The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 11 : Corporations, Partnerships and Associations
Chapter 015 : Assumed Business Names, Partnerships, And Unincorporated Nonprofit Associations; Administrative Authority; Administrative Provisions
Subchapter 001 : ASSUMED BUSINESS NAMES, PARTNERSHIPS, AND UNINCORPORATED NONPROFIT ASSOCIATIONS
(Cite as: 11 V.S.A. § 1621)-
§ 1621. Registration of assumed business names, partnership, and unincorporated nonprofit association
(a) An individual doing business under an assumed business name, or a partnership or unincorporated nonprofit association of individuals doing business in this State, resident or nonresident, shall submit to the Secretary of State for filing a registration that provides:
(1) the name of the business;
(2) the address of its principal office;
(3) its business purpose;
(4) the name and business address of the individual doing business under the assumed name, as a partner of the partnership, or as a member of the association, and of any other principal the registrant provides; and
(5) for each individual, partner, or member who is not a resident of this State, or for whom the registrant does not provide an address in this State for service of process, the name, email, and address information of an agent for service of process pursuant to section 1655 of this title.
(b) A registration shall be subscribed and sworn to by a person with authority to act on behalf of the registrant and filed with the Secretary of State not later than 10 days after commencement of business.
(c) The Secretary of State shall decline to register any business name unless the name is distinguishable in the records of the Secretary of State from any other business name of any name registered or reserved under this chapter, or the name of any other entity, whether domestic or foreign, that is reserved, registered, or granted by or with the Secretary of State, or any name that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the business is a type of entity that it is not.
(d) The Secretary of State shall establish rules for the administration of this section.
(e) Prior to registering its business name under this section, a person intending to operate a postsecondary school, as defined in 16 V.S.A. §§ 176 and 176a, shall apply to the State Board of Education for a certificate of approval pursuant to those sections. (Amended 1961, No. 217, § 1, eff. July 13, 1961; 1981, No. 125 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1993, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 24; 1995, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 14; 1995, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § 1c, eff. Jan. 1, 1997; 1995, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 6, 7; 2001, No. 19, § 3; 2011, No. 84 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 20, 2012; 2015, No. 17, § 3; 2025, No. 10, § 4, eff. July 1, 2025.)
