To fix an error in a business document already on file with the Texas Secretary of State, you file Texas Form 403, the Certificate of Correction. The fee is $15, you submit two copies, and once accepted, the correction relates back to the original filing date as if the mistake had never been there.
What You Can Fix With a Certificate of Correction
Texas Business Organizations Code Section 4.101 lets you file a certificate of correction when a previously filed instrument is an inaccurate record of the actual event or transaction, contains an erroneous statement, or was improperly signed, sealed, acknowledged, or verified.1State of Texas. Texas Business Organizations Code Title 1 Chapter 4 Subchapter C Section 4-101 The form itself has checkboxes for the five most common problems: a misspelled or wrong entity name, a wrong registered agent name, an inaccurate registered office address, an incorrect stated purpose, and a misstated period of duration.2Texas Secretary of State. Form 403 – Certificate of Correction
Beyond those five, an open-ended section lets you add provisions that were accidentally omitted, alter provisions that contain errors, or delete provisions that were included by mistake. If the original was defectively signed or verified, you attach a correctly executed copy of the instrument as an exhibit.
One boundary matters. Section 4.102 limits corrections to statements the code actually authorizes or requires in that type of filing. A correction fixes what should have been right from the start. A substantive change to the entity’s actual terms going forward is an amendment, and requires a different filing.
Filling Out Form 403
Download the current fillable PDF from the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You will submit two copies.3Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 403 – Instructions for Certificate of Correction
Entity Information
Enter the entity’s legal name exactly as it currently appears in the Secretary of State’s records. If the correction itself changes the entity name, put the current (incorrect) name here, not the corrected one. Adding the file number the Secretary of State assigned to your entity is recommended rather than mandatory, but it speeds up processing and reduces the chance the filing gets kicked back for manual matching.
Identify the Filing Being Corrected
Describe the specific document by type and filing date. Be concrete: “Certificate of formation filed on March 15, 2023,” or “Application for registration filed on July 8, 2024.” Vague descriptions slow review because the examiner has to dig through your filing history to find the right document.
Errors and Corrections
Check the box next to any of the five common categories that apply and write the corrected version in the space provided. For registered agent corrections, specify whether the agent is an individual Texas resident or an organization authorized to do business in the state. For a registered office, the address must be a physical Texas street address. No P.O. boxes.2Texas Secretary of State. Form 403 – Certificate of Correction
If your correction falls outside the five checkboxes, use the open-ended section. It gives you four text boxes organized by action. Under Add, provide the full text of any provision accidentally left out. Under Alter, identify the existing provision and write the corrected version in full. Under Delete, name the provision that needs to be removed entirely. For a defective execution, check that box and attach a correctly executed copy of the original instrument.
Mergers, Conversions, or Exchanges
If the filing being corrected involved a merger, conversion, or exchange, list the names and Secretary of State file numbers for every entity that was party to the transaction. The Secretary of State needs this to index the correction against each entity’s record.3Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 403 – Instructions for Certificate of Correction
Who Signs
Section 4.101(b) requires the certificate of correction to be signed by whoever was authorized to sign the original instrument. That usually means a governing person or managerial official, meaning a director, officer, manager, or member, depending on how the entity is structured.1State of Texas. Texas Business Organizations Code Title 1 Chapter 4 Subchapter C Section 4-101 For a certificate of formation, the person who organized the entity or a current governing person can sign. The signer certifies under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and that they are authorized to execute the filing.2Texas Secretary of State. Form 403 – Certificate of Correction
Fee and How To Submit
The filing fee is $15.4Secretary of State. Business Filings and Trademarks Fee Schedule Send two copies of the completed form with payment by one of these methods:
- By mail to the Office of the Texas Secretary of State, P.O. Box 13697, Austin, TX 78711-3697.3Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 403 – Instructions for Certificate of Correction
- In person at the James Earl Rudder Office Building, 1019 Brazos, Austin, TX 78701.
- Electronically through SOSDirect or SOSUpload if the certificate of correction is currently available for online submission; not every document type is.5Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Filing and Other General FAQs
Expedited Options If the Correction Is Time-Sensitive
The Texas Secretary of State offers three tiers of expedited service under the Texas Express program. Each fee is added on top of the $15 filing fee:6Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Introducing Texas Express Expedited Business Filings
- Same-Day service costs $750 per document. It requires in-person delivery by 12:00 p.m. and processes by close of business that day.
- Next-Day service costs $500 per document. It also requires in-person delivery by 12:00 p.m. and processes by close of business the next business day.
- Standard Expedited service costs $50 per document, is available by mail or in person, and typically processes within two to three business days ahead of non-expedited filings.
Expedited processing covers the review period only. It does not guarantee acceptance; every filing still goes through the standard statutory compliance review.
When the Correction Takes Effect
Once the Secretary of State accepts the certificate of correction, Section 4.105 treats the corrected instrument as though it was correct on the date the original was filed. The correction relates back, and your entity’s records read as if the mistake never happened.7State of Texas. Texas Business Organizations Code Title 1 Chapter 4 Subchapter C Section 4-105
There is one exception. Anyone adversely affected by the correction only has to recognize it from the date the certificate of correction was actually filed, not the original date. That protects third parties who relied on the earlier version in good faith. Any certificate of filing or acknowledgment the Secretary of State issued for the original document applies to the corrected instrument as of the relate-back date.