How to Change a Registered Business Name
- 1). Check with your county clerk's office to confirm that someone else has not taken your new business name in your county. In addition, perform a search of the name on the Internet to make sure that another business in another state also does not have the name.
- 2). Contact the Secretary of State office in your state to change your registered business name. You will have to submit documents showing your previous business name, your identification and Social Security or EIN number, if applicable. If you are correcting a misspelling, a basic edit to your file may suffice. However, if you are changing the entire business name, you may need to submit a new application. Depending upon the location of your business a fee may be imposed.
- 3). Inform the IRS of your new business name as soon as the Secretary of State accepts the change. You can do this by writing a letter. The letter must include your previous business name and your new business name, your Social Security number or EIN number and your contact information with a valid phone number. However, if you are registered as a corporation then you have two options. You can submit the name change with your current year tax return by filing form 1120 or you can write a letter to your local IRS office and provide it with the documents that show your previous business name, your identification and Social Security, or EIN number if applicable. This change notice must include a signature of a corporate officer, if you have already filed your return. You can do the same if you have a partnership, by submitting form 1165. However, the letter must be signed by one of your business partners.
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