DBA · North Dakota

How to File a Trade Name for an LLC in North Dakota

By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 6, 2026

Short answer

North Dakota requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register a trade name. An LLC files the Trade Name Registration with the Secretary of State. The filing fee is $25.00. Register before starting to do business under the name. We found no publication step for an LLC's trade name filing in North Dakota.

North Dakota Trade Name at a Glance

Requirement: Required
Where to file: Secretary of State
Fee: $25.00
How long it lasts: 5 years
Newspaper notice: None found
File online: Yes

How an LLC Files

An LLC files the Trade Name Registration with the Secretary of State.

You can file online.

North Dakota's Secretary of State says registration protects the name in North Dakota only, and that a federally registered trademark can take priority over it. The Secretary of State sends a renewal notice at least 90 days before a registration expires.

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.

Renewal costs $25.00.

Publication

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

Does it protect the name?

North Dakota's Secretary of State says registration grants exclusive use, and the law lets a registrant sue to stop others using the name.

Sole proprietors

North Dakota requires a sole proprietor whose business name leaves out their surname to register a trade name. A sole proprietor registers a name that leaves out their surname, and also a surname-only name where the business needs a state licence or permit. A general partnership instead files a fictitious partnership name certificate with the Secretary of State for any name that does not show its partners' names.

A sole proprietor files the Trade Name Registration with the Secretary of State.

The filing fee is $25.00. A sole proprietor pays $25. A general partnership's fictitious name certificate is $25 plus $3 for each partner beyond two, with that extra charge limited by statute to $250.

The registration has a 5-year term.

Renewal costs $25.00.

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

A general partnership trading under a fictitious name without filing its certificate cannot sue on contracts made in that name in a North Dakota court until it files.

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

Next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

: North Dakota requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register a trade name. Register before starting to do business under the name.
: An LLC files the Trade Name Registration with the Secretary of State.
: The filing fee is $25.00.
: The registration has a 5-year term. Renewal costs $25.00.
: We found no publication step for an LLC's trade name filing in North Dakota.
: North Dakota's Secretary of State says registration grants exclusive use, and the law lets a registrant sue to stop others using the name.
: North Dakota requires a sole proprietor whose business name leaves out their surname to register a trade name. A sole proprietor registers a name that leaves out their surname, and also a surname-only name where the business needs a state licence or permit. A general partnership instead files a fictitious partnership name certificate with the Secretary of State for any name that does not show its partners' names. A sole proprietor files the Trade Name Registration 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 North Dakota 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.

ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c25.pdfN.D.C.C. chapter 47-25, Trade Names
ndlegis.gov/cencode/t45c11.pdfN.D.C.C. chapter 45-11, Fictitious Partnership Name
sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/register-businessNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Register a Business (Trade Name)
sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/maintain-registrationNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Maintain Registration (Trade Names & Fictitious Partnership Names)
sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/business-structures/limited-liability-company-llcNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Limited Liability Company (LLC)
sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/business-structures/sole-proprietorshipNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Sole Proprietorship
ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c25.pdfN.D.C.C. 47-25-01(2), 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.