Bar Harbor Source

File a DBA (fictitious business name) in Bar Harbor, ME

A DBA ("doing business as"), also called a fictitious business name or FBN, lets a business operate under a name other than its owner's legal name.

Maine requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their own to file that name. The filing goes to the Town Clerk, Town of Bar Harbor in Hancock County.

How to file in Hancock County

1. Where it goes

The filing goes to the Town Clerk, Town of Bar Harbor.

2. How the office takes it

Its page has the filing form.

3. What to bring

The office asks for: “The business-name certificate form, printed front and back on one sheet of paper”

4. File it

The office's own page is the place to do it.

File with the Town Clerk, Town of Bar Harbor

What it costs and how long it takes

The filing fee is $10, read from the office's own page on 2026-11-03. How long it takes is not recorded here either; the Town Clerk, Town of Bar Harbor publishes both on its own page.

After you file

Two things usually follow, and the Town Clerk, Town of Bar Harbor handles neither: opening a bank account in the business name, and any city business licence. Bar Harbor's own licensing page is not recorded here — ask the city clerk.

Renewal and changes

No renewal term is recorded here. The Town Clerk, Town of Bar Harbor is the place to confirm how long a filing lasts and what to do if you move or change the name.

Questions

Do I need an LLC instead?

A DBA is a name, not a company. It does not separate your business debts from your own; that is what forming a company does.

What if someone already trades under the name?

A filed name is on the public record, so the office's own name search is the place to check before you file.

Source: legislature.maine.gov, legislature.maine.gov. Checked 2026-10-27.