How to Register a DBA in Massachusetts: Filing, Fees, and Renewals

To register a DBA in Massachusetts, you file a sworn “business certificate” with the city or town clerk in every municipality where your business has an office. The filing fee is set locally and usually runs between $40 and $65, and the certificate stays valid for four years before you have to renew it.¹ Massachusetts does not use a central state registry for DBAs the way most states do; the whole process happens at your local clerk’s office.

Do You Actually Need to File

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 110, Section 5 requires anyone conducting business under a name other than their real name to file a business certificate with every city or town where the business has an office.¹ A sole proprietor named Maria Santos running a bakery called “Sweet Rise” needs to file. Someone operating under her own full legal name does not.

General partnerships follow the same rule, with one useful carve-out in Section 6: a partnership operating under a name that includes the real surname of any partner is exempt. So if Maria Santos and James Chen run a business called “Chen’s Bakery,” no filing is required because Chen’s surname appears in the name.²

Corporations, LLCs, and limited liability partnerships registered with the Secretary of the Commonwealth are exempt as long as they operate under their true registered name.² The moment one of them starts marketing under a different name, a business certificate is required. “Santos Chen Holdings LLC” doing business as “Sweet Rise Bakery” has to file.

What Goes on the Certificate

The statute spells out the required contents: the full legal name and home address of each person conducting the business, the street address where the business operates, and the name you’re doing business under.¹ Partnerships list every partner. Corporations and LLCs list the entity’s legal name and registered address.

Many municipalities ask for information beyond the statutory minimum, such as a description of the business activity, a phone number, or an email address. Some require proof that the location is properly zoned. Belmont, for example, makes home-based businesses obtain a home occupation permit from the planning office before the clerk will issue a certificate. Check with the specific clerk’s office before you go, because each town sets its own procedures.³

Your chosen DBA name does not have to be unique. Multiple businesses in the same town can file the same name, and the clerk will accept it. A business certificate is public notice of who stands behind a name, not a claim of exclusive rights.⁴

Where and How to File

You file with the clerk’s office in the city or town where your business is physically located. If you operate in more than one municipality, you need a separate filing in each.¹

The certificate must be signed under oath, either in front of the clerk (or a designated staff member) or in front of a notary public.¹ If you’re mailing the form, get it notarized first. Some clerk offices have a notary on staff, which makes an in-person filing faster. A handful of municipalities now offer online filing, but most still expect paper submissions by mail or in person. Processing times range from a few days to a few weeks depending on the town’s workload.

What It Costs

Fees are set locally. Common examples:

Boston: $65, plus an additional $35 if you are not a Massachusetts resident⁵
Cambridge: $50⁶
Worcester: $50
North Attleborough: $40⁷

Most towns land in the $40 to $65 range. Confirm the current amount with your clerk before you go. A certified copy of the filed certificate, which banks usually want before they’ll open a business account, typically costs another $10 to $15.

Renewals, Changes, and Moves

A Massachusetts business certificate is valid for four years from the date it is issued. If you keep using the DBA after that, you must renew; otherwise the certificate automatically becomes void.¹ Renewal generally follows the same process and fee as the original filing.

You also have to update the filing if things change mid-term. The statute specifically requires a new sworn statement when an owner’s home address changes or when the business moves locations.¹ Moving across municipal lines means filing a discontinuance in the old town and a brand-new certificate in the new one, because each town maintains its own records.

When you stop using the DBA, file a statement of discontinuance under oath with the clerk.¹ An old certificate stays in the clerk’s index as an active record until someone formally closes it.

What Happens If You Skip the Filing

Operating under an assumed name without a certificate carries a penalty of up to $300 for each month the violation continues.¹ That bill grows fast if you’ve been in business for a year or more.

The practical side matters too. Banks will ask for the certificate when you try to open a business account under your DBA name, and without one you can’t deposit checks made out to the business.

A DBA Does Not Protect the Name

Filing is a compliance step, not a branding strategy. It creates a public record linking you to a name; it gives you no exclusive rights to that name. Another business in the same town can file the same DBA, and the clerk will accept it.⁴

If you want actual legal protection for the name, that comes from a trademark: a state registration through the Secretary of the Commonwealth for Massachusetts-only protection, or a federal registration through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for nationwide protection. Trademark infringement rules apply whether or not you’ve filed a DBA, so a business certificate on its own won’t shield you if the name belongs to someone else.

You Don’t Need a New EIN

Adding a DBA is not a reason to apply for a new Employer Identification Number. The IRS treats a name change or trade-name addition as something that keeps your existing EIN in place.⁸ A sole proprietor needs only one EIN no matter how many trade names they use.

When you do apply for an EIN, or update your existing one, the DBA goes on Line 2 of Form SS-4, “Trade name of business.” Your legal name stays on Line 1. You can file tax returns under either name, but the IRS warns against mixing the two; pick one and use it consistently to avoid processing delays.⁹ Getting the trade name on file with the IRS also smooths out bank verification when checks come in made out to the DBA.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title XV, Chapter 110, Section 5
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title XV, Chapter 110, Section 6
3
Mass.gov. Business Certificates (DBA) in Massachusetts
4
U.S. Small Business Administration. Choose Your Business Name
5
City of Boston. How to Apply for a Business Certificate
6
City of Cambridge. Apply for a Business Certificate
7
Town of North Attleborough. Filing a Business Certificate
8
Internal Revenue Service. Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)