21 NCAC 56 .0902             business TITLES

(a)  Companies, partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, or any other business providing professional engineering or land surveying services, as defined in G.S. 89C-3, within North Carolina shall not practice under a name that is misleading.

(b)  Business names are misleading when they:

(1)           are not truthful; suggest qualifications, credentials, or expertise that the firm does not possess; or provide inaccurate information;

(2)           make exaggerated, deceptive, or false statements or claims about professional qualifications, experience, or performance;

(3)           create an unjustified expectation or prediction of future success;

(4)           imply a connection with a government agency;

(5)           include obscene, indecent, or profane language; or

(6)           use a name which is deceptively similar to that of an existing firm name by not having at least one unique substantive word, not including articles, prepositions, suffixes, or words denoting organizational structure such as group, associate, or similar words or any derivative of those words.

(c)  A business shall not change its title, or operate under an assumed name, without first applying to the Board for a determination that the proposed title meets the requirements of Paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Rule. Requests for name changes shall be made in writing on the change forms referenced in 21 NCAC 56 .0804(d). Requests to operate under an assumed name shall be made in writing.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 55B-12(b); 89C-10; 89C-24;

Eff. February 1, 1976;

Readopted Eff. September 29, 1977;

Amended Eff. August 1, 2000; August 1, 1998; May 1, 1994; April 1, 1989; April 1, 1980;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. April 27, 2019;

Amended Eff. April 1, 2025; July 1, 2020.