) to provide County residents with more information about filing an
Assumed Name certificate.
Anyone doing business in Mecklenburg County under a name other than
the business owner's given name is required to file an Assumed Name
certificate with the Register of Deeds. If a business operates as a
sole proprietorship or a general partnership, it should file an
Assumed Name Certificate, also known as a d.b.a. (stands for "doing
business as"), for each name the business uses. If a business
operates as a corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability
company and operates under a name other than the name on file with the
Secretary of State, an Assumed Name Certificate must be filed in each
county in which the business will have a registered or principal office.
Since the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds office does not provide
the Assumed Name certificate form, the recent web site updates provide
County business owners with links to the North Carolina Department of
Commerce, where the form is available to download free of charge.
The new web site updates also include links to the North Carolina
Secretary of State, the Central Piedmont Community College Institute
for Entrepreneurship, the Mecklenburg County Economic Development
Office and the US Small Business Administration. There is also a list
of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding Assumed Name filings.
Before recording the Assumed Name with the Register of Deeds, business
owners should perform a search of records at the Register of Deeds
office to ensure the name is not already in use. The fee for recording
a one-page assumed name document is $14.00. Each additional page is
$3.00. Assumed Name certificates must be notarized by a Notary Public
before being filed with the Register of Deeds. The Register of Deeds
office does not have a Notary Public on staff.
