To file a DBA in Texas, sole proprietors and general partnerships submit an assumed name certificate to the county clerk in each county where they do business, while corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and other registered entities file Form 503 with the Texas Secretary of State. The county fee runs about $23; the state fee is $25. The certificate is good for up to 10 years.
Where You File Depends on Your Business Structure
Texas splits assumed name filings along one line: is your business a registered entity or not?
If you’re a sole proprietor or a general partnership, you file at the county level. You need a certificate on file with the county clerk in every county where you have a business office or regularly do business.1Justia Law. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 71 – Assumed Business or Professional Name Operating in three counties means three filings.
If you’re a corporation, LLC, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or other registered entity, you file only with the Texas Secretary of State.2Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 503 – Instructions for Assumed Name Certificate Since September 1, 2019, when House Bill 3609 amended Chapter 71 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, registered entities no longer duplicate the filing at the county level.3Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Name Filings FAQs
Filing With the County Clerk
County assumed name forms are short. You’ll provide:
- The assumed name you plan to use publicly
- Your full legal name, or the names of all partners
- Your business address
- The duration you intend to use the name, up to 10 years
Most county clerks post the form on their website; some let you download and complete it at home, others require you to fill it out in person. The form must be signed and either notarized or acknowledged by the clerk.
Fees vary by county but tend to land around $23 for the business name and one owner, with $0.50 for each additional owner on the same certificate.4Travis County Clerk. DBAs If you have the clerk acknowledge your signature rather than using a notary, expect a small extra charge, often around $2 per acknowledgment. Most clerks accept filings in person or by mail.
Filing With the Secretary of State
Registered entities use Form 503, a PDF available on the Secretary of State’s website.5Texas Secretary of State. Form 503 – Assumed Name Certificate It asks for more than the county form:
- The assumed name
- The entity’s legal name as it appears in the certificate of formation
- The entity type (corporation, LLC, limited partnership, and so on)
- Jurisdiction of formation, whether Texas or another state or country
- Registered agent name and address
- Principal office address
- Counties where the name will be used, or a statewide designation
An officer, general partner, member, manager, or authorized representative must sign the form, and you submit it in duplicate.2Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 503 – Instructions for Assumed Name Certificate
The Secretary of State accepts filings electronically through the SOSDirect portal, by mail, or by personal delivery, and encourages electronic filing for faster processing.6Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Filing Options The fee is $25.2Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 503 – Instructions for Assumed Name Certificate You can pay by personal or business check, money order, cash (in person only), or credit card; credit card payments add a 2.7% convenience fee. Checks go to the Secretary of State.
How Long the Certificate Lasts
An assumed name certificate is valid for up to 10 years from the filing date. After that, it becomes void unless you file a new certificate before the expiration date. The statute lets you file the renewal within the six months leading up to expiration, and the renewal has to meet every requirement of an original filing.1Justia Law. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 71 – Assumed Business or Professional Name The fee matches the original.
Texas has no amendment process for assumed name certificates. If your address changes, your legal name changes, a partner joins, or a partner leaves, you have 60 days to file a brand new certificate at the same office where you filed originally.7State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code 71-152 – Material Change in Information New Certificate That new filing starts a fresh 10-year term.
What a DBA Does Not Do
Filing a DBA is a public notice requirement. It tells anyone doing business with you who’s behind the trade name. It does not give you exclusive rights to that name, and it does not stop anyone else from filing the same name in the same county or with the Secretary of State.
It also gives you no defense against a trademark claim. If another business holds a federal trademark on a name you’re using as your DBA, they can force you to stop and pursue damages. Before you invest in signage and branding, run a free search through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s database to check for conflicts.8United States Patent and Trademark Office. Search Our Trademark Database If you want enforceable exclusive rights to a name, that’s a federal trademark registration, which is a separate process from a DBA.
What Happens If You Skip the Filing
Operating under an assumed name without filing has teeth. You cannot bring a lawsuit in a Texas court on any contract or transaction conducted under the unregistered name until you file the certificate.9State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code 71-201 – Civil Action Sanction You can still defend a suit brought against you, but you can’t sue a customer who won’t pay or a vendor who breaches. A court may also award attorney’s fees and expenses to anyone forced to track down who was behind the unregistered name.
Intentionally operating under an unregistered assumed name is a Class A misdemeanor in Texas, punishable by up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.1Justia Law. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 71 – Assumed Business or Professional Name Criminal prosecution is rare, but the civil handicap alone is enough reason to file.
Abandoning a DBA You No Longer Use
When you stop using the name, file a statement of abandonment. Registered entities that filed with the Secretary of State use Form 504; the fee is $10, and the form asks for the assumed name, the date of the original certificate, the entity’s legal name, and the file number the Secretary of State assigned.10Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 504 – Instructions for Abandonment of Assumed Name Certificate Sole proprietors and partnerships who filed at the county level contact the county clerk directly; the county abandonment is a separate filing and goes to the clerk, not the state.