DBA · Virginia

How to File an Assumed Name for an LLC in Virginia

By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 6, 2026

Short answer

Virginia 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 or Fictitious Name with the State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk. The filing fee is $10.00. We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Virginia.

Virginia Assumed Name at a Glance

Requirement: Required
Where to file: State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk
Fee: $10.00
How long it lasts: Not confirmed
Newspaper notice: None found
File online: Yes

How an LLC Files

An LLC files the Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name with the State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk.

You can file online.

Since January 1, 2020, every assumed name certificate in Virginia, including one for a sole proprietor, is filed with the State Corporation Commission rather than a circuit court. A local commissioner of the revenue may not issue a business license to a business using an assumed name until it shows the certificate has been filed.

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

Cost and Renewal

The filing fee is $10.00.

Publication

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

If you skip it

Trading under an assumed name without filing the certificate is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, up to one year in jail, or both. A business that has not filed cannot bring a lawsuit in a Virginia court until the certificate is filed.

Sole proprietors

Virginia requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register an assumed name. A sole proprietor files the individual version of the certificate. A general partnership files the entity version, which has a box for a general partnership.

A sole proprietor files the Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name with the State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk.

The filing fee is $10.00.

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

Requirement	Required
Where to file	State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk
Fee	$10.00
How long it lasts	Not confirmed
Newspaper notice	None found
File online	Yes

Next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

: Virginia 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 or Fictitious Name with the State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk.
: The filing fee is $10.00.
: We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Virginia.
: Trading under an assumed name without filing the certificate is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, up to one year in jail, or both. A business that has not filed cannot bring a lawsuit in a Virginia court until the certificate is filed.
: Virginia requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register an assumed name. A sole proprietor files the individual version of the certificate. A general partnership files the entity version, which has a box for a general partnership. A sole proprietor files the Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name with the State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk.

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 Virginia 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.

law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter5/section59.1-69/Code of Virginia 59.1-69, Certificate required of person transacting business under assumed name
law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter5/section59.1-70/Code of Virginia 59.1-70, Filing a certificate with State Corporation Commission; fee
law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter5/section59.1-70.1/Code of Virginia 59.1-70.1, Certificate of release
law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter5/section59.1-74/Code of Virginia 59.1-74, Recordation of certificate and registration of names
law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter5/section59.1-75/Code of Virginia 59.1-75, Penalty for violation
law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter5/section59.1-76/Code of Virginia 59.1-76, Effect of failure to file certificate on right of action
scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/fictitious-names/Virginia State Corporation Commission, Fictitious Names FAQ
scc.virginia.gov/media/sccvirginiagov-home/business-home/business-faqs/fictitious-names/scc591-70be.pdfVirginia State Corporation Commission, Form SCC59.1-70-BE, Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name, Business Conducted by an Entity
scc.virginia.gov/media/sccvirginiagov-home/business-home/business-faqs/fictitious-names/scc591-70in.pdfVirginia State Corporation Commission, Form SCC59.1-70-IN, Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name, Business Conducted by an Individual

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.