Dec. 1 deadline to re-file old Assumed Business Names
Filings more than 5 years old will expire
The Alexander County Register of Deeds (RoD), Scott H. Hines, records Assumed Business Name (ABN) documents in his office for county businesses or anyone wishing to record ABN’s. Some know the Assumed Business Name as “doing business as” or DBA. It is a fictitious name that a company may want to be known as, or do business as.
Local business owners should know about upcoming deadlines associated with the Assumed Business Name process in North Carolina. Register Hines reports that all Assumed Business Name filings before December 1, 2017, will automatically expire on December 1, 2022, based on the Assumed Business Name Act (Chapter 66. Article 14A) (NC G.S. § 66-71.15).
Businesses wishing to renew their ABN’s must record new Assumed Business Name (ABN) filings in the Register of Deeds office by December 1; otherwise, their old certificates will not be effective after that date, according to Register Hines. “There are about 15 days or about 2 weeks before old ABN certificates recorded prior to December 1, 2017, will automatically expire,” according to Hines.
Hines explains that the new process has some positive advantages over the old ABN process. For instance, the newly filed certificates do not expire. They remain effective until they are withdrawn and are on record in the Register of Deeds office. In the past, businesses had to record ABN’s individually in each county. The new form allows businesses to apply their assumed name(s) in multiple counties or throughout all 100 NC counties by one check mark on the form and a single recording. The Alexander RoD office informs the NC Secretary of State’s office of the filing for inclusion into a statewide online database searchable for all 100 counties.
New ABN Process Advantages are:
• It allows filers to designate up to five assumed business names on one form.
• ABN Document no longer has to be notarized.
• One filing is effective statewide and searchable in an online database.
• Sole Proprietors, Corps, Limited Liability Company, and Partnerships now use the same form.
If you would like more information about the Assumed Business Name process, please contact the RoD office during business hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, or call the Register of Deeds office at (828) 632-3152. Alternatively, use the following links and resources for additional information:
To search RoD public records online visit: https://www.alexandercountync.gov/rod/index.php and click on “Search Online Records.”
Assumed Business Names forms are online: https://edpnc.com/start-or-grow-a-business/start-a-business/business-forms/.
