Title 6
Commercial Law — General Regulatory Provisions

Chapter 1
Filing of Assumed Name



R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-1-7

§ 6-1-7. Renewal or cancellation. [Effective January 1, 2025.]

(a) The secretary of state shall require the annual renewal of trade names and establish a process for renewing trade names. Any such renewal process shall allow persons to renew their trade name at the same time they are required to renew their business license, if applicable.

(b) The secretary of state may cancel a person’s trade name upon request of the person to whom the trade name is registered. The secretary of state may also provide for the cancellation of trade names under circumstances as defined by the secretary of state by rule or regulation, which may include failure to renew a trade name under a renewal process as may be established by the secretary of state under the authority of subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The secretary of state shall make a reasonable effort to notify a person that the secretary of state intends to cancel the person’s trade name. This notice is not required when a request for cancellation of a trade name is received by the secretary of state from the person to whom the trade name was registered or the person’s authorized representative.

(1) The secretary of state may comply with this subsection either by mailing the notice to the person’s last known address on record with the secretary of state or by providing the notice electronically in lieu of mail. Such electronic notice may be sent by email to the person’s last known email address on record with the secretary of state. Provided, however, if the secretary of state sends a notice by email and is notified that the email is undeliverable, the secretary of state shall resend the notice by mail to the person’s last known address on record with the secretary of state.

(2) The secretary of state may cancel a trade name unless, within sixty (60) days of sending the notice required under this section, the person files the annual renewal outlined in subsection (a) of this section or meets the other requirements set forth in the cancellation notice as outlined in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) The secretary of state may remove any canceled trade names from its database of trade names.

History of Section.
P.L. 2024, ch. 334, § 3, effective January 1, 2025; P.L. 2024, ch. 335, § 3, effective January 1, 2025.