envelopes, business cards, and brochures you recently had printed will have to be redone with your new company name and logo. While you may want to keep a few old items around for nostalgia (or scrap paper), consider donating them to others rather than simply throwing them in a trash heap. Employees may want to donate letterhead to their kids’ school for use as scrap paper, for example, and your local charity may welcome those mugs, pens, or T-shirts you won’t be using.
Other items that might need updating:
- Logo
- Website and social media accounts
- Sign for front desk
- Signage on doors
- Building sign
- Business cards
- Posters
- Vehicle parking ID / wraps
- Building ID badges
- Letterhead
- Envelopes
- T-shirts/uniforms
- Swag/promotional items
- Brochures
- Slide decks/presentations
- Voicemail message
Online presence
Here are just a few of the things you may need to change with your online presence:
- Domain name
- SSL certificate
- Web pages
- Website copyright
- Search engines
- Email addresses
- Email signatures
- Wikipedia page
Social media
You’ll need to update your social media accounts which may include:
- X (formerly Twitter)
- Google Business Profile
- Threads
- YouTube
- Yelp
And any others on which your business has a presence. In some cases, you may need to keep your old account/page open and leave a message about how to find you on your new one. In others you may be able to simply change the name. The procedure will vary. It’s not a bad idea to leave a message in your profile for the first month or two alerting your community to the name change so there’s less confusion. Not everyone will pick up on it right away.
Legal
There may be a number of legal documents that need to be updated. Be sure to consult with your attorney or in-house counsel to make sure you are covered.
- Business license
- Contracts
- Patents
- Trademarks
- Copyrights
- Department of Corporations or state agency registration
- Stock certificates
- Notify registered agent
Human resources (HR)
Your employees will appreciate a smooth transition, so make sure HR issues are covered. These may include:
- Payroll
- Health insurance
- Other insurance (dental, life, etc.)
- Unemployment insurance
- 401K
- Job boards
- Employee shares
- Training manual
- Telephone scripts
Media advertising
- Press release
- Online press resources
- Media style guide
- Online advertisements
- Billboards/Outdoor ads
- Radio ads
- TV ads
Download the Business Name Change Worksheet here.
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Gerri Detweiler
Education Consultant, Nav
Gerri Detweiler has spent more than 30 years helping people make sense of credit and financing, with a special focus on helping small business owners. As an Education Consultant for Nav, she guides entrepreneurs in building strong business credit and understanding how it can open doors for growth.
Gerri has answered thousands of credit questions online, written or coauthored six books — including Finance Your Own Business: Get on the Financing Fast Track — and has been interviewed in thousands of media stories as a trusted credit expert. Through her widely syndicated articles, webinars for organizations like SCORE and Small Business Development Centers, as well as educational videos, she makes complex financial topics clear and practical, empowering business owners to take control of their credit and grow healthier companies.
Robin Saks Frankel
Managing Editor
Robin has worked as a personal finance writer, editor, and spokesperson for over a decade. Her work has appeared in national publications including Forbes Advisor, USA TODAY, NerdWallet, Bankrate, the Associated Press, and more. She has appeared on or contributed to The New York Times, Fox News, CBS Radio, ABC Radio, NPR, International Business Times and NBC, ABC, and CBS TV affiliates nationwide.
Robin holds an M.S. in Business and Economic Journalism from Boston University and dual B.A. degrees in Economics and International Relations from Boston University. In addition, she is an accredited CEPF® and holds an ACES certificate in Editing from the Poynter Institute.