Doing Business As (DBA) / Fictitious Names

If a corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability company conducts activities under a name other than its true legal name, a Certificate of Assumed Name Pursuant to Section 130 of the General Business Law must be filed with the New York State Department of State.

All other entities such as general partnerships, sole proprietorships, and limited liability partnerships must file an Assumed Name Certificate/Business Certificate (Form X-201) directly with the county clerk’s office in each county in which the entity conducts or transacts business. The forms can be purchased at any commercial or legal stationary store. The cost of filing varies by county.

An assumed name cannot contain words such as “Corporation,” “Incorporated,” “Limited,” “Limited Liability Company,” “Limited Partnership,” or their abbreviations.

Check if the intended name is already in use by searching NYS’s Corporation and Business Entity Database.

In New York City:

Bronx County Clerk’s Office
Brooklyn (Kings) County Clerk’s Office
Manhattan (New York) County Clerk’s Office
Queens County Clerk’s Office
Staten Island (Richmond) County Clerk’s Office

For a corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability company the  Certificate of Assumed Name Pursuant to Section 130 of the General Business Law and appropriate filing fee should be delivered or mailed to:

New York State Department of State
Division of Corporations
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12231

The filing fee for a Certificate of Assumed Name is $25 in addition to any associated county fee(s), as indicated below. If a provider wishes to order a certified copy of a Certificate of Assumed Name, he/she will be required to pay a copy fee. The fee for each certified copy is $10.  Additionally, the Department of State collects the following county clerk fees for each county in which a corporation does business or transacts business:

• $100 — for each county within New York City (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond Counties)
• $25 — for each county outside New York City

There is no county fee for limited liability companies or limited partnerships.

The Department of State’s Division of Corporations accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express (see Payment by Credit Card for more information), cash, money orders, personal and business or certified checks for $500 and under. It is recommended that cash payments not be made when mailing a Certificate of Assumed Name.

You may fax the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Credit Card/Debit Card Authorization Form and a written request for a certified copy (if desired) to the Division of Corporations at (518) 474-1418.

Upon the filing of the Certificate of Assumed Name, the Department of State will issue an official filing receipt. The filing receipt will reflect the date the Certificate of Assumed Name was filed, the name of the corporation, the assumed name and the accounting of the fees paid. Please verify the information on the receipt to ensure that the information has been recorded correctly. The receipt is proof of filing and should be maintained in a safe place, as the Department of State does not issue duplicate filing receipts to replace those lost or destroyed.

Additionally, the law requires that a certified copy of the filing be displayed on the premises where business is conducted under the assumed name.

A family childcare provider may require two additional copies: one for the Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene and the other is necessary to establish a bank account using the assumed name. Even if a provider operates under a sole proprietorship structure without an assumed name, it is recommended that business and personal accounts be separate. Read more on keeping separate accounts here.