DBA · Georgia

How to File a Trade Name for an LLC in Georgia

By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 7, 2026

A 2025-2026 bill (HB 158) would have required trade name filings to be made electronically on statewide forms and listed in a statewide registry from January 1, 2027. We could not confirm whether this change was enacted; check with the state before you file.

Short answer

Georgia requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register a trade name. After filing, you must publish notice of the filing for 2 weeks in the newspaper the county sheriff uses for legal advertisements in the county where the registration is filed. File before starting to do business under the name.

Georgia Trade Name at a Glance

Requirement: Required
Where to file: See How an LLC files
Fee: Not confirmed
How long it lasts: No fixed term
Newspaper notice: Required
File online: Not confirmed

How an LLC Files

Georgia's statute names a domestic corporation but does not name an LLC, while the state's own guide says any business using a name other than its legal name must file. Georgia's state guide says an LLC files in the county where the business is located.

File before starting to do business under the name.

An LLC registers a trade name with the Clerk of the Superior Court.

Georgia's statute sends a domestic corporation using another name to the clerk in the county of its legal domicile.

Filing needs a notarized signature.

Forms and filing procedures vary by county, so ask the Clerk of the Superior Court in your county for its trade name application. You pay the newspaper separately for the published notice.

Open the filing office's site

Cost and Renewal

The registration has no fixed term.

A new and amended registration must be filed when ownership changes.

Publication

After filing, you must publish notice of the filing for 2 weeks in the newspaper the county sheriff uses for legal advertisements in the county where the registration is filed.

Sole proprietors

Georgia requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register a trade name. Georgia's state guide says a business files in the county where it is located.

File before starting to do business under the name.

A sole proprietor registers a trade name with the Clerk of the Superior Court.

Filing needs a notarized signature.

The registration has no fixed term.

A new and amended registration must be filed when ownership changes.

After filing, you must publish notice of the filing for 2 weeks in the newspaper the county sheriff uses for legal advertisements in the county where the registration is filed.

Requirement	Required
Where to file	County office (Clerk of the Superior Court)
Fee	Not confirmed
How long it lasts	No fixed term
Newspaper notice	Required
File online	Not confirmed

Next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

: Georgia requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register a trade name. Georgia's statute names a domestic corporation but does not name an LLC, while the state's own guide says any business using a name other than its legal name must file. Georgia's state guide says an LLC files in the county where the business is located. File before starting to do business under the name.
: An LLC registers a trade name with the Clerk of the Superior Court. Georgia's statute sends a domestic corporation using another name to the clerk in the county of its legal domicile. Filing needs a notarized signature.
: The registration has no fixed term. A new and amended registration must be filed when ownership changes.
: After filing, you must publish notice of the filing for 2 weeks in the newspaper the county sheriff uses for legal advertisements in the county where the registration is filed.
: Georgia requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register a trade name. Georgia's state guide says a business files in the county where it is located. A sole proprietor registers a trade name with the Clerk of the Superior Court.

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 Georgia 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.

georgia.gov/file-dba-doing-businessGeorgia.gov, File for a DBA (Doing Business As)
legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/243682Georgia HB 158 (2025-2026), committee substitute LC 44 3471S, a bill marking proposed changes to O.C.G.A. 10-1-490; current code not read
legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/243682Georgia HB 158 (2025-2026), committee substitute LC 44 3471S, a bill; enactment not confirmed
georgia.gov/file-dba-doing-businessGeorgia.gov, File for a DBA (Doing Business As)
legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/243682Georgia HB 158 (2025-2026), committee substitute LC 44 3471S, a bill marking proposed changes to O.C.G.A. 10-1-490; current code not read

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.