Register a Business Name in Niobrara County, WY

You may not need to file at all. W.S. 40-2-104(a) says a person who adopts a trade name may file an application — it does not require it — and W.S. 40-2-109 preserves your common-law rights in a name you simply use. Registering gives you a statewide record and protects the name from later registrations; it is not a license to trade.

If you do file: the application goes in duplicate, and your signature must be acknowledged before a notarial officer (W.S. 40-2-104(a)(iv)) — so have it notarized before you send it. Registration lasts ten years; renewal is $50 and must be filed in the six months before it expires (W.S. 40-2-105(a)). Reserving a name ahead of filing is $30 for 120 days and cannot be renewed (W.S. 40-2-103(a)); assigning a registered trade name later costs $25 (W.S. 40-2-106).

Three conditions the Secretary of State's own instructions add, none of them in the statute: the trade name must already be in use before you register it; if the applicant is a business entity it must already be registered and in good standing with the Secretary of State; and the fee must be a check or money order payable to the Wyoming Secretary of State. Filing is by post to Herschler Building East, Suite 101, 122 W 25th Street, Cheyenne, WY 82002-0020, and the instructions say processing takes up to 15 business days with no expedited option, because Wyoming statutes do not provide one.