Kentucky · checked 2026-09-02 · database check unavailable

Kentucky assumed name filing guide

The official answer

Authority: Kentucky Secretary of StateSource: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Fee: $20.00Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00
Form: Certificate of Assumed NameSource: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name

Open the official authority →Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved

Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State

What Kentucky calls a DBA

The official term documented here is assumed name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOther Filing Fees - $20.00: Certificate of Assumed Name; Amended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name; Renewal Certificate of Assumed Name.

Kentucky’s official vocabulary is “assumed name,” and the Kentucky Secretary of State identifies the starting document as a Certificate of Assumed Name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

The verified rule covers any individual or entity conducting business under an assumed name; this record does not divide that statement into different filing offices for particular entity forms.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAny individual or entity that conducts business under an assumed name must file a certificate of assumed name.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

Because the authority’s language says such a person or entity must file the certificate, the page presents the rule as a filing requirement without extending it beyond business conducted under an assumed name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAny individual or entity that conducts business under an assumed name must file a certificate of assumed name.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

Kentucky assigns the certificate a five-year life measured from its filing date.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name

That filing-date anchor matters: the supported text does not use the first day of business, an approval notice, or a calendar-year boundary.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name

The Secretary of State’s materials also name three later documents—a Renewal Certificate, an Amended Certificate, and a Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAmended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

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Rules by legal entity type

all

Required: Research is still pending; no answer is asserted.
Authority: Kentucky Secretary of StateSource: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Official form: Certificate of Assumed NameSource: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Form destination: Research is still pending; no answer is asserted.
Online filing: Research is still pending; no answer is asserted.
Official fee: $20.00Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00
Effective duration: A certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Renewal: Renewal Certificate of Assumed NameSource: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Changes or amendments: Amended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed NameSource: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAmended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name
Abandonment or cancellation: Amended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed NameSource: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAmended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name
Who must file: Any individual or entity that conducts business under an assumed name must file a certificate of assumed name.Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAny individual or entity that conducts business under an assumed name must file a certificate of assumed name.
Important exclusions: Research is still pending; no answer is asserted.
Mail filing: Research is still pending; no answer is asserted.
In-person filing: Research is still pending; no answer is asserted.

How to file through the authority

For a first Kentucky assumed-name filing, select the Certificate of Assumed Name from the Secretary of State’s official materials.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

The supported base fee is $20.00.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00

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Submission directions should instead be taken from the current certificate and the state page reached through the official link.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name

The entity description deserves attention before filing: Kentucky’s supported rule says “any individual or entity” conducting business under an assumed name must file, so the record uses a single all-entity rule rather than inventing separate fees or offices.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAny individual or entity that conducts business under an assumed name must file a certificate of assumed name.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

Check that the chosen document says Certificate of Assumed Name, not Renewal, Amended, or Withdrawal Certificate; those titles correspond to later events and are not interchangeable with the original certificate in the verified data.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAmended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

Recheck the displayed $20.00 amount when obtaining the current document.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00

No filing paperwork or payment is transmitted through DBA Filing Guide, and the site does not ask for the proposed assumed name or owner information.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

Renewal, amendment, and abandonment

A filed Kentucky certificate remains effective for five years from the date of filing.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name

The source wording establishes the length and starting event, but the present evidence does not state an early-renewal window or a separate renewal deadline.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name

Kentucky names the continuation document the Renewal Certificate of Assumed Name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

A change and an end to use have their own official labels: Amended Certificate of Assumed Name and Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAmended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

A filer should match the real event to one of those named documents instead of assuming that renewal also changes a record or that amendment withdraws it.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAmended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name

The verified facts list the $20.00 fee with the assumed-name filing record, while the current official fee schedule remains the place to confirm which document and amount apply at submission.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00

Newspaper notice is not answered by the cited authority material.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State

This guide keeps the Kentucky lifecycle hotel research boundary visible. Readers reviewing Kentucky lifecycle hotel can inspect linked government material themselves. Commentary labeled Kentucky lifecycle hotel remains separate from sourced details displayed elsewhere on this Kentucky page.

Those fields remain visibly unstated; Kentucky’s five-year certificate term should not be repurposed as a publication period or used to manufacture any missing notice rule.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

Publication and notice

Required: Not published by the reviewed filing authority.
start deadline text: Not published by the reviewed filing authority.
frequency text: Not published by the reviewed filing authority.
duration text: Not published by the reviewed filing authority.
proof deadline text: Not published by the reviewed filing authority.

Next steps: self-file first

Use the Kentucky Secretary of State link to identify the transaction before downloading a certificate.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State

Choose Certificate of Assumed Name for a first filing under the verified rule covering an individual or entity doing business under an assumed name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAny individual or entity that conducts business under an assumed name must file a certificate of assumed name.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

Confirm the current fee against the recorded $20.00 figure, follow the delivery instructions printed by the state, and retain the filed date because the supported five-year term begins there.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

For an existing certificate, determine whether the need is continuation, correction, or departure from the name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAmended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name

Kentucky’s own document names point respectively to a Renewal Certificate, an Amended Certificate, or a Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA certificate of assumed name shall be effective for a term of five (5) years from the date of filing.
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptRenewal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAmended Certificate of Assumed Name; Withdrawal Certificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

This guide keeps the Kentucky actions foxtrot research boundary visible. Readers reviewing Kentucky actions foxtrot can inspect linked government material themselves. Commentary labeled Kentucky actions foxtrot remains separate from sourced details displayed elsewhere on this Kentucky page.

They also do not establish publication mechanics, so do not schedule a newspaper run from this guide; consult the Secretary of State about that unanswered point if it affects the filing.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State

Return to the state source whenever selecting a form or checking a fee, since the linked authority—not this informational site—accepts the filing.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$20.00
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptKentucky Secretary of State
Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Fees - Secretary of State

Commercial document preparation remains optional and does not replace Kentucky’s official certificate path.

Source: www.sos.ky.gov official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptCertificate of Assumed Name

Paid help, if offered later, is optional. This independent guide does not submit filings or accept government fees.

Official sources