Assumed-Name (DBA) Registration Requirements in Maryland

At a glance

Requirements one by one

File with SDAT before starting under the trade name

Section 1-406(a) requires a covered person using a designation, title, or name other than the person's own name to file with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation "prior to commencing operation of the business." This is one statewide filing, not a county-by-county system.

The written certificate must be affirmed or acknowledged under oath. It states the owner or principal's true name and address, the character and location of the business, the trade name, and the identification number assigned by SDAT for the associated business. The Department records and indexes accepted certificates in its public agency record (§ 1-406(a)–(d)).

Five-year term and final-six-month renewal window

The certificate is effective for five years from filing (§ 1-406(f)(1)). A renewal may be filed only within the six months before the term ends, and it extends the certificate for another five years (§ 1-406(f)(2)–(3)). SDAT's current instructions say a missed renewal causes forfeiture of the trade name record and requires a new application.

The statutory charge is $25 for registration and $25 for each amendment, cancellation, or renewal (§ 1-406(e)). Expedited processing is optional and adds a separate administrative charge.

Record availability is not ownership of the name

Subtitle 5 treats a trade-name filer as an entity for name-record purposes (§ 1-501), and § 1-504 requires an entity name to be distinguishable on SDAT's records. But the current application warns that acceptance "does not confer on the owner any greater right to use the name" and is not a trademark filing. Registry availability and substantive rights against another user are separate.

What trips people up

• Registration is required before operation. The statute does not describe the general trade-name filing as optional or give a post-start grace period.
• No newspaper notice follows the SDAT filing. Section 1-406 and the current application contain no publication or proof-of-publication step.
• The application is under oath. Section 1-406(a)(2) requires the certificate to be affirmed or acknowledged under oath; the form uses an affirmation under penalties of perjury.
• The stated crime is false filing, not simple nonregistration. Section 1-406(h) makes a willful and knowing false certificate a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000, one year in jail, or both. The section does not state a separate fine, jail term, or contract suit-bar for merely failing to file.

Common questions

Can I change the trade name itself on an amendment? No. SDAT's amendment instructions say the original trade name cannot be changed through an amendment; the filer must cancel it and register the new name. Other filing changes use the amendment form and the statutory $25 fee.

Does an accepted trade name block every similar name? No. SDAT checks its records, but acceptance does not resolve federal trademark, Maryland service-mark, out-of-state, or other prior-use rights.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Code, Corps. & Ass'ns § 1-406 — pre-use certificate, contents, public record, fee, five-year term, renewal window, and false-filing penalty. Official text (accessed 2026-07-25).
• Md. Code, Corps. & Ass'ns §§ 1-501 and 1-504 — trade-name filer within the entity-name subtitle and record-level distinguishability. Official § 1-501; official § 1-504 (accessed 2026-07-25).
• Maryland SDAT Trade Name Application — current form, instructions, expiration consequence, and no-greater-right notice. Official form (accessed 2026-07-25).