How to Do Business As a DBA in Texas
- 1). Navigate to the Texas Secretary of State website (see References). Locate and download form 503 for an Assumed Name Certificate. This is the form that must be filed in order to apply for a fictitious, assumed or "DBA" name in Texas.
- 2). Complete the Assumed Name Certificate. You must submit the assumed name that you want for the business; the registered, or legal, name for the business; the business form of the business; the address of the registered office; the state where the business was formed; a file number associated with the business from the Texas Secretary of State, if applicable; the business's principal office location in Texas; the length that you wish to use the assumed name, up to 10 years; and the counties where the assumed name will be used.
Submit the completed Assumed Name Certificate application with the $25 filing fee to the Texas Secretary of State. - 3). Contact the county clerk for the county in which your business will be principally located. Request information regarding an application for an assumed name. Each county may have its own rules, procedures and filing fees for filing an assumed name certificate. The application will not be the same as the application that you submitted to the Secretary of State. Complete the application and return it to the county clerk with the appropriate filing fee.