Arizona streamlines DBA licensing requirements

Licensing State Issues Arizona

At the end of September, amended financial services licensing provisions under Arizona SB 1394 took effect. SB 1394 streamlines licensing requirements for companies that are currently required to obtain separate licenses for trade names or assumed names (often known as “doing business as” or DBAs). Specifically, SB 1394 will allow most companies that the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) licenses to operate with additional trade names under a single license, provided the company notifies DIFI in writing prior to using the assumed name or trade name. Companies, however, may not use an assumed name or trade name that (i) is “so substantially similar” to another company’s name that it may cause public uncertainty or confusion; or (ii) may deceive or mislead the public as to the type of business conducted by the company. DIFI applauded the bill’s passage in an announcement released earlier this year, saying consumers will still be able to look up companies under a trade name and file complaints against a company’s trade name. “Licensees will save time and money by linking additional DBAs to a single license name without having to pay for and maintain multiple licenses,” DIFI said, noting that it still “maintains all regulatory authority including the ability to investigate, examine, and take action against the parent business.”