How to File a DBA in Maryland: Online, by Mail, and Fees

To file a DBA in Maryland, register your trade name with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) before you begin using it. The filing costs $25, you can submit it online through Maryland Business Express or by mail, and the registration lasts five years.¹ Maryland calls a DBA a “trade name,” and the process is the same whether you’re a sole proprietor, a partnership, or an existing LLC or corporation adding a second brand.

Who Has to File

Maryland Corporations and Associations Code § 1-406 requires anyone doing business under a name other than their own legal name to file a trade name certificate with SDAT.² That covers three common situations:

A sole proprietor operating under a business name. If Jane Smith opens a bakery called “Sunrise Pastries,” she needs to register the trade name.
A general partnership operating under a shared business name.
An LLC or corporation that wants to run a product line or service under a name different from the one on its formation documents.

The certificate has to be on file before the business starts operating under the trade name. The rule applies to for-profit activities, including someone acting as an agent under a designation other than their own name.

Check the Name Before You File

Your trade name can’t already be in use or be deceptively similar to a name already registered. Run a search in the Maryland Business Express database before you file so you don’t get rejected or bump into another business already using the name.³

One thing a trade name won’t do: protect your brand. Registration is a state record-keeping step, not trademark protection. If you want to keep competitors from using your logo, slogan, or product name, that’s a separate filing through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or a state trademark registration.

What You’ll Need on the Application

The certificate has to include:²

The exact trade name you’ll use.
The true legal name and address of each owner, or of the parent entity.
The character and location of the business.
The Department ID number SDAT has assigned to the associated business, if there is one.

The certificate is signed under oath. If an LLC or corporation is the owner, the entity name has to match exactly what’s on the Maryland formation documents. You can download the application form from SDAT or complete it through the online portal.⁴

Filing Online

The fastest route is Maryland Business Express. You enter your information, pay by card, and get an electronic confirmation when SDAT accepts the filing. Online submissions are generally processed faster than paper.

Filing by Mail

To file on paper, mail the completed form with payment to:⁴

Charter Division
Department of Assessments and Taxation
700 East Pratt Street, Suite 2700
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Make checks or money orders payable to the Department of Assessments and Taxation.

Fees and How Long It Takes

The filing fee is $25.⁵ Amendments and cancellations are also $25 each. If you need it faster, expedited processing adds $50, for a total of $75.⁴

Standard mail processing runs about four weeks at typical SDAT charter volumes.⁶ Once your registration is approved, the name becomes part of the public record and you can use it on contracts, invoices, and bank accounts.

Renewing After Five Years

A trade name lasts five years from the date the certificate is filed.¹ You can file a renewal application within the six-month window before the five-year term ends. A renewal extends the registration another five years.

Miss the window and the registration expires. To get the name back on the record you’d file a new application and pay $25 again, and only if no one else has claimed it in the meantime.

Canceling a Trade Name

If you stop using the name or close the business, you can cancel the registration at any time. The owner listed on the original certificate files a cancellation certificate with SDAT stating the trade name and declaring the certificate cancelled.⁷ The principal or owner named in the original certificate signs it, and the fee is $25.⁵

Penalties and Practical Risks

Maryland doesn’t impose a specific fine for failing to register a trade name. What it does penalize is a false certificate. Anyone who willfully and knowingly files a false trade name certificate commits a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 in fines, up to one year in jail, or both.² Listing a fake owner name or a false business address on the certificate can bring criminal charges.

Operating without a registered trade name creates practical problems too. Banks may refuse to open a business account under an unregistered name, and enforcing contracts signed under that name can get complicated. Registering before you start operating, the way the statute requires, avoids both.

What Registering a DBA Doesn’t Change

Filing a Maryland trade name doesn’t require a new Employer Identification Number. The IRS does not treat a name change or a DBA addition as a reason to reissue an EIN for a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, or LLC.⁸ A new EIN is triggered by a change in ownership structure, such as converting a sole proprietorship into an LLC. Your federal income tax reporting also stays the same: a sole proprietor still files Schedule C, whether or not the business uses a trade name.⁹

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Corporations and Associations 1-406 – Trade Names
2
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Corporations and Associations 1-406
3
Maryland.gov. Select a Business Name
4
Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Trade Name Application Instructions
5
SDAT Corporate Charter Fee Schedule. 2024.05 SDAT Corporate Charter Fee Schedule – Maryland
6
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Customer Service Overview
7
Cornell Law School – Legal Information Institute (LII). Md. Code Regs. 18.04.10.04 – Cancellation
8
Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN
9
Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 407, Business Income