An Overview of DBA Filing Services

Many of the same companies offering reasonably priced online business formation services also provide DBA filing services. For most businesses, the process is quite simple. All you need to do is provide your chosen company with some basic information about your business — like your principal office address and your desired name — and they’ll fill out and file the paperwork with your state.

Most companies offer similar price points for DBA filing services, and the vast majority of them also provide comparable feature sets. However, that’s not to say that there isn’t plenty setting these companies apart. Let’s dig into the details of LegalZoom and find out how its offering differs from the competition.

LegalZoom DBA Registration Service Review

Let’s quickly review its pros and cons before we dig into the details.

Pros

• Strong pricing model
• Tons of experience
• Satisfaction guaranteed
• Publication service included (where necessary)
• Solid customer feedback

Cons

• Mediocre pricing for other services

The LegalZoom DBA Registration Service Package

LegalZoom’s core DBA registration service costs $99 plus your state’s fee. It includes a preliminary name search and the completion and filing of your DBA registration forms. There is also a $119 option that adds a 14-day trial of LegalZoom’s Business Advisory Plan.

For businesses located in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, or Pennsylvania, LegalZoom has a unique advantage. These states require entrepreneurs to publish proof of their DBA registrations in reputable local newspapers.

LegalZoom is the only company we’re aware of that includes publication service in these seven states at no extra charge! While you’ll still have to pay the actual newspaper fees, LegalZoom will take care of the entire process on your behalf. You won’t even have to track down the right newspaper or submit your notices.

Overall Pricing and Value:

LegalZoom matches or beats the price points offered by most competitors for DBA registration services. The fact that it includes publication service is a nice bonus for those of you in states that require it.

To be honest, pricing is usually what holds LegalZoom, as its pricing for things like business formations and registered agent service are quite high. But for DBA registrations, LegalZoom provides an appealing bargain that compares favorably to many competitors.

Track Record:

LegalZoom has more experience than the vast majority of its competitors. It says it has more than 1 million subscribers to its registered agent service, which is an impressive customer volume considering the high pricing model. In addition, LegalZoom has formed more than 2 million business entities over the years.

When it comes to customer feedback, LegalZoom does pretty well but not great. We tracked down around 6,500 reviews of its services on reputable third-party review websites. While LegalZoom does receive more positive reviews than negative ones, there are competitors with both a higher volume and a higher quality of feedback.

Customer Support:

There is no other company in this industry that provides more access to its customer support team than LegalZoom. Just check out how long its support availability hours are:

• Weekdays: 8 am to 10 pm ET
• Weekends: 10 am to 7 pm ET

With LegalZoom, you’ll never have to take time out of your busy workday to contact customer support. With the longest hours of availability in the business services industry, this company offers greater access than any competitor.

How is the quality of LegalZoom’s support? We have never had any complaints, although we will note that, due to the large size of this company, its support is less customized and personalized than that of some competitors.

Ease of Use:

Do you prioritize using a tech-savvy company with an intuitive user interface and a super-simple ordering process? Look no further than LegalZoom. This company offers an easy-to-use website and plenty of advanced tech to help your business stay on the cutting edge.

How Does LegalZoom Work?

The process of ordering DBA registration service from LegalZoom couldn’t be much simpler. Here’s an overview of what you can expect when you click the “Start my DBA” button on LegalZoom’s DBA registration service page.

Keep in mind that this process can vary a bit from state to state depending on specific regulations, but for the most part it will look something like this:

• Provide basic business information: Indicate the assumed name you want for your business, whether the filing is a renewal or a new registration, and the state where you want to file your DBA.
• Input further details: The next few pages ask you whether you’re already using your assumed name or not, where your business is located, the name of its owner, what markets it serves, and what type of business entity (LLC, corporation, general partnership, etc.) you operate. If it’s a formal entity, you’ll need to input some further details depending on the entity type.
• Final steps and payment: Next, you’ll navigate two upsells — one for a federal tax ID number (commonly known as an EIN) and one for LegalZoom’s Business Advantage Plan for business documents. Finally, you can enter your credit card information and submit your order!

What Are LegalZoom Customers Saying?

As we mentioned earlier, we found about 6,500 mostly positive reviews for LegalZoom. We will note that this is a smaller volume of reviews than some competitors (like Incfile, ZenBusiness, Rocket Lawyer, etc.) have available, and the quality of LegalZoom’s reviews lags slightly behind these companies as well.

We found plenty of customers who seem pleased with the service they receive from LegalZoom. These people often discuss how helpful LegalZoom’s support network is and how easy it is to use its services.

On the other hand, we also found a decent chunk of reviews from people who were not as satisfied. These customers talk about things like high price points and inconsistent customer support. Overall, LegalZoom’s customer satisfaction reputation is definitely more good than bad, but it’s not all sunshine and roses either.

Our Final Thoughts

LegalZoom is a good choice for DBA registration services, and it’s a popular option for LLC formations and incorporations as well. We appreciate how this company offers competitive pricing and the longest customer support hours in the industry, and if you own a business in a state with a publication requirement, LegalZoom is an appealing option.

Overall, we still strongly prefer forming an LLC or corporation to registering a DBA because these business entities provide personal asset protection and name exclusivity. That said, if you have your heart set on a DBA name, we think LegalZoom is a good service to help you register it.

Disclaimer: The content on this page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.