Who you are decides where the assumed name certificate goes and what it costs. The rules below come from the NY Department of State, New York Business Express and county clerk pages.
Apply Now →New York splits assumed name filings by business type. If you are a sole proprietor or a general partnership, the certificate goes to the county clerk. If you are an LLC, corporation or limited partnership, it goes to the Department of State's Division of Corporations, which handles the county side for you.
New York Business Express puts the sole proprietor rule plainly: to operate under an assumed name, you complete, notarize and file an assumed name certificate, also called a DBA, with the county clerk where the business is conducted or transacted. NYC's business portal adds that general partnerships usually use a trade name and almost always need a business certificate.
| Who files | Where | Fee stated by the official source |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor, outside NYC | County clerk | $25 filing; certified copy $4 |
| Sole proprietor, inside NYC | Borough county clerk | $100 filing; certified copy $10 |
| LLC or limited partnership | Department of State | $25; no county fee |
| Corporation | Department of State | $25 plus a county fee: $100 for each NYC county and $25 for each county outside NYC |
Sole proprietor fees are from New York Business Express. Entity fees are from the Department of State's instructions, which also list $10 for each certified copy from the Department.
The Department of State's certificate asks for the entity's principal place of business in New York, the county or counties where it does business, and the address of each location operating under the assumed name. For a corporation, every county listed adds a county fee. A corporation that sells only in one upstate county pays $25 plus $25; a corporation listing all five boroughs pays $25 plus $500 in county fees before it adds anything outside the city.
LLCs and limited partnerships do not pay county fees at all, so their cost stays at $25 however many counties they list.
Each borough is its own county with its own clerk, and NYC's business portal says to file in the borough where the business is based. The portal lists these offices:
Payment methods and hours vary by office, so check the borough clerk's own page before you go.
Broome County's clerk publishes a clear walk-through that shows how the county route works in practice. Its office is at 60 Hawley Street, 3rd Floor, in Binghamton, and accepts filings in person or by mail. The total it lists is $30.20: $25 for the certificate and $5.20 for a certified copy, which the clerk describes as required to open a bank account.
A few practical points from that page:
Other counties set their own certified copy fees and procedures, so treat Broome as an example, not a statewide rule.
For entity filings, the Department of State's instructions list standard processing of about seven business days, with same-day expedited handling for an additional $75. If you need the certificate in hand to open an account or sign a lease under the trade name, that week matters, so file before you need it.
A bank account in the business's operating name, with deposits flowing through it, is what a funder reviews. We ask for about three months of business bank statements, not tax returns, and fund $25,000 to $5,000,000 in as little as 24 hours. Sole proprietors operating under a DBA can apply, the application takes about five minutes with a soft credit pull, and FICO 500 and above is considered. Start the application here.
The county. Sole proprietors file the assumed name certificate with the county clerk where the business operates, which for Queens is the Queens County Clerk at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard.
No. The Department of State charges $25 for an LLC's certificate of assumed name and states there is no county fee for LLCs or limited partnerships.
NYC's business portal says sole proprietorships only need a business certificate if they use a trade name rather than their own name.
New York Business Express says a sole proprietor's assumed name certificate must be completed, notarized and filed with the county clerk.
File a certificate of discontinuance. Broome County, for example, charges no fee for it. Entities file their discontinuance with the Department of State.
Three months of business bank statements and a 5-minute application. FICO 500+ considered. $25,000 to $5,000,000, funded in as little as 24 hours.
Apply Now →It takes about two minutes and it will not affect your credit score.
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