Trade Name Instructions for Town Clerks
This page provides instructions for Connecticut Town Clerks to process trade name applications received on and after January 1, 2025, under Public Act 24-111.
Public Act 24-111 has now been codified at sections 35-1a to 35-1e of the General Statutes.
The public can access the trade name forms on the public trade name page. Please link to that page from your town's site.
Below are instructions on how to use the forms and what comes next as we move towards a statewide Connecticut Trade Name Registry. You can use these anchors to jump to the section you want to review.
Phase 2: Pilot of Connecticut Trade Name Registry
Phase 3: Onboarding All Towns to Connecticut Trade Name Registry
Trade Names Instructional Video
Summary of Public Act 24-111
PA 24-111 establishes a new process for trade names effective January 1, 2025. The Act clarifies who can file a trade name and breaks the filers into 3 groups:
- One natural person (e.g., a sole proprietorship);
- Two or more natural persons (e.g., an unincorporated association); and
- A business organization (e.g., a corporation, non-profit corporation, LLC, LLP, LP or statutory trust already on file with the Secretary of the State).
Trade names now expire 5 years from when they are filed, unless renewed. Trade names on file prior to 1/1/2025 expire December 31, 2029. The new law also creates 3 new filing types.
- An amendment to change the information originally submitted;
- A cancellation to end a trade name before expiration; and
- A renewal to extend the expiration date.
The goals of the new law are to:
- Begin the process of establishing a statewide Connecticut Trade Name Registry, searchable by the general public on business.ct.gov;
- For trade names held by business organizations, link the data on file with the Secretary of the State with the trade name data filed with town clerks;
- Ensure that the trade name data is more accurate by requiring renewal every 5 years and adding an amendment process;
- Clarify the process for town clerks, to ensure uniform application of the trade name law in all 169 towns.
Implementation of PA 24-111 will take place over the course of 2025 in three phases:
- New Forms - begin using the new statewide forms for use starting January 1, 2025;
- Pilot - A small group of volunteer towns will begin using the new Connecticut Trade Name Registry starting around February 1, 2025; and
- Implementation - On-board and train remaining towns to begin using the Connecticut Trade Name Registry starting January 1, 2026.
Phase 1: New Forms
Beginning January 1, 2025, town clerks are directed by PA 24-111 to begin using forms prescribed by the Secretary. To simplify the process and underscore the importance of distinguishing between trade names filed by one or more persons and those filed by business organizations, we have split the process into three forms.
Trade Name Application (Natural Persons) Instructions
Use this form for applications filed by one or more individuals (natural persons). The term “natural persons” is used here to highlight that these are filed by people/individuals, not business entities (artificial persons).
Addendum: Use the addendum if 3 or more individuals are applying for the trade name.
Trade Name Application (Business Organizations) Instructions
Use for business organizations registered with the Secretary of the State. Verify the business organization is registered at business.ct.gov. Active business names are unique in the state and the business ID/ALEI (authoritative legal entity identifier) is a unique number given to a business when it forms with the Secretary. The name and business ID should match exactly what you see on business.ct.gov. The status of the business organization must be active. If the business organization has another status, refer them to the Business Services Division for resolution, bsd@ct.gov.
Trade Name Cancellation (All Filer Types)
Use this form if a filer wishes to cancel a trade name prior to expiration. To keep the form simple, we have designed for one person to file and affirm that the filer is authorized to do so.
Renewal
Under the new law, all trade names will expire 5 years from the date they are filed. Trade names existing prior to January 1, 2025, will expire on December 31, 2029. Because the first renewals will not happen until 2029, we are not providing a statewide form at this time.
Phase 2: Pilot of Connecticut Trade Name Registry
Beginning on or about February 1, 2025, we will begin onboarding volunteer towns into the new Connecticut Trade Name Registry. In addition to using the new forms, pilot towns will enter them into the statewide registry, which will be searchable on business.ct.gov. For trade names filed by business organizations, the data will also link to the business registry already available on business.ct.gov. We will be asking for volunteer towns through the Connecticut Town Clerks Association during the month of December.
Pilot towns will also be responsible for extracting trade name data from their existing system and providing it to the Secretary in a specified data format. This will facilitate making the town’s existing trade names also searchable on business.ct.gov.
Phase 3: Onboarding All Towns to Connecticut Trade Name Registry
PA 24-111 allows the Secretary to require all town clerks to use the Connecticut Trade Name Registry beginning January 1, 2026.Depending on the results of the phase 2 pilot, all towns will receive a letter from the Secretary informing them of the date when use of the system will become mandatory. It is expected that we will require use of the system on January 1, 2026, and begin the process of onboarding and training the remaining towns during the Fall of 2025.
Trade Names Instructional Video
(Click image to watch our Trade Names Instructional Video hosted on Vimeo.com)
Future Improvements
As currently designed, the new process will continue to require filers to submit a trade name application on paper. This is primarily due to carrying forward the old law’s requirement that trade name applications be notarized and that Connecticut law currently does not permit electronic or remote online notarization. Because we understand that many people will want a process that can be completed completely online without the need for town clerk data entry, we will be working with the Connecticut Town Clerk’s Association to identify necessary changes in the law to facilitate this in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
While creating Public Act 24-111, it became clear that there are areas of confusion in the trade name process. While we hope that the new law more clearly addresses these issues, we are providing these FAQs to provide plain language guidance on the questions most asked by town clerks and others.
New FAQs Added 3.3.2025
Why does the form require an acknowledgement rather than a "notarization?"
"Notarization" is an umbrella term that covers the various notarial acts a notary public is permitted to engage in. One notarial act is called an acknowledgement. This is the most common notarial act and what most people are referring to when they say "it needs to be notarized." Acknowledgements are covered by sections 1-28 to 1-41 of the General Statutes. Notaries Public are permitted to take acknowledgements, but so are town clerks, justices of the peace and Connecticut attorneys. Therefore, an acknowledgement taken by any of these officers is, in effect, a "notarization." A town clerk has this power by virtue of the town clerk's office and there is no requirement for the town clerk to also be a notary public. They may choose to do so if they wish.
Our office has summarized an acknowledgement as having three elements: (1) the signer must present the document before the officer taking the acknowledgement (it is preferable that the signer sign before the officer, but it is acceptable if the signer merely confirms for the officer the validity of their signature on a previously signed document); (2) the officer taking the acknowledgement must confirm the identity of the signer; and (3) the officer must confirm that the signer is signing the document voluntarily, not under duress. The Notary Public Manual discusses acknowledgements in more detail beginning at page 10.
Banks are not accepting the new forms.
Our office cannot control what documents a bank deems sufficient to open an account in the name of a business. The new law calls the form the Secretary creates an "application." When the new system goes online, it will be more clear that the initial document presented by the customer is the "application" and the document the system creates is the "certificate." For now, the application is the certificate once it has been accepted by the town clerk, which is why most town clerks include filing information on the document to show it was accepted.
Previous FAQs Added 1.1.2025
I do business in multiple towns under the trade name, do I have to file in each one?
No. The new law says the trade name should be filed in the town where the business is principally transacted. This new one town rule is consistent with the goal of a statewide registry -- where a trade name can be found regardless of what town it is filed in -- making multi-town filing unnecessary.
Is a trade name unique?
No. Unlike business organizations, a trade name is not unique. There can be multiple businesses operating under the same trade name.
I already have an LLC/Non-Profit Corporation/For-Profit Corporation registered with the Secretary of the State. Do I need a trade name?
No. A trade name is only needed if the business organization is transacting business under a name that is different than what is on file with the Secretary. If the business is conducting business under the name on file with the Secretary, a trade name is unnecessary.
I belong to a group of people (not a business organization) who want to get an Employer ID Number from the IRS and open a bank account in the group’s name, do I need a trade name?
The practical answer is yes. State law does not require a group like this to create a trade name, but IRS rules regarding what groups are permitted to apply for an EIN and bank rules requiring EINs upon account creation mean that these groups need to file a trade name, unless they go through the formal process of forming as a non-stock corporation with the Secretary of the State.
I own a business formed in another state that has a trade name (or equivalent) in that state. Now I’m doing business in Connecticut, where do I file my trade name?
All foreign business organizations transacting business in Connecticut need to register with the Secretary of the State and appoint an agent located in this state. If the foreign business has a location or office in Connecticut, the business should file in the town where that office is located. If the business has multiple offices or locations, it should choose which one it considers its "principal" Connecticut location and file with the town clerk there. If the business has no other connections to Connecticut, the business should file its trade name in the town where its resident agent is located.
I filed my trade name prior to this new law, is it still valid?
Yes, trade names filed prior to 1/1/2025 remain valid until 12/31/2029.
If old trade names are valid through 12/31/2029, won't the new Connecticut Trade Name Registry be incomplete?
Yes, the registry will not contain all active trade names until January 1, 2030. Because the old law did not have an expiration date, we have to assume that trade names filed decades ago remain valid. In most towns, this data is not digital and the only evidence the filing took place is in an index card system or other analog filing system. We will, however, provide a method for towns to submit what digital data they do have so that the new registry will have trade name data for trade names filed prior to 2026.
This result is also consistent with how the trade name law works. Both the old and new law are for consumer protection, designed to provide notice to the general public about the individuals behind the fictious name if the business causes someone harm. A trade name itself does not provide liability protection, or intellectual property rights to the name, because the names are not and never have been unique. In other words, the law was never intended to be for the benefit of the filer, it was intended to benefit the general public who might be harmed by the filer. Those harmed will have to look in multiple places to find the individuals behind the trade name until 2030, but that is no different than what is happening now where trade names can be filed in any town and most towns do not offer an online search.
Why can't these be filed online?
Because the new law retains the old law's requirement that all trade name applications be notarized, and Connecticut does not currently recognize electronic or remote online notarization. But there are other hurdles to online filing. The new law keeps the town clerks as the filing office and requires the filer to pay the town the filing fee. An online system would need to collect fees on behalf of the towns and then distribute the funds to each town on a regular basis. It is also more expensive to develop an online portal designed for general public use than it is to design a system where the intended universe of users is the town clerk and their staff.