Massachusetts General Laws Chapters 90 and 90D require that a vehicle be registered and titled in the name of the legal owner. If the owner is a business entity, the vehicle must be registered and titled in the legal business name. A "Doing Business As" (DBA) is not a legal entity. Therefore, vehicles cannot be registered or titled to a DBA.
Business entities include Incorporated Companies, Limited Liability Companies, Foreign Corporations, Sole Proprietors, Trusts, and Partnerships.
Business entity requirements for vehicle registration
In order to register a vehicle in a business entity name, the following must be provided to the RMV:
- Legal name
- Mailing address
- Business address (if different)
- Federal Identification (FID) number
A business entity must supply proof of this information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This proof must not be older than 2 years.
Acceptable proof of your Federal Identification Number (FID)
Acceptable proof of FID includes the following IRS documents:
- Form 147C
- Form 5372 - Notice of New Employer Identification Number Assigned
- CP575 notice (issued by IRS)
- Certificate of Exemption Form ST-2 (issued by the Department of Revenue)
Proof of these Internal Revenue Service documents must be presented to an RMV Service Center. The documents should be 2 years old or less. Fax copies and photocopies of the above forms are acceptable. Application forms, such as the SS-4 form, are not accepted as proof.