DBA Requirements by State: Where to File and When to Publish

State-Level Filing

In these jurisdictions, every business files its DBA with a single state-wide office, usually the Secretary of State or an equivalent agency:

• State-level filing jurisdictions: Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming
• Recent change worth knowing: Virginia moved fictitious name filings from local circuit court clerks to the State Corporation Commission in 2020

County or Town Filing

In these states, there is no single state-wide DBA filing office. You file with a local official instead, and some states require a filing in every locality where you do business:

• California: County clerk in the county of your principal place of business, for all business types
• Connecticut: Town clerk in each town where you conduct business
• Georgia: Clerk of the superior court in the county where the business is chiefly carried on
• Massachusetts: City or town clerk in each municipality where you maintain an office
• Nevada: County clerk in each county where you conduct business
• North Carolina: Register of deeds in one county, with the filing added to a state-wide database

Split by Business Type

These states send sole proprietors and general partnerships to a local office and send LLCs, corporations, and other registered entities to the state:

• Split filing states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, and West Virginia
• Tennessee: Entities register assumed names with the Secretary of State, but there is no state-wide registration for sole proprietors.
• South Dakota: Filings have historically run through the county register of deeds, with online filing now offered by the Secretary of State.

Voluntary or No Registration

A handful of states don't make DBA registration mandatory. That doesn't mean other rules disappear, since local business licenses and banking requirements can still ask for proof of your trade name.

• Voluntary registration: Alabama, Arizona, and Mississippi allow optional trade name registration with the state.
• No DBA registration process: Kansas, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Wisconsin

California DBA Publication Requirements

In California, you must publish your fictitious business name statement within 45 days after filing it with the county clerk. The notice runs once a week for four successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the filing county. If your county has no such newspaper, you can use one in an adjoining county. After publication ends, you have 45 days to file an affidavit of publication with the county clerk. This rule applies to sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations alike. A business that skips these steps can't bring a lawsuit under the fictitious name until it complies. If you refile within 40 days of expiration with no changes, you generally don't need to republish.

Florida DBA Publication Requirements

In Florida, you must advertise your fictitious name at least once in a newspaper in the county where your principal place of business is located. Florida registers fictitious names state-wide through the Division of Corporations. You don't file proof of the advertisement. Instead, you certify that the notice ran when you sign your registration. Keep a copy of the published notice for your records in case questions come up later.

Georgia DBA Publication Requirements

In Georgia, you must publish notice of your trade name filing once a week for two weeks. The notice runs in the newspaper that prints the county sheriff's advertisements, often called the county's legal organ. You file the trade name registration with the clerk of the superior court in the county where your business mainly operates. Corporations using a name other than their corporate name file in the county of their legal domicile. The notice lists the names and addresses of everyone doing business under the trade name.

Illinois DBA Publication Requirements

In Illinois, individuals and general partnerships must publish their assumed name notice once a week for three consecutive weeks. The first notice must run within 15 days after you file with the county clerk. You then have 50 days from your filing date to file proof of publication with the county clerk. Without that proof, your assumed name certificate is void. Moving or adding a location in another county requires a new filing and a new round of publication. LLCs and corporations file assumed names with the Illinois Secretary of State, and those filings don't require newspaper publication.

Minnesota DBA Publication Requirements

In Minnesota, you must publish your assumed name certificate in a qualified newspaper for two successive issues after filing. You first file the certificate with the Minnesota Secretary of State. The notice then runs in the county where you have your principal or registered office. This requirement applies to individuals, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations. Minnesota also requires an annual renewal to keep the certificate active.

Nebraska DBA Publication Requirements

In Nebraska, you must publish your trade name registration once and file proof with the Secretary of State within 45 days. The notice runs in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city or village where your business is located. If that town has no newspaper, you can use one with general circulation in the county. If proof isn't filed on time, the Secretary of State cancels the registration. The rule applies to every type of business registering a trade name.

Pennsylvania DBA Publication Requirements

In Pennsylvania, you must publish notice of your fictitious name if an individual is listed as a party on the registration. This covers sole proprietors and any registration where at least one owner is a person rather than a company. The notice runs in two newspapers in the county of your principal place of business. One of them must be the county's designated legal newspaper, if the county has one. If only one newspaper of general circulation serves the county, one notice is enough. You may publish before or after filing, and you don't submit proof with the registration form. Registrations listing only business entities, such as an LLC, generally don't need to publish.

Do I need to publish my DBA in a newspaper?

You need to publish your DBA only if you register in one of the seven states that require it. Those states are California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania. Even within those states, Illinois and Pennsylvania limit the requirement to certain business types.

Which states require DBA publication?

Seven states require DBA publication: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania. California, Illinois, and Nebraska also require you to file proof that the notice ran. The other states with DBA registries don't require newspaper publication for the DBA itself.

What happens if I don't publish my DBA?

Skipping a required DBA publication can void, cancel, or limit your registration, depending on your state. An Illinois assumed name certificate is void without proof of publication, and Nebraska cancels registrations without timely proof. In California, a business that doesn't comply can't bring a lawsuit under the fictitious name until it does.

Does an LLC need to publish its DBA?

An LLC needs to publish its DBA in California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, and Nebraska, where the rule covers all registrants. In Illinois, LLCs file assumed names with the Secretary of State and don't publish. In Pennsylvania, a registration listing only business entities generally doesn't require publication.

Do I file a DBA with the state or the county?

Whether you file a DBA with the state or the county depends on your state and often on your business type. Nearly half of all jurisdictions use a single state-wide office. Others use county or town clerks, and many states send sole proprietors to the county and LLCs or corporations to the state.