Utah

Utah Code Title 16, Chapter 1a, Part 4 (Registered Agent of an Entity; formerly the Model Registered Agents Act, ch. 16-17, repealed 10/1/2026) governs all entity types. The agent may be a listed commercial registered agent (Utah Code 16-1a-405) or a noncommercial registered agent - defined as an individual, a domestic entityDomestic / foreignRelative to one state's records: an entity is domestic in the state that formed it and foreign everywhere else it registers to do business.Read the full entry →, or a foreign entity that serves in this state as the agent for service of process (or the individual holding a designated office or position with the entity). A record that must state an address states a street address in Utah and, if different, a mailing address in Utah (Utah Code 16-1a-403). No express residency or authorized-to-transact-business restriction appears in the part beyond the in-state street address requirement. Three classes of registrant designate and maintain a registered agent under this part: domestic filing entities (corporations, LLCs and the other entities created by filing a public organic document), registered foreign entities, and registered D.B.A.s (Utah Code 16-1a-402(1)-(3); the D.B.A. certificate itself must designate and maintain the agent, 42-2-201(2)(b); 16-20-111, a new section, makes Chapter 1a applicable to LLCs; the LLC act's own hook, formerly 48-3a-111, was repealed).

Consent required: yes.

If a represented entity ceases to have a registered agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, service may be made by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested) or by a similar commercial delivery service addressed to the entity at its principal office (the address a domestic filing entity or registered foreign entity lists in its most recent annual report); such service is effective on the earliest of actual receipt, the date on a signed return receipt, or five days after deposit with the correct address and sufficient postage. If service cannot be made that way, it may be made by delivering the process to the individual in charge of any regular place of business or activity of the entity, provided that individual is not a party to the action (16-1a-412(2)-(3)). Utah Code Chapter 1a Part 4 (formerly the Model Registered Agents Act, ch. 16-17) has no service-on-the-Secretary-of-State fallback.

• Administrative DissolutionRevocation / administrative dissolutionThe state involuntarily ending an entity's authority to do business - for missed annual reports, a lapsed registered agent, or unpaid fees.Read the full entry →. A corporation, like every domestic filing entity, that fails to maintain a registered agent in Utah for 60 consecutive calendar days is subject to administrative dissolution (the other grounds are a fee, tax, interest or penalty unpaid six months after the Division requires payment, and an annual report more than 60 days late). The Division serves notice of its determination and the entity has 60 days after service to cure each listed condition or show it does not exist; otherwise the Division signs a statement of administrative dissolution (16-1a-603(2)-(3)). The former corporation-specific grounds - no registered agent for 30 days or more, and failure to notify the Division within 30 days of an agent change or resignation (formerly 16-10a-1420(3)-(4), repealed) - have no counterpart.
• Administrative Dissolution. An LLC, like every domestic filing entity, that fails to maintain a registered agent in Utah for 60 consecutive calendar days may be administratively dissolved; the Division serves notice of its determination and the LLC has 60 days after service to cure or show the ground does not exist before the Division signs the statement of administrative dissolution (16-1a-603(2)-(3)). This is the same 60-consecutive-day ground the LLC act carried (formerly 48-3a-708(1)(c), repealed), now stated once for every domestic filing entity.
• Revocation Foreign. A registered foreign corporation, like every registered foreign entity, that fails to designate a registered agent as Utah Code 16-1a-402 requires, or fails to file a statement of change within 30 days after its registered agent's name or address changes, may have its registration to do business in Utah terminated by the Division (the other grounds are a fee, tax, interest or penalty unpaid, or an annual report unfiled, 60 days after the Division requires it). The Division files a notice of termination or notes it in its records and delivers a copy to the registered agent or, if there is none, to the principal office; the effective date is set at least 60 days after that delivery and the registration ends on that date unless every stated ground is cured first (16-1a-510(2)-(5)). The former remedy - revocation of the corporation's authority to transact business - and the 30-day no-agent period (formerly 16-10a-1530(3)-(4), repealed) have no counterpart.
• Revocation Foreign. A registered foreign LLC's registration may be terminated for not having a registered agent or for failing to file a statement of change within 30 days of an agent name/address change (60-day effective-date/cure window).
• No Court Access. A filing foreign entity of any type (foreign corporation, LLC, LP or other entity created by filing) doing business in Utah without registering may not maintain an action or proceeding in a Utah court until it registers; the failure to register does not impair the validity of its contracts or acts and does not bar it from defending an action or proceeding (16-1a-503(2)-(3)).
• Civil Penalty. No civil penalty since 2026-10-01. The former penalty for a foreign corporation transacting business without authority - $100 per day capped at $5,000 per year, plus up to $1,000 for each officer or agent who authorized or transacted the business (formerly Utah Code 16-10a-1502(4)-(5)) - was repealed by S.B. 40, 2026 General Session, Chapter 93, effective 2026-10-01, with no counterpart: Title 16, Chapter 1a carries no monetary penalty for doing business in Utah without registering. The statutory consequences are now the registration duty and the court-access bar of 16-1a-503(1)-(2); a court-imposed civil penalty exists only for violating a Division administrative order or injunction (13-1a-109), not for being unregistered.
• Reinstatement Fee. Reinstatement after administrative dissolution requires an application stating that the entity has paid all fees or penalties imposed under Title 16, Chapter 1a or other applicable state law and has paid, or is current on a payment plan for, any tax, fee or penalty owed to the State Tax Commission (16-1a-604(1)(d)-(e)); no dollar amount is stated in statute (the reinstatement fee is set by the Division's fee schedule). The application names the registered agent (16-1a-604(1)(b)); the former requirement for the new registered agent's written consent (formerly 16-10a-1422(1)(b), repealed) and the former LLC clause requiring payment of fees, taxes, interest and penalties that would have been due while dissolved (formerly 48-3a-709(4), repealed) have no counterpart. Chapter 1a provides reinstatement only after administrative dissolution; the former statutory reinstatement after voluntary dissolution (formerly 16-10a-1422(1), repealed) has no counterpart - check the Division's reinstatement form and FAQ for office practice.

Filing office

Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code (Dept. of Commerce)

State fee

$22 DBA (assumed name) registration; renewal $18 (includes $5 single-sign-on portal surcharge); late renewal +$10; cancellation/transfer no charge (FY2026 fee schedule eff. 7/1/2025)

Term

3 years (Utah Code 42-2-204(1)(a): 'A D.B.A registration is effective for three years after the day on which a person registers as a D.B.A.'; formerly 42-2-8, repealed 10/1/2026 by Chapter 93, 2026 General Session, which repealed former 42-2-8 and re-enacted its subject as 42-2-204 (the chapter, retitled 'Conducting Business As A D.B.A.', was partly renumbered and partly re-enacted))

Renewal

$18 renewal (incl. $5 SSO surcharge), $10 late. Utah Code 42-2-204: renewal may be filed beginning 60 days before expiry (42-2-204(1)(b)) by a statement of renewal signed by an authorized representative (42-2-204(2)); if not renewed the Division sends the expiry notice to the D.B.A.'s REGISTERED AGENT (42-2-204(1)(c)); 30 days after the notice the registration is permanently expired and the name is immediately claimable (42-2-204(1)(d)). Formerly 42-2-8 (repealed): the notice went by regular mail to the address in the filing and the name moved to the inactive index after 30 days.

Publication

Not required. No newspaper publicationPublication requirementA few states require newly formed or registered entities to publish a notice in designated newspapers (New York's LLC publication is the expensive example) - a real cost of formation that fee tables usually omit.Read the full entry → requirement

Online filing

Available

The regime

Utah requires any person carrying on business in the state under a name different from its legal name (a 'D.B.A.') to file a D.B.A. certificate with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code no later than 30 days after business begins, and to designate and maintain a registered agent in the state under Title 16, Chapter 1a, Part 4.

Where it is filed

Filings go to the state Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, which keeps a record of each registered D.B.A. and collects the filing fees; there is no county-level filing.

Term and renewal

A registration is effective for three years from the day of registration (§ 42-2-204(1)(a)). Renewal opens 60 days before expiration by a signed statement of renewal (§ 42-2-204(1)(b), (2)). If not renewed, the Division sends notice to the D.B.A.'s registered agent; if the registration is still not renewed within 30 days after that notice it is permanently expired and another person may immediately claim the name (§ 42-2-204(1)(c)-(d)). Former § 42-2-8 (notice mailed to the filer; name removed from the active index) was repealed effective 2026-10-01.

Name restrictions

A D.B.A. name may not imply a purpose other than the one in the application; may not contain "911" (for a name changed or approved on or after May 4, 2022); may not contain the financial-institution words of § 7-1-701 without the consent of the Department of Financial Institutions; must be distinguishable from registered names and trademarks on the division's records per § 16-1a-302, unless the division authorizes the name under § 42-2-105(2) on a certified copyCertified copyA copy of a filed document that the state certifies as true and complete, with an official seal or certification page.Read the full entry → of a court judgment establishing the applicant's right to it; needs the written consent of the United States Olympic Committee for "Olympic", "Olympiad" or "Citius Altius Fortius"; may not contain "incorporated"/"inc." (or a variation) unless the owner is a corporation registered in Utah, or "limited liability company"/"LLC"/"L.L.C." (or a variation) unless the owner is a limited liability company registered in Utah (§ 42-2-105(1)(d)) - although § 42-2-105(1)(a)(iv)-(v) separately lists the LLC terms and terms of similar import as barred outright, an internal inconsistency in the enacted text; and may not imply that the business is an agency of the state or a political subdivision (§ 42-2-105(6)). A name not in English must be translated or transliterated before the division records it (§ 42-2-105(3)).

Assumed names for registered entities

A foreign filing entity whose name does not comply with Utah's name rules (§ 16-1a-302, including distinguishability) may not register to do business in Utah until it adopts an alternate name that complies; an entity registered under an alternate name need not file under the D.B.A. chapter. The other name-holder's consent (§ 16-1a-302(4)) or a court judgment establishing the right to the name (§ 16-1a-302(7)) are the general paths around a conflict.

Penalties

A person doing business as a D.B.A. without complying with the chapter may not bring an action in a Utah court as a D.B.A. until the person complies.
The division director may impose a late filing fee of up to three times the normal filing fees.

Official source

commerce.utah.gov/corporations/business-entities/dba↗ (opens the official source)

What it is called

Corporation Franchise and Income Tax (minimum tax is a 'privilege taxFranchise taxA recurring tax on the privilege of existing as an entity in a state - not a tax on franchising a business.Read the full entry →')

Utah Code § 59-7-104(1): each domestic and foreign corporation shall pay an annual tax based on Utah taxable income 'for the privilege of exercising the corporation's corporate franchise or for the privilege of doing business in the state' · source↗ (opens the official source)

Administering agency

Utah State Tax Commission

Tax Commission C corporation franchise tax page (form TC-20) · source↗ (opens the official source)

Basis of the tax

income-based (franchise tax measured by Utah taxable income, with flat minimum)

Utah Code § 59-7-104(2): 'The tax shall be 4.45% of a corporation's Utah taxable income.' · source↗ (opens the official source)

Minimum

$100

Utah Code § 59-7-104(3): 'The minimum tax a corporation shall pay under this chapter is $100.' Confirmed on Tax Commission page as a $100 'privilege tax' · source↗ (opens the official source)

Due date

15th day of the 4th month following the close of the taxable year (or the federal due date if later); 6-month filing extension available

Utah Code § 59-7-505(2)-(3) · source↗ (opens the official source)

Corporations

True

LLCs

false under default classification - LLCs taxed as partnerships/disregarded pay no entity-level franchise tax (TC-65 is informational + withholding only); an LLC federally classified as a C corporation is taxed under ch. 59-7 like any corporation

Phone

(801) 530-4849

Email

[email protected]

Mailing address

P.O. Box 146705, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-6705

Courier / walk-in

160 East 300 South (or 160 E Broadway), Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

The Division of Corporations & Commercial Code's own direct line and box - do not route through the Department of Commerce/DOPL numbers that the mis-redirecting /contact-us/ page shows.