Nevada DBA: How to File a Fictitious Firm Name and What It Costs

September 25, 2026

Last verified: November 5, 2026

A Nevada DBA (a fictitious firm name certificate) is filed with the county clerk of each county where you do business, not with the Secretary of State. It tells the public who is behind a trade name. It does not make the name yours alone and it does not limit your personal liability. This guide is for sole proprietors, partners and existing LLC or corporation owners who want to trade under a different name. If you are naming a new LLC or corporation instead, start with how to check and reserve an entity name.

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What a Nevada DBA Is and Is Not

Under NRS 602.010, anyone doing business in Nevada under a name that differs from the legal name of every owner must file a certificate with the county clerk of each county where the business is conducted. The clerk keeps an alphabetical register of the names and the people behind them (NRS 602.050), so customers, banks and courts can see who owns the business.

That is all it does. A certified copy is prima facie evidence of the facts in it (NRS 602.060), but nothing in the chapter gives you exclusive rights to the name, even inside the county. For exclusive rights you need a trademark, and for liability protection you need an entity. The DBA is a disclosure filing.

The filing also has teeth. Until the certificate is on file, you cannot start or maintain a lawsuit over a contract made under the unregistered name (NRS 602.070), and doing business without complying is a misdemeanor (NRS 602.090).

Who Has to File and When

File if the name you trade under is different from the legal name of each owner. In practice that covers:

A sole proprietor trading under anything other than their own full name.
A general partnership using a name that is not simply its partners' names.
An LLC or corporation trading under a name other than the one on its filed articles.
A trust doing business under a trade name (the certificate lists each trustee).

Timing: the certificate is due within 1 month after you begin doing business under the name (NRS 602.030). You may also file before you start (NRS 602.010). If the partners of a general partnership or the trustees of a trust change, a new certificate is due within 1 month of the change (NRS 602.040).

Limited partnerships formed or registered under NRS chapter 87A or 88 are exempt (NRS 602.080). A DBA is also not a way for a person to change their legal name (NRS 602.085).

Names the County Clerk Must Reject

Most DBA problems come from the name itself. Under NRS 602.017, the clerk may not accept a certificate if the name:

Uses an entity word you are not: "LLC," "Inc.," "Corp.," "Limited," "Ltd.," "Chartered," "PC" and similar terms are limited to businesses organized or registered in Nevada as that type of entity.
Looks like a government name: a name that imitates or suggests a government agency, tribe or other governmental body.
Looks like a person's name (natural persons only): a sole proprietor's trade name that reads as a personal name needs an added word showing it is not one.

The practical result: a sole proprietor cannot register "Smith's Consulting LLC" as a DBA. That name is only available to an LLC that is actually organized or registered in Nevada. If you want the LLC ending, form the LLC first.

What You Need Before You File

The contents of the certificate are set by NRS 602.020:

The fictitious name: exactly as you will use it.
Owner details: for an individual, full name plus the residence or business street address (and the mailing address if different); for a company, its name and mailing address; for a general partnership, the same details for each partner; for a trust, each trustee.
Signatures: the individual, an officer, manager or other person with authority to bind the company, each partner, or each trustee, depending on the owner type.
A notary: the certificate must be notarized unless the county's commissioners have adopted an ordinance that lets it be filed without notarization. Ask the clerk which applies.
The filing fee: set by the county (see the table below).

Step-by-Step: Filing a Fictitious Firm Name

Step 1: Pick Every County Where You Do Business

File with the county clerk of each county where the business is conducted. A shop in Las Vegas and a second location in Reno means one filing with the Clark County Clerk and one with the Washoe County Clerk. Each clerk keeps its own register (NRS 602.050), so a filing in one county does not cover another.

Step 2: Search the County Records for the Name

Ask the clerk to search the register before you commit to a name. Clark County charges $0.50 per name for a record search; Washoe County says on its clerk page that you can search existing filings. Treat the search as a conflict check, not as protection: the chapter does not make a certificate exclusive. For a name you plan to build a brand on, also search the Secretary of State entity records and the USPTO trademark database.

Step 3: Complete and Notarize the Certificate

Use the clerk's own form, fill in the NRS 602.020 details above and sign it in front of a notary unless your county waives notarization. Check the spelling of the name against your signage and bank paperwork; the register will show exactly what you filed.

Step 4: Pay the County Fee

The statute sets no fee; each county does. Clark County's published schedule is the only county fee we have verified:

Item	Cost	Where to confirm
Fictitious firm name certificate, new or renewal (Clark County, includes one uncertified copy)	$25	Clark County Clerk fee schedule
Termination of a fictitious firm name (Clark County)	$20	Clark County Clerk fee schedule
Record search, per name (Clark County)	$0.50	Clark County Clerk fee schedule
Certified copy (Clark County)	$6 plus $0.50 per page	Clark County Clerk fee schedule
Any other Nevada county	Set by that county	Call or check the county clerk's page; for Washoe, start at the Washoe County Clerk

Clark County states that its fees can change without notice, so confirm the amount when you file.

Step 5: Submit the Certificate

Each clerk decides how it takes filings (in person, by mail or online) and how it accepts payment. Check the clerk's page or call before you send anything. Keep a copy of what you file.

Step 6: Keep Your Proof and Handle the Other Registrations

Keep the filed certificate: banks usually ask for it before opening an account in the trade name. The DBA does not replace any other registration. Most Nevada businesses still need a state business license and any city or county licenses for their location. If you hire staff or operate as an entity, you also need an EIN, which the IRS issues free through its official EIN application.

Step 7: Renew or Terminate

Renewal is not automatic in the statute. NRS 602.035 lets a county board of commissioners adopt an ordinance that makes certificates expire 5 years after filing. Where a county has done that, you must file a renewal certificate on or before expiration, and the clerk must notify filers by published notice and by mail. Clark County's fee table lists a "new or renewal" certificate at the same $25, which confirms that renewals exist there. Ask your clerk whether your county uses the 5-year rule and what the renewal date is; do not rely on a mailed reminder alone.

If you stop using the name or leave the business, file a certificate of termination with the clerk where the certificate is on file (NRS 602.055). It must be notarized and signed like the original, and Clark County charges $20 for it. Filing a false termination is a misdemeanor.

Mistakes That Cost Owners Money

Filing in one county only: a second location in another county needs its own certificate.
Assuming the DBA protects the name: another business can file the same name in another county, and nothing in NRS 602 stops it. Only a trademark gives you exclusive rights.
Using an entity word you are not entitled to: an "LLC" or "Inc." ending on a DBA is rejected under NRS 602.017 unless the owner is that kind of Nevada entity.
Filing late: after 1 month in business you are out of compliance, and an unfiled name can block you from suing on contracts signed under it.
Forgetting a partner or trustee change: it triggers a new certificate within 1 month.
Treating the DBA as liability protection: a sole proprietor with a DBA is still personally liable for the business.

DBA, LLC or Both?

Our position: a DBA is the right tool when you only need a trade name, and the wrong tool when you need protection. If customers could hurt themselves, sue you or hold you to a lease, the money is better spent on an LLC. The state cost to form a Nevada LLC is $425 in the first year ($75 articles of organization under NRS 86.561, $150 initial list under NRS 86.263 and the $200 state business license under NRS 76.100), then $350 a year. An LLC can still use a different trade name, but then it needs a DBA in each county. See the Nevada LLC guide for the filing steps, or compare LLC formation services in Nevada if you would rather hand off the paperwork.

Disclaimer

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. What we could verify is the statute (NRS chapter 602) and Clark County's fee schedule as of November 5, 2026. We could not verify other counties' fees, which counties have adopted the 5-year renewal ordinance, or which counties waive notarization, so confirm those with your county clerk before you file. For a partnership, a trust or an existing entity changing its name, ask a Nevada business attorney; for tax questions, ask a CPA.