We have a customer that has formed a general partnership. The BSA Department is reqesting that the partnership name be registered with the SOS as a fictitious name. The account officer is saying it is not required to be registered.

The partnership was formed by John Smith and Paul Bunyan; with the legal partnership name being JP Construction. Is JP Construction required to be registered as a fictitious name with the SOS? After reading the Missouri statues on fictitious name registrations, I have confused myself. I see the account officer's point, given the definition of "person" within the registration statutes. However, JP Construction is not the "true name" of either of the partners.

Please help the confused and settle a disagreement.

The Missouri Bankers Association has a great book "Titling Accounts." On page 46 under the heading "Corporate, LLC, Partnership and Association Accounts," it states "In Missouri, general partnerships do not register with the secretary of state so there will be no records with the secretary of state proving that the general partnership exists, except possibly a registration of a fictitious name."

I hope this helps. If you do not have a copy of this book in your institution, you should get one. It is a great resource.

A quick search of the web for "register fictitious name in mo" got me to the MO SOS's website. By the answer they are providing, the partnership would need to register the d/b/a/ name because it is neither of the partners' name. If it was Paul Bunyan's Construction, registration would not be required.

What is a fictitious name and why do I have to register?
A fictitious name is a name under which any person or business shall do or transact any business in this state which is other than the true name of such person or business. A fictitious name is commonly referred to as a "DBA", an acronym for "doing business as." Filiing a fictitious name registration does not afford or secure any exclusive rights to the name.

Section 417.200 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri requires anyone doing business under a name other than their true name to file a fictitious name registration with the Secretary of State's office.

Hope this helps.