In Missouri you have to contact the Secretary of State's office in order to establish an official name for your business. This is also referred to as a DBA or "doing business as" name which you can use in place of your personal name as the business owner. If you need to change the name down the line, the process is a simple matter of contacting a specific office of the state government and submitting a form.

Search the Missouri Secretary of State's fictitious name database to ensure that your new business name is not taken before attempting to change your business name.

Download Form Corp. 56 from the Corporations Division. Corp. 56 is the "Registration of Fictitious Name" form for the state of Missouri. You have several options on the form—to register, renew, amend, or correct a name. In this case you will file an amendment. You can also call the Corporations Division of the Secretary of State's office to ask for a form via mail if you cannot download it online.

Check the box next to "Amendment" on the form and write in your current fictitious/business name registration number.

Provide your new business name and business address in the box provided.

Enter your name and the name of each additional owner along with the charter number (if applicable), address and ownership percentage for each owner of the business.

Sign and print your name at the bottom of the form along with the current date. Provide an address at the bottom of Corp. 56 where you would like to receive the newly-filed document noting your new business name.

Include payment to cover the filing fee associated with form Corp. 56. Allow a few weeks to receive the filed form back from the Corporations Division.

Tip

Call the Corporations Division directly at 866-223-6535 if you have any questions about the process.