(a) No person shall conduct or transact business in this state under an assumed name or under any designated name or style, corporate or otherwise, other than the real name of the individual conducting or transacting such business, unless the person files a certificate in the office of the county clerk of the counties in which the person conducts or transacts or intends to conduct the business. The certificate shall set forth the name under which the business is, or is to be, conducted or transacted and the full name or names of each person conducting or transacting the business, with the post office address of each.
(b) The certificate shall be executed and duly acknowledged by the persons so conducting or intending to conduct the business in the manner provided for in acknowledgment of conveyances of real estate.