How to File a DBA in Connecticut
In Connecticut a DBA is a trade name certificate filed with your town clerk for a $20 fee, with no newspaper publication and a five-year term. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Connecticut registers a DBA at the town level, filed with your town clerk rather than a county or the state; called a trade name, it lets a person or business use a name different from the owner's legal name and creates no separate legal entity. Connecticut does not file DBAs with a state business registry. You file a trade name certificate, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State, with the town clerk of the town where your business is or will be principally transacted (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a, which replaced former Sec. 35-1 effective January 1, 2025). The state sets a single filing fee: a trade name filing with the town clerk is $20 under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 7-34a, and the clerk can add $5 to acknowledge your signature before a notary. As an example, the Hartford town and city clerk records a trade name application for the $20 fee. Filing a trade name does not create a corporation or an LLC, does not shield the owner from liability, and does not give a trademark or an exclusive right to the name. Connecticut does not require you to publish a trade name in a newspaper; recording the certificate with the town clerk is the public notice. A Connecticut trade name certificate is valid for five years from the date it is issued, and you renew it with the town clerk to keep using the name (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a); certificates issued before January 1, 2025 expire December 31, 2029 unless renewed. DocDraft builds your Connecticut trade name certificate from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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Connecticut calls a DBA a trade name and files it with the town clerk of the town where you do business, not a county or state agency. It is a business name different from the owner's legal name, and it creates no separate legal entity.
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You file a trade name certificate with the town clerk of the town where your business is or will be principally transacted, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). Connecticut files trade names at the town level, not with the state.
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The filing fee is set by state law. A trade name filing with the town clerk is $20 under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 7-34a, and the clerk can add $5 to acknowledge your signature before a notary. Hartford, for example, records a trade name application for $20.
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Connecticut does not require newspaper publication of a trade name. Recording the certificate with the town clerk is the public notice, so there is no publication step and no affidavit of publication to file.
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A Connecticut trade name certificate is valid for five years from the date it is issued (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). You renew it with the town clerk to keep using the name; certificates issued before January 1, 2025 expire December 31, 2029 unless renewed.
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A trade name does not give you any ownership of or exclusive right to the name, and it does not limit your liability. A sole proprietor with a trade name is still personally responsible for the business.
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The application must be signed and acknowledged before a notary or other authority qualified to administer oaths, and it must give the trade name and the legal name and address of each owner (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a DBA (Doing Business As) in Connecticut, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The DBA (Doing Business As) guide walks through them.
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Connecticut Requirements for DBA (Doing Business As)
In Connecticut a DBA is a trade name certificate filed with the town clerk of the town where the business is principally transacted, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). Connecticut files trade names at the town level, not with the state.
The filing fee is set by state law. A trade name filing with the town clerk is 20 dollars under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 7-34a, and the clerk can add 5 dollars to acknowledge the signature before a notary. Hartford, for example, records a trade name application for 20 dollars.
The exact trade name to register. It must not include a word such as Corporation, Incorporated, LLC, or Limited unless the registrant is that type of entity. A certificate is required when the business uses a name different from the legal name of its owner.
The full legal name and address of the registrant, the type of registrant, and the name and address of each additional owner. For a general partnership, every partner is listed and signs the application.
The town where the business is or will be principally transacted, which sets the town clerk where you file. If the business is transacted in more than one town, a certificate is filed with the clerk of each such town.
Connecticut does not require publication of a trade name in a newspaper. Recording the certificate with the town clerk is the public notice, so there is no publication step and no affidavit of publication to file (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a).
A Connecticut trade name certificate is valid for five years from the date it is issued (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). Renew it with the town clerk to keep using the name. Certificates on file before January 1, 2025 expire December 31, 2029 unless renewed.
A Connecticut trade name is only a name registration. It creates no separate legal entity, gives no exclusive right or trademark in the name, and does not limit the personal liability of a sole proprietor or general partner.
Frequently Asked Questions
In Connecticut a DBA is a trade name, a public filing that lets a person or company do business under a name different from the owner's legal name. You register it by filing a trade name certificate with the town clerk of the town where the business is principally transacted (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). It connects the name to you on the public record. It does not create a separate legal entity, protect the name, or limit your liability.
In Connecticut a DBA (trade name) is only a name registration you file with the town clerk; it creates no new entity and gives no liability protection. A Connecticut LLC is a separate legal entity you form by filing a Certificate of Organization with the Secretary of the State, and it shields the owners' personal assets. You can have both, since an existing LLC can file a trade name to run a brand under another name. Choose based on whether you need liability protection or just a name.
You file a trade name certificate with the town clerk of the town where your business is or will be principally transacted, not with the state (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). The state sets the fee: a trade name filing with the town clerk is $20 under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 7-34a, and the clerk can add $5 to acknowledge your signature before a notary. The Hartford clerk, for example, records a trade name application for $20.
No. Connecticut does not require you to publish a trade name in a newspaper. Recording the trade name certificate with the town clerk is the public notice, so there is no publication step and no affidavit of publication to file (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). You use the form prescribed by the Secretary of the State and file it with your town clerk.
A Connecticut trade name certificate is valid for five years from the date it is issued (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). To keep using the name you renew it with the same town clerk before it expires. Certificates that were on file before January 1, 2025 expire December 31, 2029 unless renewed. Track your five-year date and file a new certificate if an owner, address, or the name changes.
You generally need a Connecticut trade name certificate if you regularly transact business under a name different from the legal name of the person or entity that owns it. The certificate is filed with the town clerk of the town where the business is principally transacted (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). Filing puts the owner behind the name on the public record before you open accounts or sign contracts under it.
No. A Connecticut trade name certificate is a public record connecting a name to the person using it, but it gives no ownership of or exclusive right to the name, so another business could use a similar name. It also creates no separate legal entity, so a sole proprietor filing a trade name remains personally liable. For exclusive name rights you would seek a trademark, and for liability protection you would form an LLC or corporation.
Yes. In Connecticut the trade name application must be signed and acknowledged before a notary or other authority qualified to administer oaths before you file it with the town clerk (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 35-1a). Many town clerks can notarize the signature at the counter for a small fee. The form itself is prescribed by the Secretary of the State and lists the trade name and each owner's legal name and address.