Minnesota assumed name filing guide

Minnesota calls this filing a Certificate of Assumed Name, and the state's own business guidance also refers to it as an assumed name or DBA, short for doing business as.

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Unlike states that split the filing between a state office and county clerks, Minnesota applies one uniform rule: every filer registers with the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State.

Under Minnesota Statutes section 333.001, the word "person" covers natural persons, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, corporations, trusts, and any other business organization, so sole proprietors, general partnerships, LLCs, and corporations all follow the same state-level process.

Anyone carrying on a commercial business under a name that does not set forth the true name of every person interested in the business must file the certificate before commencing business, under section 333.02.

Filing is not required when the business name contains the full, true name of each owner or partner, or when an entity operates under its exact legal name.

The filing is a public notice of who is behind the name; state guidance warns it does not give exclusive rights to the name, and the Secretary of State does not check a new assumed name against other assumed names already on file.

Minnesota also requires newspaper publication of the certificate after filing, and the certificate stays active only while an annual renewal is filed each calendar year.

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First, check whether the assumed name is available: it cannot be the same as, or not distinguishable from, the name of a corporation, LLC, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or state trademark on file with the Secretary of State, and there is no procedure for reserving an assumed name.

Then complete the Certificate of Assumed Name, described as a simple one-page document.

Filers can download the form and submit it by mail to the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, First National Bank Building, 332 Minnesota Street, N201, St.

Paul, MN 55101, or file online by creating an account through the Secretary of State's Business and Liens portal at mblsportal.sos.mn.gov.

In-person filing is listed in the official fee schedule as requiring an appointment.

Per the state's guide, the filing fee is $30 by mail and $50 in person or online.

After the Secretary of State accepts the filing, the certificate must be published in a qualified legal newspaper in the county where the registered office or principal place of business is located, for two consecutive issues, and the guide states the name must be published within 60 days of filing; the newspaper provides proof of publication, and a filing that is not published is invalid.

A Minnesota certificate of assumed name does not run for a fixed term of years.

Under Minnesota Statutes section 333.055, it is effective upon filing and remains in effect as long as an annual renewal is filed in each calendar year following the year of the original filing; the certificate expires in the calendar year after a year in which no annual renewal was filed.

The annual renewal carries no fee when filed on time, and the state's guide says the Secretary of State sends a digital reminder.

An expired certificate may be reinstated by filing the annual renewal with a reinstatement fee: the statute prints a $25 reinstatement fee, while the Secretary of State fee schedule reproduced in the state's guide lists Annual Reinstatement at $65 by mail and $85 in person or online, noting that an entity inactive for over six years cannot be reinstated online.

If any statement in the last filed certificate becomes incorrect, an amended certificate must be filed within 60 days of the event, and the amendment is published the same way as the original certificate unless it is made only to comply with a change in law.

Ending the name is inexpensive: the official fee schedule lists Cancellation at $0 by mail, in person, or online.

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Confirm your name is distinguishable from entity names and trademarks on file — the Secretary of State's business name search is linked from the Business and Liens portal, and the office's general information line is 651-296-2803.

Then file the Certificate of Assumed Name yourself: create an online account at mblsportal.sos.mn.gov to file electronically, or download the one-page form and mail it with the $30 mail filing fee to the Secretary of State's St.

Paul office.

Once the filing is accepted, arrange publication in a qualified legal newspaper in your county for two consecutive issues within 60 days of filing, and keep the newspaper's proof of publication.

Put the free annual renewal on your calendar for every following calendar year so the certificate does not expire.

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