HB 158: Commerce and trade; filing of registration statements with the office of the Secretary of State; provide

Georgia law requires businesses operating under a trade name that doesn't show the owner's identity (often called a "doing business as" or DBA name) to file a registration statement with the clerk of the superior court in the county where the business operates. This bill updates that system by requiring the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority to build a uniform, statewide electronic database of these filings by January 1, 2027. The bill requires registration statements to be notarized and filed electronically using standardized forms created by the Authority, rather than the current paper-based process. It adds a reregistration option for businesses already on file before 2027 so they can be included in the new statewide registry without losing their original filing date. It also adds a formal cancellation process for businesses that stop operating under a trade name, and sets a single combined fee for registration, amendment, reregistration, or cancellation, replacing separate fees currently charged under other code sections. The changes take effect January 1, 2027.

• Requires the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority to build a uniform statewide electronic registry for trade name filings by January 1, 2027.
• Requires trade name registration statements to be notarized and filed electronically using standard forms created by the Authority, instead of paper filings.
• Creates a formal reregistration process so pre-2027 filings can be added to the new statewide registry without losing their original filing date.
• Adds a cancellation process letting businesses formally end a trade name registration once they stop operating under it.
• Sets a single combined filing fee for registration, amendment, reregistration, or cancellation, replacing certain existing clerk fees.
• Requires county superior court clerks to transmit trade name filings and supporting documents electronically to the Authority for inclusion in the registry.

Georgia businesses, partnerships, and individuals operating under a trade name that doesn't show the owner's identity, county superior court clerks who process these filings, and the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, which must build and run the new statewide registry.

Business owners would file trade name paperwork electronically and pay one combined fee instead of navigating separate county paper filings and fees. The public, including creditors and consumers, would gain a single searchable statewide database to look up who actually owns a business operating under a trade name.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 10-1-490 to require, starting January 1, 2027, that new trade name registrations be filed electronically, notarized, and made on forms created by the Authority.
• Section 1 adds subsection (b) allowing pre-2027 registrations not yet in the statewide registry to be reregistered without losing their original filing date.
• Section 1 adds subsection (c) setting a single combined fee under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-77(g)(10) for registration, amendment, reregistration, or cancellation, and exempting these filings from fees under O.C.G.A. §§ 15-21A-6 and 15-21A-6.1.
• Section 1 adds subsection (e) creating a formal cancellation process using Authority-created affidavit forms for businesses that stop using a registered trade name.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-6-61 to require county clerks to participate in the Authority's electronic information system and transmit filing data to it.
• Section 3 creates new O.C.G.A. § 15-6-97.4, requiring the Authority to build the statewide trade name registry by January 1, 2027 and to create standard forms and rules for it.
• Section 4 sets the Act's effective date as January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
3. 2026-03-04Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2026-03-03House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
5. 2026-03-03House Third Readers (House)
6. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
7. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
8. 2025-02-19House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Lehman Franklin (R, HD-160)Primary sponsor
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Mike Cheokas (R, HD-151)
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 3, 2026

   168 yea, 3 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #582

• trade name registration
• small business filings
• Secretary of State records
• court clerk records
• business ownership disclosure