Massachusetts business certificate filing guide

Massachusetts does not run a statewide DBA registry.

Instead, the Commonwealth calls this filing a business certificate, and the requirement lives in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 110, Section 5.

The state's own Mass.gov guide notes that the document is sometimes called a doing business as (DBA), trade name, fictitious name, or assumed name.

The rule is uniform: any person conducting business in the Commonwealth under any title other than the real name of the person conducting the business, whether individually or as a partnership, must file a certificate with the clerk of every city or town where the business has an office.

That covers sole proprietors and partnerships, and it can also cover LLCs and corporations that operate under a name different from the legal name used to incorporate or register.

Section 6 of the same chapter carves out narrow exemptions, including corporations doing business under their true corporate name, partnerships whose business title includes the true surname of a partner, and LLCs or limited liability partnerships operating under their true registered name.

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Violations carry a fine of not more than three hundred dollars for each month the violation continues.

There is no state filing office and no single statewide form.

Each city and town sets its own process, usually through the clerk's office, and Mass.gov publishes a lookup table with contact information and business certificate detail links for every Massachusetts municipality.

Under Chapter 110, Section 5, the certificate states the full name and residence of each person conducting the business and the place and title under which it is conducted, and it must be executed under oath and signed by each person in the presence of the city or town clerk, the clerk's designee, or a person authorized to take oaths.

The clerk may request evidence of the filer's identity.

The default fee in the state fee schedule, Chapter 262, Section 34, clause (20), is one dollar, but that schedule applies only unless the city or town has set its own fees by council or town meeting action, and most have.

Boston, for example, requires a completed business certificate form with a notarized signature, a lease agreement or notarized landlord letter, and a filing fee the city states as sixty-five dollars, with an additional thirty-five dollars for non-Massachusetts residents; applications are taken in person at the City Clerk's Office, Room 601, 1 City Hall Square, or by mail with a check or money order.

Contact your own city or town clerk for its current form, fee, and submission options.

A business certificate is in force and effect for four years from the date of issue, and under Chapter 110, Section 5 it must be renewed each four years thereafter so long as the business is conducted; a certificate that is not renewed lapses and becomes void.

Changes are handled by filing with the same clerk.

If you discontinue, retire, or withdraw from the business, you must file a statement under oath to that effect, and the same kind of sworn statement is required when your residence or the location of the business changes; the statute sets the default fee for that statement at fifty cents under clause (21) of the clerk fee schedule, again subject to locally set fees.

If the business starts operating under a different name, Mass.gov says any subsequent business name change requires filing a new business certificate rather than altering the old one.

After a filer's death, the executor or administrator of the estate may file the discontinuance statement.

Boston applies a late fee penalty to businesses that fail to renew on time, so check with your clerk about renewal deadlines and any penalties in your municipality.

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Go to the Mass.gov business certificates guide, which explains who must file and links to a city and town lookup table with clerk contact information and business certificate detail pages for each municipality.

Then contact or visit the website of the clerk for the city or town where your business has an office, get that municipality's current certificate form, and ask about its locally set fee, notarization options, and submission methods.

Bring identification, since the statute lets the clerk request evidence of your identity, and be ready to sign under oath in the clerk's presence or before someone authorized to take oaths.

Mark your calendar for the four-year renewal so the certificate does not lapse.

If your business is an LLC or corporation using its exact legal name, the statutory exemption may apply, but confirm the details with your clerk.

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