Legal Question in Business Law in Massachusetts

Where does it say that a sole proprietor can not register a vehicle on the business name in Massachusetts?

Yesterday, I got turned back from the RMV because of that.

Let's say my company name is "Apple" and I am a sole proprietor:

1. I have a business certificate that says "Apple" on it.

2. I have SS-4 Form from the IRS stating that "Apple" has an EIN.

3. RMV says I can not register car on Apple's name. The title is already written in Apple's name and so is the RMV 1 form.

They also kept calling "Apple" a dba in the RMV. I corrected them that "Apple" is not a dba but nobody would give me a good answer to why I got turned back. The only thing they told me is that MA does not recognize DBAs as such. How are DBAs relevant to sole proprietors in this case?

Would anybody had a clue as to why RMV refuses to register a car under a company name or can somebody point me out to a specific Code of Regulation or a Law to read? I searched and I could not find anything. I would really appreciate you help in advance.


Asked on 5/29/10, 6:21 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Alan Pransky Law Office of Alan J. Pransky

Some business entities have seperate legal status. These include corporations. Seperate legal status means that they have the ability to sue, be sued, and own property. Other business entities don't have seperate legal status. As a result, they can't own property even if the IRS requires that they have a seperate tax identification number. A person who does business under a trade name is what is called a d/b/a or doing business as. The person has seperate legal status and the d/b/a name does not. As a result, you cannot register a company under a d/b/a name. If you want to research this, you can research statutes that give corporations, LLCs, etc. seperate legal status. You won't find the equivalent statute for a d/b/a.

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Answered on 5/29/10, 2:08 pm

Check Massachusetts general Laws, Chapter 90 regarding registration issues. A "sole proprietor" means that the business is not incorporated but that you are just doing business as (D/B/A) whatever name you are using... so the vehicle is registered to you, not under your alias or D/B/A. Different types of business entities have different legal status as well as advantages and disadvantages and your business attorney can give you better guidance on what is right for your type of business.

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Answered on 5/30/10, 12:18 pm


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