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Guides · DBAs by state · Delaware

Delaware DBA (trade name): what it costs and how to file

Delaware moved DBAs off the counties in 2026. Since February 2, 2026, a DBA (the statutes call it a trade name) is registered statewide with the Division of Revenue through the One Stop portal, not with a county Prothonotary. The fee is $25 per name, paid once, and the name never expires. What does need upkeep is the Delaware business license the name is tied to. An LLC may register a trade name but is not required to. Sole proprietors and partnerships must, and face a fine of up to $100, up to 3 months in jail, or both for trading under an unregistered name. There is no newspaper notice.

Last checked 2026-11-08. General information, not legal or tax advice.

Delaware DBA at a glance

Who files where
Everyone files with the state Division of Revenue through Delaware One Stop. No county filing since February 2, 2026.
Filing fee
$25 per trade name, one time, statewide
Renewal
None for the name. The Delaware business license behind it must stay active (Trade Name Only license: $25).
Publication
None
Does an LLC need one?
No. An LLC may register a trade name but is not required to. Sole proprietors and partnerships must.

Does a Delaware LLC need a DBA?

No. A corporation or LLC doing business in Delaware under a name that doesn't disclose its legal name "may, but is not required to, register the trade name" with the Division of Revenue (6 Del. C. § 3108(a)). A Delaware corporation or LLC that does no business in Delaware may also register a name, but only after it gets a special trade name license (6 Del. C. § 3108(b)).

The criminal penalty doesn't reach an LLC that skips registration. The fine of up to $100, up to 3 months in jail, or both applies to violations of sections 3101, 3102 and 3104 (6 Del. C. § 3106), which cover individuals, firms and associations. Section 3108, the LLC provision, isn't on that list. Corporations are separately outside sections 3101 to 3105 (6 Del. C. § 3107).

Registering puts the name on the state's public registry. It doesn't give you exclusive rights to the name or stop anyone else from registering or using it, so it is not a substitute for a trademark. This guide covers Delaware only. If your LLC does business in another state, check that state's rules for operating under a different name.

Where a Delaware DBA is filed

With the state, not a county. The trade name statutes send the certificate to the Division of Revenue (6 Del. C. § 3101; 6 Del. C. § 3108(a)), and since February 2, 2026 the Division runs one statewide registry through Delaware One Stop. New DBAs are registered online and managed statewide rather than by individual county Prothonotary offices. There is no county fee: the Division says the statewide registration ends the need to pay multiple fees per county.

A DBA recorded with a Prothonotary before that date stays registered on the Superior Court's list. Re-registering it in the Division's registry is optional and costs nothing if you give the court file number, and the Division says you must add an old DBA to its registry before you can update it through One Stop.

What it costs

The filing fee is set by statute and is the same for individuals, partnerships and LLCs (6 Del. C. § 3103; 6 Del. C. § 3108(c)). One Stop describes it as a one-time charge per trade name:

  • Register a trade name: $25 per name, one time, statewide
  • Update or cancel a name: no fee
  • Business license behind the name: required, priced by the kind of business. A service business not separately listed pays an annual general service license fee of $75 (30 Del. C. § 2301(b)). Other trades have their own rates.
  • Trade Name Only license: $25, for a Delaware LLC or corporation that does not do business in Delaware; the term is one year and expires December 31 (30 Del. C. § 2306)
  • Certificate of good standing, if you need a Trade Name Only license: $50 for a short-form certificate of status, according to the Division of Revenue

The Division of Revenue now requires a Delaware business license for every DBA registration. Delaware allows several DBAs under a single business license, so if the business already has one you do not need another.

Renewal: none for the name, yearly for the license

The Division of Revenue says DBAs in Delaware do not expire and do not require renewal. What it does require is that the Delaware business license (or Trade Name Only license) the name is attached to stays active to keep the name in good standing.

Delaware business licenses expire each December 31, or December 31 of the third year if you choose a three-year license. A Trade Name Only license is a one-year license expiring December 31 of the year issued (30 Del. C. § 2306), and One Stop says to renew it annually.

If you stop needing the name, cancel it through One Stop's termination workflow; there is no fee.

Is there a publication requirement?

No. The trade name statutes, 6 Del. C. §§ 3101 to 3108, call for a certificate filed with the Division of Revenue and say nothing about a newspaper notice. The filing is an online application, and the Division says notarization is no longer required.

Sole proprietors and partnerships: registration is required

If you haven't formed an LLC, Delaware does require the registration. No individual or firm may do business in Delaware under a trade name that doesn't disclose the individual's legal name (for a firm, the legal name of every person in it) without first filing a certificate with the Division of Revenue naming the trade name and the legal names (6 Del. C. § 3101). Breaking that rule is punishable by a fine of up to $100, up to 3 months in jail, or both, for every person in the firm (6 Del. C. § 3106).

The certificate shows the date the partnership or association was organized, and the statute calls for an affidavit from the person who signs it. The Division of Revenue says notarization is no longer required since February 2, 2026, so follow One Stop on how to sign and file. If the membership of the firm changes, the statute requires a supplemental certificate within 10 days (6 Del. C. § 3102).

The fee, the business license requirement and the One Stop process are the same as for an LLC.

How to file a Delaware trade name

  1. Search the name in the Division of Revenue's Trade, Business and Fictitious Names Search. A match won't block your filing, but registering gives no exclusive rights, so a clash is a trademark risk.
  2. Make sure the business has a Delaware business license. If it operates in Delaware, use a standard license. A Delaware LLC or corporation that does not operate in Delaware gets a Trade Name Only license first, which requires a recent certificate of good standing.
  3. In Delaware One Stop, choose "Register a trade name" and enter the legal name, address, proposed trade name, owners' names and addresses, date of formation and nature of business.
  4. Pay the $25 filing fee online. No notary is needed.
  5. Wait about a day. The Division says you won't get a status update, and approved names post to its public registry on a one-day lag. The confirmation page stays available in your One Stop dashboard as your record of the filing.

Need the LLC first?

An assumed name is filed by an existing LLC. If you haven't formed yours yet, start there; the state fees and steps are on the Delaware page.

Start a Delaware LLCOr let your AI assistant do the intakeDBA rules in every state

What we couldn't verify

  • One Stop's live checkout screens. Registering needs an account and a license number, so we did not step through it. The $25 filing fee and the $25 Trade Name Only license come from the statutes and the Division of Revenue's published pages, and we have not seen the total One Stop charges at checkout.
  • What a Delaware business license costs for your kind of business. $75 is the general service rate; other trades are priced differently under 30 Del. C. chapters 23 and 29, a gross receipts license fee may apply on top, and the Division says most first-year licenses are prorated. We did not price any of these.
  • Statute and agency differ on signing. 6 Del. C. § 3101 still calls for an affidavit from the person who signs the certificate, while the Division of Revenue says notarization is no longer required as of February 2, 2026. We follow the Division on how to file.
  • What happens to a registered name if the business license behind it lapses. One Stop says the license must stay active to keep the name in good standing, but we found no statute or page describing the consequence.
  • Whether a limited liability company formed outside Delaware can register under 6 Del. C. § 3108(a). The text says "a corporation or limited liability company" without limiting it to Delaware entities, but the Division's pages address only Delaware entities.
  • Whether your city or county requires its own business license. The Division of Revenue says some do; we did not check any.
  • The $50 certificate of status fee comes from the Division of Revenue's FAQ. We did not read the Division of Corporations' own fee page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a DBA cost in Delaware?

$25 per trade name, paid once to the Division of Revenue, and it covers the whole state (6 Del. C. § 3103). You also need an active Delaware business license for the business, which is a separate cost; a Delaware LLC or corporation that does not operate in Delaware can get a Trade Name Only license for $25 (30 Del. C. § 2306).

Does a Delaware LLC have to register a DBA?

No. A corporation or LLC doing business in Delaware under another name may, but is not required to, register the trade name with the Division of Revenue (6 Del. C. § 3108(a)). Individuals and partnerships must register (6 Del. C. § 3101).

Do I file a Delaware DBA with the county?

No. Since February 2, 2026, trade names are registered statewide with the Division of Revenue through Delaware One Stop, not with a county Prothonotary. Names recorded with a Prothonotary before then remain registered.

Does a Delaware DBA expire or need renewal?

The DBA itself does not. The Division of Revenue says Delaware DBAs do not expire and do not require renewal. The Delaware business license behind the name must stay active, and those licenses expire each December 31.

Do I have to publish a Delaware DBA in a newspaper?

No. The Delaware trade name statutes (6 Del. C. §§ 3101 to 3108) have no newspaper notice requirement.

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