Q: I’m the sole broker and owner of a real estate brokerage corporation, which currently handles only residential transactions. I want to set up a branch office to run the commercial side of my business. May I register a trade name for the branch office and continue to use the corporate name for my principal office?
A: No. The registration of a branch office with the DBPR/DRE would simply permit your brokerage corporation to engage in real estate brokerage activity from more than one location (i.e., the principal and branch office). The branch office would be required to conduct business under the same name as the principal office.
Therefore, if you choose to register a trade name/DBA for your company, both offices would be required to use that trade name.