How to File a DBA in Harris County: Form, Fees, and Renewal

To file a DBA in Harris County, sole proprietors and general partnerships submit an Assumed Name Certificate to the Harris County Clerk’s Personal Records Department. The fee is $24 if you have the form notarized before you file, or $25 if you skip the notary and have a deputy clerk witness your signatures instead. The certificate stays valid for whatever term you choose, up to ten years. County filing is required under Chapter 71 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code and creates the public record that banks, vendors, and courts use to tie your trade name back to you.¹

Who Files at the County Level

The county filing is for unincorporated businesses: sole proprietors, general partnerships, joint ventures, estates, and real estate investment trusts. You file in every county where you keep a business location, or, if you have no physical location, in every county where you actually conduct business.¹

If you formed an LLC, corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability partnership, do not file with the Harris County Clerk. House Bill 3609, effective September 1, 2019, removed the county filing requirement for registered entities. Your assumed name certificate goes to the Texas Secretary of State on Form 503 instead.²

What Goes on the Certificate

Every certificate must state the assumed name, the period you plan to use it (up to ten years), and the type of unincorporated entity you are.³ The owner details depend on structure:

Sole proprietors list the owner’s full legal name and residence address.
General partnerships list the partnership name and office address, plus the full name and residence address of each general partner (office address if the partner is not an individual).
Estates list the estate name and office address (if any), plus each representative’s full name and residence address.
Real estate investment trusts list the trust’s name and address and each trustee manager’s full name and residence address.

The Harris County Clerk publishes pre-formatted forms on its Personal Records page: one for one to two owners and one for four to seven. Download the version that fits your ownership and complete every required field.⁴ Enter the assumed name exactly as you intend it to appear on invoices, signs, and contracts, because that is the spelling that goes into the public record.

Signing the Form

Every owner listed must sign. You have two ways to satisfy the signature requirement, and the choice affects your fee.

The cheaper route is notarization. Each signer appears before a notary public, presents identification, and signs in the notary’s presence. You then bring or mail the notarized form to the clerk.

The alternative is to skip the notary and have a deputy clerk witness the signatures at the counter. This works only for in-person filing, and every owner must appear together with valid government-issued photo ID. Even if the form is already notarized, bring photo ID when you file.⁵

Where to File and What It Costs

Harris County does not accept assumed name certificates electronically. File in person or by mail.

In Person

The Personal Records Department is at the Harris County Civil Courthouse, 201 Caroline Street, 3rd Floor, Suite 320, Houston, TX 77002. All clerk locations are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and ten annex offices around the county also accept filings.⁶ Walk-in filers can pay by cash, personal check, or credit card.

By Mail

Send your notarized form to:

Harris County Clerk
P.O. Box 1525
Houston, TX 77251-1525

Pay by cashier’s check or money order made out to the Harris County Clerk. Personal checks are not accepted by mail. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the clerk can return your recorded copy.

Fees

The fee tracks how you handled the signatures:⁴

Notarized form: $24.00 for the first owner, plus $0.50 for each additional owner.
Non-notarized form witnessed by the clerk: $25.00 for the first owner, plus $0.50 for each additional owner, plus a $1.00 witnessing fee per document.
Military veterans pay $2.00 less than the standard rate with no charge for additional owners. Bring proof of veteran status.

Getting Certified Copies for the Bank

Order at least one certified copy when you file. Banks routinely require an original or certified assumed name certificate before they will open a business account under your DBA. Sole proprietors whose business name does not include their legal last name should expect this at most institutions.⁷

If you need more copies later, order them through the Harris County Clerk’s online document search portal or by mail. Certification costs $5.00 per document, plus $1.00 per page for paper copies or $1.00 for up to ten pages in electronic format.⁸

Renewing, Changing, or Ending the DBA

Renewal

The certificate expires at the end of the term you selected. To keep the name active, file a renewal certificate within the six months before the expiration date. Renewal is a fresh certificate on the same form with the same fee, and you can renew for successive terms of up to ten years each with no cap on how many times you renew.⁹ Miss the window and the certificate goes void; you would have to file a new one from scratch.

Updating Information

Texas has no amendment procedure for assumed name certificates. If your address changes, a partner joins or leaves, or any other detail on the certificate becomes wrong, file a new certificate with the correct information. The Secretary of State’s guidance instructs filers to submit a new certificate within 60 days of the change.¹⁰

Withdrawal

When you stop using the name, file a withdrawal form with the Harris County Clerk. The clerk publishes three versions based on ownership size (1–4, 5–14, and 15 or more owners). Withdrawals require original signatures, and mailed withdrawals must be notarized.⁵ Fees run $23.00 for the first owner plus $0.50 per additional owner if notarized, or $24.00 plus $0.50 per additional owner plus a $1.00 witnessing fee if not.⁴

What Happens if You Skip the Filing

Operating under an assumed name without a certificate costs you in two ways. The attorney general or the local county prosecutor can sue to recover a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation. And you cannot maintain a lawsuit or legal proceeding in a Texas court arising from any contract or transaction where you used the unregistered name until you file the certificate.¹ Late filing cures the problem, but if you are already in a contract dispute, the delay hands the other side leverage.

1
State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 71 – Assumed Business or Professional Name
2
Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Name Filings FAQs
3
State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code BUS COM 71-052
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Harris County Clerk’s Office. Harris County Clerk – Personal Records
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Harris County Clerk’s Office. Harris County Clerk – Personal Records
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Harris County Clerk’s Office. Office Hours for All Locations
7
Wells Fargo. How to Open A Business Bank Account: What You Need
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Harris County Clerk’s Office. Web Inquiry FAQ
9
Justia Law. Texas Business and Commerce Code 71-151
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Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 503 – Instructions for Assumed Name Certificate