DBA · Kentucky

How to File an Assumed Name for an LLC in Kentucky

By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 7, 2026

Short answer

Kentucky requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register an assumed name. An LLC files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State and county clerk. The county filing goes to the county where its registered agent is. We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Kentucky.

Kentucky Assumed Name at a Glance

Requirement: Required
Where to file: Secretary of State and county clerk
Fee: See Cost and renewal
How long it lasts: 5 years
Newspaper notice: None found
File online: Yes

How an LLC Files

After the Secretary of State files the certificate, a copy it has stamped as filed must also be filed with the county clerk where the LLC keeps its registered agent, or where it has its principal office if it needs no agent. An entity with neither in Kentucky files only with the Secretary of State.

An LLC files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State and county clerk. The county filing goes to the county where its registered agent is.

You can file online.

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

Cost and Renewal

The filing fee is $20.00. That fee is charged for each certificate. The county clerk then charges $33 to record the copy the Secretary of State has stamped as filed, if it runs to five pages or fewer, plus $3 for each additional page.

The registration has a 5-year term.

A renewal certificate must be filed within the six months before the five-year term ends.

Renewal costs $20.00.

Publication

We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Kentucky.

Does it protect the name?

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

If you skip it

Trading under an assumed name without filing the certificate is punishable by a fine of $25 to $100, jail of 10 to 30 days, or both. Each day the violation continues is a separate offense.

Sole proprietors

Kentucky requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register an assumed name. In Kentucky a sole proprietor files directly with the county clerk. A general partnership, like an LLC, files with the Secretary of State first.

A sole proprietor registers an assumed name with the county clerk in the county of the principal place of business.

The statute says to file in the county of the principal place of business. The Secretary of State's form instructions use a different test, the county where the owner is treated as a resident under another part of Kentucky law.

The filing fee is $33.00. The county clerk charges $33 to record a certificate of five pages or fewer, plus $3 for each additional page.

The registration has a 5-year term.

A renewal certificate must be filed within the six months before the five-year term ends.

We found no publication step for a sole proprietor's assumed name filing in Kentucky.

Trading under an assumed name without filing the certificate is punishable by a fine of $25 to $100, jail of 10 to 30 days, or both. Each day the violation continues is a separate offense.

Requirement	Required
Where to file	See the note below
Fee	See Cost and renewal
How long it lasts	5 years
Newspaper notice	None found
File online	Not confirmed

Next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

: Kentucky requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register an assumed name. After the Secretary of State files the certificate, a copy it has stamped as filed must also be filed with the county clerk where the LLC keeps its registered agent, or where it has its principal office if it needs no agent. An entity with neither in Kentucky files only with the Secretary of State.
: An LLC files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State and county clerk. The county filing goes to the county where its registered agent is.
: The filing fee is $20.00. That fee is charged for each certificate. The county clerk then charges $33 to record the copy the Secretary of State has stamped as filed, if it runs to five pages or fewer, plus $3 for each additional page.
: The registration has a 5-year term. A renewal certificate must be filed within the six months before the five-year term ends. Renewal costs $20.00.
: We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Kentucky.
: Registering does not give the LLC ownership of, or an exclusive right to, the name.
: Trading under an assumed name without filing the certificate is punishable by a fine of $25 to $100, jail of 10 to 30 days, or both. Each day the violation continues is a separate offense.
: Kentucky requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register an assumed name. In Kentucky a sole proprietor files directly with the county clerk. A general partnership, like an LLC, files with the Secretary of State first. A sole proprietor registers an assumed name with the county clerk in the county of the principal place of business.

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 Kentucky 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.

apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=44372KRS 365.015, Certificate of assumed name, filing with state and county, fees
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=34879KRS 365.990, Penalties
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57720KRS 64.012, Fees of county clerks
web.sos.ky.gov/forms/corp/ASN-Certificate%20of%20Assumed%20Name.pdfKentucky Secretary of State, Certificate of Assumed Name (form ASN) and filing instructions
sos.ky.gov/bus/business-filings/Pages/Fees.aspxKentucky Secretary of State, Business Filings Fees
web.sos.ky.gov/fasttrack/ASN_Search.aspxKentucky Secretary of State FastTrack, Assumed Name filing
sos.ky.gov/bus/business-filings/Pages/default.aspxKentucky Secretary of State, Business Filings

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.