Bank account with business name of sole proprietorship?

[French from 974]

Hi all!

Sorry for the mistakes I do, I am not an English-speaking person.

When a Sole Proprietorship uses a business name which is different from one's family name, is it possible to open bank account with the business name ?

Thanks.

[Harold Mansfield]

If you've registered that business name as a DBA, maybe. Depends on the bank. In my experience the bank wants the account to be under the name that has paperwork which says that is it's designation by the state or local licensing.

For instance you can't just call yourself "ACME Widgets" without any corresponding paperwork and open an account in that name.
They will want to put it in your name.

[turboguy]

I would say it is possible. At least I have done it a number of times. You have to register the DBA with the state and pay a fee. Here you also have to advertise that you are using that name in two newspapers. Legally then you are Joe blow DBA Acme Widgets but you can just use the name Acme Widgets on checks, letterheads, promotions of any kind. You pay taxes as a sole proprietorship.

[Fulcrum]

Depends on the jurisdiction, but this is exactly what I did. The bank did require a copy of my business license (contains the name) before they would open the account.

[Lewis-H]

You need a bank account for business if you operate under a doing business as (DBA) name. If you operate as a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation, you must open a separate business account. Sole proprietorships and partnerships without DBAs are not legally required to open a business bank account.

Regards,
Lewis