Most DBA renewals come due every 5 years. That's long enough to forget you ever filed. In most states, a lapsed DBA can't be renewed — you refile from scratch, pay the fee again, and lose name protection in between. A reminder set 60 days out closes that gap.
Done in seconds. No sign-up required.
The renewal cycle is long. The cost of forgetting it is short and sharp.
typical DBA renewal cycle in California, Florida, and most states — long enough that almost no one remembers when they filed
State filing offices, county clerks
typical renewal fee, plus publication costs in states that require it (California requires a newspaper notice for new filings)
Florida Division of Corporations, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §17900
an expired DBA in Florida and most states. You refile as a brand new fictitious name and pay all original fees again
Florida Division of Corporations guidance
Five years is a long memory. You file the DBA when you start the business, get the paperwork back, file it in a drawer, and then run the business. The renewal date sits silently for half a decade while your address, your email, your accountant, and sometimes your business itself change around it.
The official reminders are unreliable. Some states mail a postcard 30 to 90 days before expiration to the address you originally listed. If you moved, the notice goes to your old place. If your business uses a registered agent who forwarded mail at the time and stopped later, the notice disappears. Plenty of counties send nothing at all and expect you to track it yourself.
That's the actual problem. The renewal itself is usually a 10-minute form. The hard part is remembering it exists at all, four years and ten months after you filed.
A DBA renewal reminder works ahead of the deadline, not at it. Set yours for 60 days before the expiration date — that's enough time to renew online, handle publication if your state requires it, and account for any rejected paperwork.
Find it on your original filing receipt, your state's business search portal, or the county clerk's records. See the lookup guide if you don't have it handy.
Add the filing number and renewal URL to the reminder notes. When the email arrives, everything you need is one click away.
If you don't mark the renewal as done, you'll get follow-up emails. No silent disappearing after one notification.
The renewal is cheap. Letting it expire isn't.
California is 5 years, Utah is 3, Texas can be 10 for entity DBAs. Knowing your specific cycle is the first step to setting the right reminder.
How often do you renew a DBA →You refile from scratch, lose name protection, and in some states you can't sue or be sued under the lapsed name until you start over.
What happens if your DBA expires →Cycle length, renewal fees, who files (county vs state), and whether publication is required all change at the state line.
DBA renewal by state →Cycle length, expiration consequences, state-by-state filing rules, and how to look up your date.
Sometimes — and only if the address on file is current. Most county clerks and Secretary of State offices send a mailed reminder roughly 30 to 90 days before expiration, but plenty send nothing at all. Florida Sunbiz, for example, mails a postcard to the registered address. If you moved, changed mailing services, or filed years ago and forgot to update your address, the notice never reaches you. A separate email reminder is the only thing that does not depend on government mail finding you.
Set it for 60 days before the expiration date. That gives you time to gather paperwork, pay the renewal fee, and republish the notice if your state requires it (California, for example, requires a new publication of fictitious business name in a local newspaper). Cutting it closer than 30 days risks running into late fees or, worse, the renewal window closing entirely.
The expiration date (most important), the filing number, the county or state where you filed, the renewal portal URL, and the renewal fee amount. Adding these to the reminder subject or notes means everything you need is one email away when the alert fires, instead of buried in a filing cabinet.
Most states use a 5-year cycle (California, Florida, New York for sole proprietors). Some require renewals every 1, 3, or 10 years. The rules vary widely by state and even by county. See the full state-by-state breakdown for your specific renewal cycle.
In most states, an expired DBA cannot be renewed — you have to refile from scratch. That means a new application, a new fee, and a new publication notice in some states. You also lose name protection during the gap, meaning someone else can register the same fictitious name. The consequences and recovery steps are covered in detail on the expired DBA page.
Yes. BoldRemind sends free email reminders for any date you choose. No account, no app, no card on file. You set the renewal date once and get emailed in advance, on the day, and follow-ups until you mark it done.
Free. No account. Takes 30 seconds. You'll get an email before your DBA expires — and follow-ups if you don't act on it.
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