Filing a DBA in South Carolina

[Michael Norris]

Hello fellow South Carolinians, I am attempting to file my Doing Business As (DBA) and working my way through registering at the multiple counties and municipalities that require a business license.

I filed a business license with one municipality, my goal is to get the DBA on the books and jump into REI. Then, see if REI is something I want to move forward with and then file an Entity. By doing this, I will file the DBA under a sole proprietorship and then go back to the same municipalities and file under a recognized entity.

I understand a DBA is a factious name and is not recognized by the state, but I also don't want to get in trouble for not filing a DBA, then advertising with the DBA and risk a penalty with the state.

I am most likely making this process too difficult. Instead of filing a DBA then going back to file the entity, should I just file the an entity and get it over with?

Any help in thinking through the process or sharing personal experienced would be appreciated.

-Michael