A DBA (doing business as), AKA (also known as) or trade (not to be confused with a trademark) business names are examples of pseudonym used by business organizations to perform business activities under a name different from the business organization’s legal name.

A separate business license is required for each different name a business will be operating and advertising under.

Note: the name of who owns a business license (i.e. individuals, partners or entity) will appear on the business license. If the business is owned by an entity (i.e. corporation or LLC) then the names of who owns a percent of the entity (i.e. shareholder or member) will be in the entity’s records and may (depending on % held) be on record with the Corporation Section. For more business license and entity details go to: Search License Data

DBA Examples:

• Sole Proprietorship:
  • Mary Lou Smith (an individual) doing business as “ML Services”.
• Partnerships:
  • Partners Mary Lou Smith (an individual) and Bobbie Jo Jones (an individual) doing business as “MB Services”.
  • Partners Mary Lou Smith (an individual) and Swing Line, INC (an entity) doing business as “MLSL Services”.
  • Partners Swing Line, INC (an entity) and Frontier Products LLC (an entity) doing business as “Swing Line Frontier Services”.
• Entity doing business in full legal name:
  • “Swing Line, INC” (owner entity’s legal name) doing business as “Swing Line, INC” (entity’s legal name).
    • Note: If an entity indicator (INC, LLC, etc.) is used in the name on the business license then it must match the legal name of the entity owner as it appears on record with the Corporation Section.
• Entity doing business in business name without entity indicator (INC):
  • “Swing Line, INC” (owner entity’s legal name) doing business as “Swing Line”.
• Entity doing business in different name:
  • “Swing Line, INC” (owner entity’s legal name) doing business as “Frontier Sales”.
• One entity doing business in multiple different business names:
  • “Swing Line, INC” (owner entity’s legal name) doing business as
    • “Frontier Sales”
    • “Frontier Rentals”
    • “Frontier Towing”
    • “Frontier Auto Repair”
    • “Frontier Salvage”
• Not permitted is an entity DBA in another entity’s name:
  • Not permitted: "Swing Line, INC" doing business as "Frontier Products LLC"

Can I use the acronyms "DBA" or "AKA" in the title of my business license?

12 AAC 12.020(g) states in advertising and operating, a business license owner must use the business name exactly as it appears on the business license.

• Example: if the full name on your business license is “Swing Line DBA Frontier Sales” then “Swing Line DBA Frontier Sales” must be the full name you advertise and operate under, not “Swing Line” or “Frontier Sales”.

For more information, go to Business Licensing Statutes and Regulations.

This Division strongly encourages you to conduct a thorough search prior to submitting a business name for consideration in order to avoid legal conflicts and to make certain you are not infringing upon someone else's business name and/or rights.

To see if the name is already on record with this Division, search the corporation, business and professional licensing databases online at License Search.

Additional places to look include, but are not limited to: local, state and federal business license and corporation records; internet; telephone directories; trade magazines; trademark records; catalogs; associations; and so on.

Entity indicators whether words (i.e. corporation, limited liability company, etc.) or abbreviations (i.e. INC, LLC, LLP, LP, etc.) can only be used in the business name IF the business is owned by one (1) entity already on record with the Corporations Section AND IF the business name will exactly match the entity’s name.

Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing statutes and regulations contain some name restrictions, just to name a few:

• An unincorporated business may not use "incorporated" or "corporation" as part of its name, whereas an incorporated name must contain "corporation", "company", "incorporation", or "limited", or an abbreviation, as part of its name.
• A business name may not imply that the organization is a governmental unit (e.g. a city, village or borough) unless they are a governmental unit.
• Entity names which mislead regarding corporate purpose are not allowed. For example: An entity’s whose true purpose was clothing tailoring/design would not use the word “construction” in its name since the word “construction” misleads and implies the purpose of the entity was construction contracting.
• A business name may not contain a word with professional licensing restrictions, such as “Engineer”, unless the business has the appropriate professional license.
• Vulgar names may be in violation of local law or other agency (i.e. banking) requirements. Since, per 12 AAC 12.020(g), a business must operate and advertise in the business name as it appears on the Alaska Business License you are encouraged to check with your local government or other agencies to determine if the name you want may be subject to any name restrictions.
• For more information go to:
  • Business Licensing Statutes and Regulations
  • Corporations Statutes and Regulations
  • Professional Licensing

Under Business Licensing statutes and regulations there are no restrictions on distinguishable names.

Under Corporation statutes and regulations there are restrictions on distinguishable names for entities. For more information go to What is a Distinguishable Business Name ?

For information on how to obtain exclusive rights to your business name go to Reserve or Register a Business Name.

There are no restrictions in Business Licensing or Corporation statutes or regulations on deceptively similar names. For example: Cups Express vs. Cupz Express.

Under Business License statutes AS 43.70 there are no exclusive rights or restrictions on how many business licenses may exist with the same business name; thus there may be multiple business licenses with the exact same name owned by different people.

Exclusive rights exist under Corporation statutes and regulations. For more information, including how a business owner may obtain exclusive rights, go to Reserve or Register a Business Name.

Exclusive rights give the person the exclusive right to the use of that name. Pursuant to Alaska Statute AS 10.35.040(b), the person with exclusive rights may, through the Alaska Court System, seek a court order to prohibit the use of the name and collect damages.

NOTE: Current Alaska Business License Statutes do not restrict issuing multiple business licenses with the exact same name. The department is required to issue a business license under AS 43.70, even if exclusive rights to a name have been secured under Corporation Alaska Statutes Title 10.

If you need further assistance regarding your business name you are encouraged to seek legal counsel.

For additional resources, which may provide technical, informational or advisory assistance, go to:

• Small Business Assistance Center
• Alaska Small Business Development Center
• Starting a Business for People with Disabilities
• Workshops for Small Business
• IRS Small Business Center