February 3, 2021
 

A recent mailing from the Pennsylvania Department of State for Pennsylvania-registered entities may raise some questions. Decennial reports serve to keep the exclusivity of a PA business name and are filed every 10 years with a $70 filing fee. 2021 marks the next window for filing these reports.

Without a completed decennial report, the state will no longer recognize that business as the exclusive holder of the business name in Pennsylvania, and the business name would then be available for another Pennsylvania entity to request its use. 

Unless an exception applies, all Pennsylvania businesses have until December 31, 2021 to file the report with the Pennsylvania Department of State Corporation Bureau.

Please note that this is not a tax-related filing. Since this is a matter of corporate compliance, any questions or assistance needed with filing the report should be directed to your attorney.

We also encourage you to review the Department of State's website on the Decennial Filing, which contains the following resources:

• General Q&A on the Decennial Filing
• List of PA entities that should file a report to maintain name exclusivity, as well as exceptions
• Links to Decennial Report fill-in PDF forms