Assumed-Name (DBA) Registration Requirements in Ohio

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The two tracks: trade name vs. fictitious name

Ohio is unusual: it gives you a choice between two statewide filings, and the choice affects your rights in the name.

• A trade name is "a name used in business or trade ... to which the user asserts a right to exclusive use" (§ 1329.01(A)(1)). Registering one is optional — "any person may register" — but registration gives you priority (see Name exclusivity, below).
• 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" (§ 1329.01(A)(2)). If you use one, the statute is not optional: you "shall report the use of the fictitious name to the secretary of state" (§ 1329.01(D)).

So the practical rule is: if you do business under a name that is not your own name of record, you either register it as a trade name or you report it as a fictitious name — but you do one of the two.

An entity that operates under its exact registered name has nothing to file. The definition of "fictitious name" expressly excludes "the name of record" of a corporation, LLC, limited partnership, or limited liability partnership formed or registered with the Secretary of State (§ 1329.01(A)(2)).

Where and when to file

Both filings go to the Ohio Secretary of State (Business Services Division), not to a county — Ohio has no county-level DBA filing (§ 1329.01(B), (D)). A trade name has no filing deadline because registering it is voluntary. A fictitious name report has one: it "shall be made within thirty days after the date of the first use of the fictitious name" (§ 1329.01). There is no newspaper publication step at all; filing with the Secretary of State completes the process.

Fee, term, and renewal

The fee is $39 to register a trade name or report a fictitious name, and $25 to renew (§ 1329.01(C), (E); § 111.16(S)(2)–(3)). Either filing "shall be effective for a term of five years from the date of registration or report" (§ 1329.04). You renew by filing within the six months before it expires, which extends it another five years. A general partnership has an extra trigger: it "shall renew its registration or report whenever any partner named on its registration or report ceases to be a partner" (§ 1329.04).

Name exclusivity

This is where Ohio's two tracks diverge. Registering a trade name reserves it: the Secretary of State "shall not file" a later trade name that "is not distinguishable" from your registered trade name — or from any corporate name, LLC name, or trademark already on the state's records — without the earlier holder's written consent (§ 1329.02). That is real priority, and it is the whole reason to choose the trade-name track. A fictitious name report gets none of this. By definition it is a name the user "has not registered or is not entitled to register as a trade name" (§ 1329.01(A)(2)); it is public notice only and does not lock up the name. Exclusive brand rights beyond a trade-name registration still come from trademark law.

What happens if you skip it

Ohio does not fine you for merely operating unregistered; it closes the courthouse. "No person doing business under a trade name or fictitious name shall commence or maintain an action in the trade name or fictitious name" until it has "first complied with section 1329.01" (§ 1329.10(B)). The bar is curable — once you file, "such an action may be commenced or maintained on any contracts and transactions entered into prior to compliance," so the underlying contracts stay good. Separately, if a user ignores the Secretary of State's notice to comply, the Attorney General "shall bring an action for an injunction" against that user on the Secretary of State's request (§ 1329.10(A)).

What trips people up

• A registered entity using its own name files nothing. "Buckeye Bakery LLC" operating as "Buckeye Bakery LLC" has no filing to make; the same LLC operating as "Buckeye Sweets" does (§ 1329.01(A)(2)).
• Trade name vs. fictitious name is a real choice, not just wording. If the name is available and you want priority in it, register a trade name. If you only need to be on the public record — or the name is not distinguishable enough to register as a trade name — file a fictitious name report. Only the trade name gives you the exclusivity protection of § 1329.02.
• The suit-bar is a delay, not a forfeiture. A defendant can raise § 1329.10(B) to freeze a lawsuit you brought in an unregistered name, but you cure it by filing and then proceed on the same contracts. File before you ever need to enforce anything.
• The 30-day clock runs from first use, not from forming the business. A fictitious name report is due within 30 days after you first use the name (§ 1329.01), so register early rather than waiting.

Common questions

Do I have to register if I already formed an LLC? Only if you operate under a name different from the LLC's registered name. Using the exact registered name requires no assumed-name filing; adopting a different public-facing name means you register it as a trade name or report it as a fictitious name.

Which should I choose — trade name or fictitious name? If you want to keep others from registering the same or a confusingly similar name with the state, register a trade name; the Secretary of State screens later filings against it (§ 1329.02). If you just need to be on record and do not need that protection, a fictitious name report is simpler and costs the same $39.

Do I have to publish a notice in the newspaper? No. Ohio requires no publication; the filing with the Secretary of State is all Chapter 1329 asks for.

Does registering protect my brand everywhere? No. Even a trade name only gives priority within the Secretary of State's records. Broader or nationwide brand protection comes from state or federal trademark registration, which is a separate process.

Statutes and sources

• Ohio Rev. Code § 1329.01 — defines trade name and fictitious name, sets up statewide Secretary of State registration, the $39 fee, and the 30-day fictitious-name report deadline. Official enrolled S.B. 276 (accessed 2026-08-24).
• Ohio Rev. Code § 1329.02 — bars registering a trade name not distinguishable from an existing name or mark (the exclusivity mechanism). Official text (accessed 2026-07-23).
• Ohio Rev. Code § 1329.04 — five-year term and renewal rules. Official text (accessed 2026-07-23).
• Ohio Rev. Code § 1329.10 — curable suit-bar and Attorney General injunction for noncompliance. Official text (accessed 2026-07-23).
• Ohio Rev. Code § 111.16(S) — $39 registration/report fee and $25 renewal fee. Official enrolled H.B. 315 (accessed 2026-08-17).