What is a Sole Proprietorship? 

A sole proprietorship is an entity type used to register a business name. They are typically registered with the county clerk's office.

What are the characteristics of a sole proprietorship? 

1. A sole proprietorship is registered exclusively to a single owner
2. It is the simplest way of doing business; no annual reports are required to maintain it
3. A business owner is personally liable for any lawsuits and sole proprietorship does not grant any legal protection to personal assets, unlike corporations and limited liability companies
4. Some states require to meet the publication requirement to register a sole proprietorship. Most states do not release the business certificate until the evidence of the publication is not submitted
5. An identifier such as Inc. or LLC is not allowed as a suffix on the business title because sole proprietorship files under the business owner's legal name
6. Multiple persons can use the same name in the same state if they operate / reside in different counties
7. The Employer Identification Number is not required for a sole proprietorship to open a bank account. It is only required to hire an employee
8. A business owner cannot draw a payroll and pay social security taxes on the entire income. Cap is applicable
9. The title is generally good for five to ten years, depending on the state 
10. A third party registered agent service cannot be used to create a sole proprietorship
11. A Non US Resident is not eligible to apply for a sole proprietorship registration
12. A sole proprietorship business name appears in the county database instead of the state database in most states because it is registered on a county level
13. A sole proprietorship cannot convert from one structure to another and from one state to another state unlike the corporations or a limited liability company