Register a DBA in Virgin Islands

What the law requires

The USVI has a mandatory trade-name registration regime: anyone doing business under a name other than their own - and every copartnership or association of individuals doing business in the territory - must file a certificate with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor within five days BEFORE commencing business. Corporations and LLCs operating under a name other than their charter name are subject to the same chapter. Non-filers can be enjoined and are barred from suing on business-related claims. The Lt. Governor's glossary states expressly that 'fictitious or pseudo name and doing business as (DBA) also mean trade name.'

"A person doing business in the United States Virgin Islands under any name other than his own, and every copartnership or association of individuals, except corporations, doing business in the United States Virgin Islands, resident or nonresident, shall file in the office of the Lieutenant Governor a certificate setting forth the designation, name or style under which said business is to be conducted, the location of such business, a brief description of the kind of business to be transacted under such name, and the true and real name or names of the party or parties conducting or intending to conduct same, or having an interest therein, together with the post-office address or addresses of said person or persons." — 11 V.I.C. § 1201 (2019 code)

Where filings go

The Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Division of Corporations and Trademarks, which is the registry for all corporate filings in the territory. All trade-name registrations (except exempt LLCs) are submitted through the Division's online Catalyst system (corporationsandtrademarks.vi.gov).

"shall file in the office of the Lieutenant Governor a certificate setting forth the designation, name or style under which said business is to be conducted... and shall be filed within five days prior to the commencement of business." — 11 V.I.C. § 1201; see also §§ 1203, 1205 (Lt. Governor prescribes forms)

How long it lasts

Renewal-based. Under the 2019 codified text, every registrant had to renew every two years ($50). Current law after two amendments: Act No. 8184 raised the renewal fee to $100 effective October 1, 2021, and Bill No. 35-0084 (passed Dec. 19, 2023, approved by Governor Bryan) amended § 1213 to let registrants choose 2-, 6-, or 10-year renewal intervals at $100, $300, and $500 respectively - confirmed by the Lt. Governor's official renewal notice of March 2026. Renewal: Renew every 2, 6, or 10 years (registrant's choice) at $100 / $300 / $500. Failure to renew within six months of expiration forfeits title to the name, which then becomes available to anyone who files for it and pays the registration fee.

"Every person, partnership, copartnership, association, company, or corporation doing business in the United States Virgin Islands under a trade name pursuant to this chapter shall file an application to renew its tradename every two years and pay a fee of $50 to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Any person... which fails to renew its trade name within six months of the expiration date as required by this chapter, shall cease title to the trade name, and said tradename shall become available to anyone who files for the tradename and pays the required registration fee." — 11 V.I.C. § 1213 (2019 code; intervals and fees since amended by Act No. 8184 (eff. Oct. 1, 2021) and Bill No. 35-0084 (approved Jan. 2024))

Name restrictions

A registered trade name may not be the same as, or so similar as to cause confusion with, the trade name of any person or entity - foreign or domestic - doing business under that name in the territory. No other content restrictions (deceptive-name bars, entity-indicator rules) appear in chapter 21.

"A trade name registered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall not be the same as, nor so similar as to cause confusion with, the trade name of any person, partnership, association or corporation, foreign or domestic, doing business under such trade name in the United States Virgin Islands." — 11 V.I.C. § 1204

Entities and assumed names

Corporations and LLCs doing business under any name other than the charter name are subject to the whole chapter: certificate under corporate seal signed by the president/VP and secretary, acknowledged, filed with the Lieutenant Governor within five days before commencement, with a certified copy filed by the Lieutenant Governor with the clerk of the District Court in the judicial division where the articles are filed.

"The certificate, so executed and acknowledged, shall be filed in the office of the Lieutenant Governor within five days prior to the commencement of business, and a copy thereof, certified by the Lieutenant Governor, shall be filed by the Lieutenant Governor in the office of the clerk of the District Court in the judicial division in which the original articles of incorporation are filed." — 11 V.I.C. § 1203(a); § 1203(b) (includes LLCs)