Ohio trade name filing guide

Ohio does not use the phrase "DBA" in its statutes; the Ohio Revised Code speaks of a trade name and a fictitious name, both handled under sections 1329.01 to 1329.10.

A trade name is a name used in business or trade to designate the business of the user and to which the user asserts a right to exclusive use.

A fictitious name is a name used in business or trade that is fictitious and that the user has not registered, or is not entitled to register, as a trade name.

Unlike states that split filings between the state and county clerks, Ohio routes every entity type to one office: the Ohio Secretary of State.

The statute's definition of "person" covers any individual, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, corporation, association, professional association, and limited liability company, so sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations all follow the same state-level process.

Registering a trade name is optional, but anyone doing business under a fictitious name who has not registered it as a trade name must report the fictitious name to the Secretary of State within thirty days after first use.

A registered trade name is protected against later registrations of a confusingly similar name; the state's Department of Development guide notes that a reported fictitious name is not protected in the same way and that anyone can use it.

Ohio also bars a person doing business under a trade name or fictitious name from maintaining a court action in that name until the filing requirement has been met.

All Ohio trade name registrations and fictitious name reports go to the Ohio Secretary of State; there is no county-level filing layer in this scheme.

The Secretary of State's prescribed filing is Form 534A, the Name Registration form, which the Ohio Department of Development's business guide identifies for sole proprietors filing a trade or fictitious name (DBA) and which uses check boxes to distinguish a trade name registration from a fictitious name report.

Under section 1329.01 of the Revised Code, the application sets forth the name and business address of the applicant, the name to be registered or reported, the general nature of the business, and, for a trade name, the length of time it has been used in Ohio; a general partnership lists at least one partner, and an entity filer states its form and state of formation.

A single name is filed per application, and the application must be accompanied by a filing fee of thirty-nine dollars payable to the Secretary of State.

Ohio's official business portal page states that the Ohio Business Filings portal (Ohio Business Central) allows you to register your business with the Secretary of State's office, so online filing is available.

Before filing, the Department of Development guide recommends searching the name through the Secretary of State's business search tool, because a trade name that is not distinguishable upon the records from an existing name on file cannot be registered.

A trade name registration or fictitious name report in Ohio is effective for a term of five years from the date of registration or report.

The registration or report may be renewed at the end of each five-year period for a like term by an application filed within six months prior to expiration on a form furnished by the Secretary of State.

The section 111.16 fee schedule sets the renewal fee at twenty-five dollars, and the Secretary of State must notify registrants, within the six months preceding expiration, of the necessity of renewal by ordinary or electronic mail.

A general partnership must renew its registration or report whenever any partner named on it ceases to be a partner.

For changes short of renewal, the statute requires the registrant or user to record all changes of business address by filing a written statement on the prescribed form, and it allows a trade name or fictitious name and its registration or report to be assigned by a written instrument recorded with the Secretary of State, who issues a new certificate to the assignee for the remainder of the term; the fee schedule charges twenty-five dollars for an assignment, a cancellation, or a notice of change of address.

To end a filing, the registrant or assignee of record may send a voluntary written request for cancellation on the prescribed form, and the Secretary of State also cancels registrations that are not renewed, were granted improperly, or are ordered cancelled by a court.

Start with the free official source.

Go to the Ohio Business Filings portal (Ohio Business Central), which the state's official Ohio.gov page identifies as the way to register your business with the Ohio Secretary of State, or obtain Form 534A, the Name Registration form, from the Secretary of State and submit it with the stated thirty-nine dollar filing fee.

Before you file, search the Secretary of State's business records to confirm the name you want is distinguishable from names already on file, because a conflicting trade name application will be refused.

Decide whether you are registering a trade name, which asserts exclusive use, or reporting a fictitious name, which is a notice filing that leaves the name open to others; if you do business under a fictitious name without trade name registration, the report is due within thirty days of first use.

Mark your calendar for the five-year expiration and the six-month renewal window.

Paid help is optional, and this site does not handle filings.