DBA means "Doing Business As".  If you are an Individual Sole Proprietor and want to do business under a name which is different from your legal name then you have to Register a DBA Name with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

If you are a Corporation or LLC and want to do business under a name which is different from the name which is registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State then you have to Register a DBA Name with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

Other names for a Kentucky DBA Name include:

• Kentucky Alternate Name
• Kentucky Assumed Business Name
• Kentucky Assumed Name
• Kentucky Business Name
• Kentucky Fictitious Name
• Kentucky Trade Name

Yes. You can Register a DBA Name with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

Yes. You can register a Kentucky DBA Name with the KY Secretary of State for a Kentucky Corporation or a Kentucky LLC.

Before a Kentucky Corporation or LLC can register a DBA Name, the KY Corporation or KY LLC must be in good standing with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

Yes. You can register a Kentucky DBA Name even if you have not formed a Kentucky Corporation or LLC. In fact that's what most skilled craftsman and professionals do when they want to use a business name other their own name.

You Register a DBA Name with the Kentucky Secretary of State for an existing Kentucky business.

You Reserve a Company Name with the Kentucky Secretary of State for use with a Kentucky business that will be formed and legally registered with the KY Secretary of State sometime in the future.


When you Register a Corporation or LLC with the Kentucky Secretary of State there are certain tax and administrative obligations which must be met to keep the company in Good Standing.  Failing to keep up with those obligations can result in the administrative dissolution of your Kentucky company by the Kentucky Secretary of State.

The Kentucky state fees for Registering a DBA Name are less than the fees for Registering a Corporation in Kentucky or Forming a LLC in Kentucky and there are no tax or reporting obligation for a Registered Kentucky DBA Name.

No. The Kentucky Secretary of State will not issue a good standing certificate (Certificate of Existence) for a registered Kentucky DBA Name. Kentucky good standing certificates are issued only for companies which have registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State as a Corporation, LLC or LP.

You can renew the Kentucky DBA Name before the expiration date if you want to retain ownership of the Kentucky DBA Name.