Alabama: Assumed-Name (DBA) Registration Requirements
The short answer
Alabama does not require every business using a different name to make a statewide DBA filing. Instead, a person who has adopted and already uses a trade name in Alabama may choose to register it as a mark with the Secretary of State for $30; no newspaper publication is required. Registration lasts five years and may be renewed during the six months before expiration for another $30 if the name remains in use.
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This is the general rule in Alabama. Ezel applies current Alabama law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and scheme | Ala. Code §§ 8-12-6 through 8-12-19 — optional statewide trade-name registration within the trademark/service-mark article; not a mandatory general DBA filing |
|---|---|
| Who must register | No one is required by Article 2 merely because a different business name is used. Any person who adopts and uses a trade name in Alabama may choose to register it as a mark (§§ 8-12-6(5), (10)–(11), 8-12-8(a)) |
| Filing office | Alabama Secretary of State; file the optional mark-registration application on the Secretary's form (§ 8-12-8(a)) |
| Filing deadline | None because registration is optional. The applicant must already have adopted and used the trade name in Alabama and must state first-use dates (§ 8-12-8(a)) |
| Publication requirement | None. The complete current Article 2 application and registration scheme, §§ 8-12-6 through 8-12-19, contains no newspaper notice or proof-of-publication step |
| Filing fee | $30 for registration; Secretary may require a fee for each class included in a multi-class application. Assignment recordation is separately $30 (§§ 8-12-8(d), 8-12-11, 8-12-14(a)) |
| Term and renewal | 5 years. If still in use, renew for successive 5-year terms during the 6 months before expiration; renewal fee $30 and continued-use statement required (§ 8-12-10) |
| Name exclusivity | Registration can be refused for confusing similarity and gives the registered owner statutory infringement remedies, but good-faith common-law rights remain and registration is not conclusive ownership (§§ 8-12-7(6), 8-12-16, 8-12-18, 8-12-19) |
| Penalty for noncompliance | None for skipping the optional registration. Knowingly procuring a false or fraudulent registration creates liability for all resulting damages (§ 8-12-15) |
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Requirements one by one
Alabama offers optional protective registration
Alabama's Article 2 treats a trade name as a type of “mark” under § 8-12-6(5).
Section 8-12-8
says a person who adopts and uses a mark in Alabama may file an application
with the Secretary of State. It does not require every business using a DBA to
register before operating.
The application is for a name already in use. It must state when the mark was
first used anywhere and in Alabama, describe the business and how the name is
used, identify the claimed owner, be signed and verified, include three
specimens or facsimiles, and include the $30 fee.
For a multi-class application, § 8-12-14(a) permits the Secretary of State to
require a fee for each class.
There is no filing or publication deadline
Because registration is optional, Article 2 sets no deadline measured from the
start of business. Existing use is a prerequisite rather than a deadline.
The complete current registration article, §§ 8-12-6 through 8-12-19, contains
no newspaper publication or proof-of-publication requirement. The statutory
application package is the filing, verification, specimens, and fee described
in § 8-12-8.
Registration lasts five years
Under § 8-12-10, registration lasts five years from the registration date. If
the mark remains in use, the registrant may renew during the six months before
expiration for another five-year term. Renewal costs $30 and must state that
the mark is still used in Alabama.
The Secretary of State must send renewal notice during the year before
expiration to the registrant's last known physical, electronic, or other
address. Successive five-year renewals are allowed.
Registration creates remedies without conclusively deciding ownership
Under § 8-12-7(6), the Secretary bars registration of a confusingly similar registered or
previously used mark, subject to the stated consent-and-separate-markets route.
Section 8-12-16 (§ 8-12-16) and § 8-12-18(a) let the registered owner seek an injunction,
profits, damages, costs, and, in stated circumstances, attorney fees.
Those remedies do not erase earlier rights. Section 8-12-19 (§ 8-12-19) expressly preserves
rights in marks acquired in good faith at common law. Registration should not
be described as a conclusive ownership judgment.
Nonregistration and fraudulent registration are different
Article 2 states no penalty for declining the optional registration. A business
that does not file simply lacks the article's registered-mark status and
remedies.
Section 8-12-15 (§ 8-12-15) addresses a different act: knowingly obtaining a filing or
registration through false or fraudulent representations. The filer is liable
for all damages sustained because of that filing or registration.
What trips people up
This is a mark-registration system, not a mandatory DBA notice. Trade names,
trademarks, and service marks share the same Article 2 application and remedies.
The word “registration” does not make filing an operating prerequisite.
Use must come before filing. Section 8-12-8 reaches a person who “adopts and
uses” the mark and requires both first-use dates. An intended future name alone
does not meet that text.
Common questions
Must I register an Alabama DBA before doing business?
No under this statewide Article 2 scheme. Registration is optional and requires
the trade name already to be in use in Alabama. Local license or tax rules can
still create separate requirements.
Does Alabama require newspaper publication?
No. The complete current Article 2 scheme contains no publication step, and
§ 8-12-8 lists an application, verification, three specimens, and the fee.
Does registration guarantee that I own the name everywhere?
No. Registration supplies Alabama statutory remedies, but § 8-12-19 preserves
good-faith common-law rights and § 8-12-7 recognizes previously used marks.
Statutes and sources
- Ala. Code §§ 8-12-6 through 8-12-8. Trade-name and use definitions,
registrability, optional Secretary of State application, contents, specimens,
verification, and fee. Official Alabama Code
(accessed July 30, 2026). - Ala. Code § 8-12-10. Five-year term, six-month renewal window, $30 fee,
notice, and continued-use statement. Official Alabama Code
(accessed July 30, 2026). - Ala. Code §§ 8-12-14 through 8-12-19. Multi-class fees, fraudulent-filing
liability, infringement, remedies, and preserved common-law rights. Official
Alabama Code
(accessed July 30, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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