How to File a DBA in Georgia
In Georgia a DBA is a trade name registered with your county Clerk of Superior Court, then published in the county legal organ newspaper for two weeks. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Georgia routes a DBA through the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the business operates, a court office rather than the Secretary of State; the filing lets a person or business use a name different from the owner's legal name and creates no separate legal entity. Georgia calls it a trade name, and you register it with the Clerk of Superior Court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on (O.C.G.A. 10-1-490), not with the Georgia Secretary of State, because Georgia has no statewide DBA filing. There is no single statewide form or fee; each county Clerk of Superior Court sets its own recording fee, so the cost depends on your county. As an example, DeKalb County charges about $174, and other metro-Atlanta counties run in a similar range, so confirm the current amount with your own county clerk. 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. After you file, Georgia requires you to publish notice of the filing in the county's official legal organ, the newspaper that prints the sheriff's advertisements, once a week for two weeks, and you pay the newspaper a separate publication charge. A Georgia trade name registration has no periodic renewal; it stays in effect until the ownership changes, and you file a new registration on a change of ownership or to change the name. DocDraft builds your Georgia trade name registration from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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Georgia calls a DBA a trade name and registers it with the county Clerk of Superior Court, with no statewide filing option. It lets you carry on business under a name different from the owner's legal name, and it creates no separate legal entity.
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You register the trade name with the Clerk of Superior Court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on (O.C.G.A. 10-1-490). Georgia has no Secretary of State DBA filing.
- 3
There is no statewide Georgia form or fee. Each county Clerk of Superior Court sets its own recording fee (for example, DeKalb County charges about $174), so confirm the amount with your county.
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After you file, Georgia requires you to publish notice of the filing in the county's official legal organ, the newspaper that prints the sheriff's advertisements, once a week for two weeks (O.C.G.A. 10-1-490).
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A Georgia trade name registration has no periodic renewal. It stays in effect until the ownership changes, and you file a new registration on a change of ownership or to change the name.
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A DBA gives you no 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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You must register a trade name in Georgia when you carry on business under a name that does not disclose the individual ownership, such as a name that leaves out an owner's surname or suggests other owners.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a DBA (Doing Business As) in Georgia, 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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Georgia Requirements for DBA (Doing Business As)
In Georgia a DBA is a trade name registered with the Clerk of Superior Court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on, not with the state (O.C.G.A. 10-1-490). Georgia has no Secretary of State DBA filing.
There is no statewide Georgia fee. Each county Clerk of Superior Court sets its own recording fee, so confirm the amount with your county. As an example, DeKalb County charges about 174 dollars, plus a separate newspaper publication charge.
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, and a filing is required when the name does not disclose the individual ownership of the business.
The full legal name and address of the registrant, the type of registrant, and the name and address of each owner. For a partnership, every partner is listed so the ownership behind the name is disclosed.
The county where the business is chiefly carried on, which sets the Clerk of Superior Court where you file. For a domestic corporation using a name other than its corporate name, the filing county is the county of its legal domicile.
After filing, publish notice of the registration in the county official legal organ, the newspaper that prints the sheriff advertisements, once a week for two weeks, and pay the newspaper a separate publication charge (O.C.G.A. 10-1-490).
A Georgia trade name registration has no periodic renewal. It stays in effect until the ownership changes, and you file a new registration only on a change of ownership or to change the name.
A Georgia DBA 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 Georgia a DBA is a trade name, a public registration that lets a person or company do business under a name different from the owner's legal name. You register it by filing with the Clerk of Superior Court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on (O.C.G.A. 10-1-490). It connects the name to you on the public record so the ownership behind the name is disclosed. It does not create a separate legal entity, protect the name, or limit your liability.
In Georgia a DBA (trade name) is only a name registration you file with the county Clerk of Superior Court; it creates no new entity and gives no liability protection. A Georgia LLC is a separate legal entity you form by filing Articles of Organization with the Georgia Secretary of State, and it shields the owners' personal assets. You can have both, since an existing LLC can register a trade name to run a brand under another name. Choose based on whether you need liability protection or just a name.
You register your trade name with the Clerk of Superior Court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on, not with the state (O.C.G.A. 10-1-490). Because filing is at the county level, each county sets its own recording fee. DeKalb County, for example, charges about $174, and other metro-Atlanta counties run in a similar range, roughly $171 to $175, plus a separate newspaper publication charge. Check your county Clerk of Superior Court for its current fee.
Yes. After you file your trade name registration, Georgia requires you to publish notice of the filing in the county's official legal organ, which is the newspaper that prints the sheriff's advertisements, once a week for two weeks (O.C.G.A. 10-1-490). You pay the newspaper a separate publication charge. Your county Clerk of Superior Court can tell you which newspaper is the legal organ for that county.
A Georgia trade name registration has no periodic renewal. Once it is filed and published, it stays in effect and you do not refile on a set schedule. You file a new registration only when the ownership changes, or when you want to change the trade name itself. Because there is no expiration date to track, the main thing to watch is keeping the record current whenever an owner or the name changes.
You generally need to register a trade name in Georgia when you carry on business under a name that does not disclose the individual ownership, such as a name that leaves out each owner's surname or that suggests other owners by adding a word like Company or Associates, or, for a company, a name different from its registered legal name. Registering matters because the requirement is meant to put the true ownership behind the name on the public record.
No. A Georgia trade name registration 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 registering a trade name remains personally liable for the business. For exclusive name rights you would seek a trademark, and for liability protection you would form an LLC or corporation.
Yes. A Georgia trade name registration lists each person or entity that owns the business and will use the name, because the purpose of the filing is to disclose the ownership behind the name. For a partnership, every partner is listed so the individual ownership shows on the public record. The owners are recorded together on the one registration for the trade name, and the same names appear in the published newspaper notice.