DBA · Minnesota

How to File an Assumed Name for an LLC in Minnesota

By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 7, 2026

Short answer

Minnesota 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. It must also publish notice of the filing in a newspaper. File before starting business under the name.

Minnesota Assumed Name at a Glance

Requirement: Required
Where to file: Secretary of State
Fee: See Cost and renewal
How long it lasts: Renewed every year
Newspaper notice: Required
File online: Yes

How an LLC Files

File before starting business under the name.

An LLC files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State.

You can file online.

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

Cost and Renewal

Filing by mail costs $30, and an expedited filing in person or online costs $50.

The registration must be renewed every year.

A renewal is due in each calendar year after the year of filing. If a year passes with no renewal, the certificate expires in the following calendar year and can be reinstated with the renewal and a $25 fee.

Renewal is free.

Publication

After filing, you must publish notice of the filing in a qualified legal newspaper in the county where the business has its principal or registered office, for two successive issues after the certificate is filed with the Secretary of State.

Does it protect the name?

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

If you skip it

A business that sues before filing can have its case stayed until it files, and it owes the other side $250 in costs. The Attorney General can also seek an injunction and a civil penalty of up to $25,000.

Sole proprietors

Minnesota requires a sole proprietor whose business name is not their full name to register an assumed name. A sole proprietor whose business name includes his or her full first and last name does not file. A partnership files unless its name includes the true full name of each partner.

File before starting business under the name.

A sole proprietor files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State.

Filing by mail costs $30, and an expedited filing in person or online costs $50.

The registration must be renewed every year.

Renewal is free.

Requirement	Required
Where to file	Secretary of State
Fee	See Cost and renewal
How long it lasts	Renewed every year
Newspaper notice	Required
File online	Yes

Next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

: Minnesota requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register an assumed name. File before starting business under the name.
: An LLC files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State.
: Filing by mail costs $30, and an expedited filing in person or online costs $50.
: The registration must be renewed every year. A renewal is due in each calendar year after the year of filing. If a year passes with no renewal, the certificate expires in the following calendar year and can be reinstated with the renewal and a $25 fee. Renewal is free.
: After filing, you must publish notice of the filing in a qualified legal newspaper in the county where the business has its principal or registered office, for two successive issues after the certificate is filed with the Secretary of State.
: Registering does not give the LLC ownership of, or an exclusive right to, the name.
: A business that sues before filing can have its case stayed until it files, and it owes the other side $250 in costs. The Attorney General can also seek an injunction and a civil penalty of up to $25,000.
: Minnesota requires a sole proprietor whose business name is not their full name to register an assumed name. A sole proprietor whose business name includes his or her full first and last name does not file. A partnership files unless its name includes the true full name of each partner. A sole proprietor files the Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State.

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 Minnesota 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.

revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/333.01Minn. Stat. 333.01, Commercial assumed names
revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/333.001Minn. Stat. 333.001, Definitions
revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/333.02Minn. Stat. 333.02, Filing of certificate
revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/333.055Minn. Stat. 333.055, Term of certificate
sos.mn.gov/media/1373/assumednameregistration.pdfMinnesota Secretary of State, Certificate of Assumed Name form
sos.mn.gov/business-liens/business-forms-fees/assumed-namedba/Minnesota Secretary of State, Assumed Name/DBA (archived copy)
revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/333.06Minn. Stat. 333.06, Pleading failure to file certificate; costs
revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/333.065Minn. Stat. 333.065, Penalty for violation
revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/8.31Minn. Stat. 8.31, Investigate offenses against provisions of certain designated sections; assist in enforcement

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.