DBA · Delaware

How to File a Trade Name for an LLC in Delaware

By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 6, 2026

Short answer

Delaware does not require an LLC to register a trade name; registering is optional. An LLC registers a trade name with the Division of Revenue. We found no publication step for an LLC's trade name filing in Delaware.

Delaware Trade Name at a Glance

Requirement: Optional
Where to file: Division of Revenue
Fee: See Cost and renewal
How long it lasts: No fixed term
Newspaper notice: None found
File online: Yes

How an LLC Files

An LLC registers a trade name with the Division of Revenue.

Filing needs a state business license in the same name.

You can file online.

Before February 2, 2026, Delaware trade names were filed with the Superior Court Prothonotary in each county, and those filings remain recognized. Corporations and LLCs may register a trade name but are not required to.

Open the filing office's site · Open the filing page

Cost and Renewal

The filing fee is $25.00. The $25 is charged once per trade name, and every trade name must be tied to an active Delaware business license, which is a separate cost. A business that needs no regular license can get a Trade Name Only license for $25 a year.

The registration has no fixed term.

The trade name stays in good standing only while the Delaware business license it is tied to stays active.

Publication

We found no publication step for an LLC's trade name filing in Delaware.

Does it protect the name?

Registering does not give the LLC ownership of, or an exclusive right to, the name.

Sole proprietors

Delaware requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register a trade name.

File before starting to do business under the name.

A sole proprietor registers a trade name with the Division of Revenue.

Filing needs a state business license in the same name.

The registration has no fixed term.

The trade name stays in good standing only while the Delaware business license it is tied to stays active.

We found no publication step for a sole proprietor's trade name filing in Delaware.

A person or partnership that trades under an unregistered trade name can be fined up to $100, jailed up to 3 months, or both.

Requirement	Required
Where to file	Division of Revenue
Fee	See Cost and renewal
How long it lasts	No fixed term
Newspaper notice	None found
File online	Yes

Next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

: Delaware does not require an LLC to register a trade name; registering is optional.
: An LLC registers a trade name with the Division of Revenue. Filing needs a state business license in the same name.
: The filing fee is $25.00. The $25 is charged once per trade name, and every trade name must be tied to an active Delaware business license, which is a separate cost. A business that needs no regular license can get a Trade Name Only license for $25 a year.
: The registration has no fixed term. The trade name stays in good standing only while the Delaware business license it is tied to stays active.
: We found no publication step for an LLC's trade name filing in Delaware.
: Registering does not give the LLC ownership of, or an exclusive right to, the name.
: Delaware requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register a trade name. A sole proprietor registers a trade name with the Division of Revenue.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's filing office publishes about registering a business name, with the sources this page cites. A filing here does not register a federal trademark, and fees and forms change between our reviews. Confirm with the office named on this page before you file.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Delaware sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c031/index.htmlDelaware Code Title 6, Chapter 31, Registration of Trade Names
onestop.delaware.gov/Operate_TradeNamesDelaware One Stop, Register or Modify Your Delaware Trade Names
onestop.delaware.gov/Operate_TradeNamesDelaware One Stop, Register or Modify Your Delaware Trade Names

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.