DBA · Michigan

How to File an Assumed Name for an LLC in Michigan

By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 6, 2026

Short answer

Michigan requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register an assumed name. Michigan's law lets an LLC transact business under an assumed name by filing a certificate of assumed name. The filing fee is $25.00. We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Michigan.

Michigan Assumed Name at a Glance

Requirement: Required
Where to file: See How an LLC files
Fee: $25.00
How long it lasts: 5 years
Newspaper notice: None found
File online: Yes

How an LLC Files

An LLC files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Corporations Division.

Michigan's county assumed name law excludes only corporations and limited partnerships and does not name LLCs. The state's LLC guidance sends an LLC to the state Corporations Division.

You can file online.

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

Cost and Renewal

The filing fee is $25.00.

The registration has a 5-year term.

The certificate runs to December 31 of the fifth full calendar year after the year it is filed. It can be renewed for another five full calendar years in the 90 days before it expires.

Renewal costs $25.00.

Publication

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

Does it protect the name?

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

Sole proprietors

Michigan requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register an assumed name. The certificate is filed with the clerk of each county where the business is carried on or has an office. Selling only by sample, through a traveling salesperson, or by mail order does not count as doing business in a county.

A sole proprietor registers an assumed name with the county clerk in each county where the business operates.

Filing needs acknowledgment before a clerk or notary.

The registration has a 5-year term.

Renewal costs $4.00.

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

A business that must file with the county clerk and does not is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $25 to $100, up to 30 days in jail, or both, with each day a separate offense. It also cannot sue in a Michigan court over a contract made under the name until it files.

Requirement	Required
Where to file	County office (county clerk)
Fee	Not confirmed
How long it lasts	5 years
Newspaper notice	None found
File online	Not confirmed

Next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

: Michigan requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register an assumed name. Michigan's law lets an LLC transact business under an assumed name by filing a certificate of assumed name.
: An LLC files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Corporations Division. Michigan's county assumed name law excludes only corporations and limited partnerships and does not name LLCs. The state's LLC guidance sends an LLC to the state Corporations Division.
: The filing fee is $25.00.
: The registration has a 5-year term. The certificate runs to December 31 of the fifth full calendar year after the year it is filed. It can be renewed for another five full calendar years in the 90 days before it expires. Renewal costs $25.00.
: We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Michigan.
: Registering does not give the LLC ownership of, or an exclusive right to, the name.
: Michigan requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register an assumed name. The certificate is filed with the clerk of each county where the business is carried on or has an office. Selling only by sample, through a traveling salesperson, or by mail order does not count as doing business in a county. A sole proprietor registers an assumed name with the county clerk in each county where the business operates.

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 Michigan 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.

michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/cscl/corps/limited-liability-co/filing/naming-a-limited-liability-companyLARA Corporations Division, Naming a Limited Liability Company
legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-450-4206MCL 450.4206, Assumed name of limited liability company
legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-450-5101MCL 450.5101, Limited Liability Company Act filing fees
michigan.gov/lara/-/media/Project/Websites/lara/cscl/Folder6/Filing_Fees.pdfLARA Corporations Division, Filing Fees
michigan.gov/lara/-/media/Project/Websites/lara/cscl/NonImages_new/Corps/forms/corporation/541-0725.pdfLARA form CSCL/CD 541, Certificate of Assumed Name
mibusinessregistry.lara.state.mi.usMiBusiness Registry Portal, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-1MCL 445.1, Certificate of assumed name; filing with county clerk
legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-1aMCL 445.1a, Duration of certificate; renewal
legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-3MCL 445.3, Index; fees; certified copies
legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-4MCL 445.4, Certificate contents; corporations and limited partnerships excluded
legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-5MCL 445.5, Penalty; actions barred until compliance

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.