Assumed-Name (DBA) Registration Requirements in Arkansas
At a glance
| Governing law and scheme | Ark. Code §§ 4-70-201–206, 4-27-404, and 4-38-122 — county filing for persons covered by the assumed-name subchapter; state filing for corporations and LLCs, with a second county copy for most domestic corporations |
|---|---|
| Who must register | A person using a name other than the real name of the individual conducting the business, unless excluded by § 4-70-201; corporations and domestic/foreign LLCs have separate pre-use fictitious-name filing duties (§§ 4-27-404, 4-38-122) |
| Filing office | County route: clerk of every county where business is or will be conducted. Corporation/LLC route: Secretary of State; a domestic corporation also files the returned copy in its registered-office county unless that office is in Pulaski County (§§ 4-70-203, 4-27-404, 4-38-122) |
| Filing deadline | Before conducting business under the assumed or fictitious name; the statutes provide no grace period (§§ 4-70-203, 4-27-404, 4-38-122) |
| Publication requirement | None — the complete county, corporation, and LLC filing provisions require no newspaper notice or proof of publication |
| Filing fee | $1 statutory county-clerk fee. Current domestic corporation and LLC filing: $22.50 online or $25 paper; domestic LP, LLP, and LLLP schedules list $15 paper filings |
| Term and renewal | No fixed expiration or periodic renewal. Ownership withdrawal triggers a county certificate; corporations and LLCs must cancel after ceasing use of the fictitious name (§§ 4-70-204, 4-27-404, 4-38-122) |
| Name exclusivity | State filings are screened against Secretary of State records, but corporation and LLC compliance expressly gives no exclusive right to the fictitious name (§§ 4-27-404, 4-38-122) |
| Penalty for noncompliance | County route: violation and $25–$100 fine for each day. Corporation/LLC route: claims under an instrument naming only the DBA cannot be enforced until compliance plus a $300 civil penalty, while obligations against the entity remain enforceable (§§ 4-70-202, 4-27-404, 4-38-122) |
Arkansas uses county and state filing tracks
The filing office depends on who owns the business. Under § 4-70-203, a person covered by the county assumed-name subchapter files an acknowledged certificate with the clerk of every county where the business is conducted or intended to be conducted. Section 4-70-201 excludes lawfully operating corporations, limited partnerships, and LLCs from that county subchapter.
Corporations and LLCs instead file before using the name with the Secretary of State under §§ 4-27-404 and 4-38-122. A domestic corporation has one additional step: after the state filing, it files the returned copy with the county clerk where its registered office is located, unless that office is in Pulaski County. An LLC does not have that second-county-copy rule. Registered LLPs have a parallel Secretary of State route under § 4-42-707, and the current agency schedule also provides DN-18 filings for LPs and LLLPs.
None of these routes includes a newspaper-publication step or a periodic renewal. Under § 4-70-204, a person withdrawing from or disposing of an ownership interest in a county-filed business records that change in every operating county. Sections 4-27-404 and 4-38-122 instead require a corporation or LLC to cancel its state filing when it stops using the fictitious name.
What trips people up
- A domestic corporation may need two filings. The Secretary of State filing comes first, followed by the registered-office county copy unless the registered office is in Pulaski County. This second step does not apply to an LLC.
- The $1 fee is only the statutory county-route fee. Under § 4-70-206, the clerk receives that amount. The current Secretary of State schedules list $22.50 online or $25 on paper for a domestic corporation or LLC, and $15 paper filings for domestic LPs, LLPs, and LLLPs.
- State-record screening is not ownership of the name. The current § 4-38-122(c) distinguishability rule controls whether the Secretary of State accepts an LLC filing, but §§ 4-27-404 and 4-38-122 expressly deny an exclusive right to the fictitious name.
- The consequences depend on the filing track. Under § 4-70-202, a county- route violation carries a $25 to $100 fine for each day. For a corporation or LLC named only by its unregistered DBA in an instrument, §§ 4-27-404 and 4-38-122 preserve enforcement against the entity but bar the entity's own enforcement until it complies and pays $300.
Common questions
Must I publish an Arkansas DBA in a newspaper?
No. The complete county, corporation, and LLC provisions impose filing duties but no newspaper notice or proof-of-publication requirement.
Does an Arkansas fictitious-name filing expire?
The cited statutes set no fixed expiration or periodic renewal. They use change, cessation, and cancellation filings instead.
Do I file in every county?
Only the county route requires filing in every county where the business is or will be conducted. An LLC files with the Secretary of State. A domestic corporation files there first and then files the returned copy only in its registered-office county, unless that office is in Pulaski County.
Statutes and sources
- Ark. Code §§ 4-70-201–206 — county-route scope, every-county certificate, acknowledgment, ownership-change filing, $1 fee, and daily violation fine. Official OCAR Title 4 release (accessed 2026-07-27).
- Ark. Code § 4-27-404 — corporation state filing, domestic-corporation county copy, cancellation, $300 cure, and no exclusive right. Official OCAR Title 4 release (accessed 2026-07-27).
- Ark. Code § 4-38-122 — LLC filing, cancellation, remedy, and name-rights rules. Official Act 1041 of 2021, as amended by official Act 256 of 2023 (accessed 2026-07-27).
- Arkansas Secretary of State forms, fees, and FAQ — current filing workflow and administrative fees for corporations, LLCs, and partnerships, plus the business-services FAQ (accessed 2026-07-27).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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