How to File a DBA in Kentucky: Steps, Renewals, and Limits

To file a DBA in Kentucky, sole proprietors submit a certificate of assumed name to their county clerk for roughly $46, and LLCs, corporations, partnerships, and other registered entities file the same certificate with the Kentucky Secretary of State for $20.¹² Which office you use depends entirely on your business structure, not on the name itself.

Do You Actually Need to File

Kentucky law prohibits operating under any name other than your “real name” without a filed certificate of assumed name.¹ What counts as your real name depends on how the business is organized:

For a sole proprietor, it’s your legal surname — birth name, married name, or a court-changed name. If you want to trade as “Bluegrass Landscaping” instead of Jane Miller, you need a certificate.
For an LLC, it’s the name in your articles of organization.
For a corporation, it’s the name in your articles of incorporation.
For a general partnership without a filed statement of partnership authority, the real name must include every partner’s real name. Limited partnerships and LLPs use the name on their filed certificate or statement.

If you plan to run more than one line of business under different names, each name needs its own separate certificate.

Picking a Name Kentucky Will Accept

For certificates filed with the Secretary of State, your assumed name has to be distinguishable from every other name already on file with that office.¹ Run the name through the Secretary of State’s online business entity search before you pay anything. If it’s too close to an existing registration, your filing will be rejected.

Some words are off-limits without the matching license. The Kentucky Department of Insurance restricts terms like “insurance company,” “consultant,” and “administrator” to businesses that hold the corresponding insurance license, and it also blocks names that are deceptively similar to a current licensee or that imply qualifications you don’t hold.³

Filing as a Sole Proprietor

Sole proprietors file with the county clerk in the county where they conduct their primary business. The certificate lists the assumed name, your legal name, and your address.¹

County clerks charge under KRS 64.012: a base recording fee of $33 for documents of five pages or fewer, plus $3 for each additional page.⁴ With statutory surcharges, the total at most clerks’ offices comes to roughly $46. Call ahead to confirm the exact amount and the payment methods your clerk accepts; cash, check, and money order are typical.

Filing as an LLC, Corporation, or Partnership

Registered entities file a Certificate of Assumed Name with the Kentucky Secretary of State, either online through the business filings portal, by mail, or in person.⁵ The fee is $20.²

The certificate must include your assumed name, the entity’s legal name, its type, the jurisdiction where it was formed, and its principal mailing address. An authorized person signs it. Mailed filings go to the Office of the Secretary of State in Frankfort with a check or money order payable to “Kentucky State Treasurer.”⁶ Mailed and in-person filings generally process in three to seven business days.

Once the file-stamped certificate comes back, file a copy with the county clerk in the county where your entity is considered a resident.

What Happens if You Skip It

Operating under an unregistered assumed name is a criminal offense in Kentucky. The penalty is a fine of $25 to $100 per day, imprisonment of 10 to 30 days, or both.⁷ Each day counts as a separate offense, so the fines compound. On top of that, banks may refuse to open an account under the unregistered name, and courts may look at contracts signed under it with skepticism.

Renewals, Amendments, and Withdrawals

An assumed name registration lasts five years from its filing date.⁸ To keep it active, file a Certificate of Renewal of Assumed Name within the six months before it expires. The renewal fee is $20 with the Secretary of State and roughly $46 with the county clerk.² Let the registration lapse and you’re back to operating under an unregistered name, with the daily penalties that carries.

To change an address or other detail on the certificate, entities file an Amended Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State for $20; sole proprietors handle amendments through their county clerk.²

When you stop using the name or close the business, file a Certificate of Withdrawal of Assumed Name. It’s $20 at the Secretary of State level and standard county recording fees for sole proprietors.² Withdrawing a name you’re no longer using also clears it so someone else’s filing isn’t blocked by your dormant record.

What a Kentucky DBA Does Not Do

A few common assumptions worth clearing up before you file:

A DBA is not a legal entity. If you’re a sole proprietor doing business as “Bluegrass Landscaping,” your personal assets remain exposed to business liabilities. Forming an LLC or corporation is what creates a liability shield; the assumed name only gives that entity a public-facing name.

A DBA is not a trademark. Another business in another county could register the same assumed name, and a competitor could use a similar name in commerce. Exclusive rights come from a state or federal trademark registration, not from filing a DBA.

A DBA does not require a new Employer Identification Number. The IRS treats a name change or added trade name as continuing under your existing EIN.⁹ Your bank, though, will likely want to see the file-stamped certificate before it will open or update an account under the new name.

1
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 365.015 – Certificate of Assumed Name, Filing With State and County, Certificate of Withdrawal, Filing Fees
2
Kentucky Secretary of State. Fees – Secretary of State
3
Kentucky Department of Insurance. Prohibited Names for Business Entity or Individual
4
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 64.012 – Fees of County Clerks
5
Kentucky Secretary of State. Business Forms Library
6
Kentucky Secretary of State. Business Filings Information
7
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 365.990 – Penalties
8
Kentucky Secretary of State. Certificate of Assumed Name
9
Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN