Filed an assumed business name before Dec. 1, 2017? You must refile by December 1, 2022 or your name will be expired and invalid!

What:

In 2017 North Carolina passed the Assumed Business Name Act (Act). This Act created a new public, statewide database of assumed business names. Assumed business names filed on or after December 1, 2017 will make it into the new statewide database. Those filed before December 1, 2017 will cease to exist on December 1, 2022.

When:

The old database holding assumed business names filed before December 1, 2017 will shut down on December 1, 2022.

Why:

In the new database, you can now file an assumed business name with a single register of deeds in any county in which you do business. Under the new Certificate of Assumed Business Name (Certificate) form you can now list all other counties in which you do business, rather than having to file individually in each county. You will also be able to file for up to five assumed names, under one Certificate for the same business. The database will be easily searchable by anyone looking for registered assumed names filed after December 1, 2017 located here.

How:

To register for a new assumed business name or to re-register your business name filed in the old database before December 1, 2017, fill out, sign and date the Certificate located here. The Certificate can then be filed with your local register of deeds. Please keep in mind that there will be a fee to file the Certificate.

Ramifications:

Per the Act, if you fail to refile a new Certificate by December 1, 2022, you could be liable for “any person injured by the failure for the reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by the person in ascertaining, for a reasonable purpose, the information required to be stated in the assumed business name certificate or certificate of amendment.”