How to File an Assumed Name for an LLC in Texas
By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 6, 2026
Short answer
Texas requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register an assumed name. An LLC files the Assumed Name Certificate with the Secretary of State. The filing fee is $25.00. We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Texas.
Texas Assumed Name at a Glance
- Requirement
- Required
- Where to file
- Secretary of State
- Fee
- $25.00
- How long it lasts
- Up to 10 years
- Newspaper notice
- None found
- File online
- Yes
How an LLC Files
An LLC files the Assumed Name Certificate with the Secretary of State.
You can file online.
Since September 1, 2019, an LLC or corporation files its assumed name certificate only with the Secretary of State, not with the county clerk. Sole proprietors and general partnerships still file with the county clerk in each county where they keep business premises.
Cost and Renewal
The filing fee is $25.00.
The registration lasts up to 10 years.
The certificate states its own term, which can be up to 10 years. It is void at the end of that term unless renewed in the six months before it expires.
Renewal costs $25.00.
Publication
We found no publication step for an LLC's assumed name filing in Texas.
Does it protect the name?
Registering does not give the LLC ownership of, or an exclusive right to, the name.
If you skip it
A business that has not filed cannot sue on a contract or act made under the assumed name until it files, and a court may make it pay the other side's costs of locating and serving it. Intentionally trading under an assumed name in violation of the law is a Class A misdemeanor.
Sole proprietors
Texas requires a sole proprietor whose business name leaves out their surname to register an assumed name. A sole proprietor must file if the name leaves out the owner's surname or suggests other owners with words such as "& Company" or "Brothers". A general partnership must file if its name leaves out the surname or legal name of any general partner.
A sole proprietor registers an assumed name with the county clerk in each county where the business operates.
Filing needs acknowledgment before a clerk or notary and a notarized signature.
The filing fee is $2.00. Texas law sets the county clerk's fee at $2 for each certificate plus 50 cents for each name indexed. County clerks may add records fees that other state law allows, so the total varies by county.
The registration lasts up to 10 years.
The certificate states its own term, which can be up to 10 years. It is void at the end of that term unless renewed in the six months before it expires.
We found no publication step for a sole proprietor's assumed name filing in Texas.
A business that has not filed cannot sue on a contract or act made under the assumed name until it files, and a court may make it pay the other side's costs of locating and serving it. Intentionally trading under an assumed name in violation of the law is a Class A misdemeanor.
| Requirement | Required |
|---|---|
| Where to file | County office (county clerk) |
| Fee | See Cost and renewal |
| How long it lasts | Up to 10 years |
| Newspaper notice | None found |
| File online | Not confirmed |
Next steps
Frequently Asked Questions
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's filing office publishes about registering a business name, with the sources this page cites. A filing here does not register a federal trademark, and fees and forms change between our reviews. Confirm with the office named on this page before you file.
Sources
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Texas sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.
- tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/BC/htm/BC.71.htmTexas Business and Commerce Code, Chapter 71, Assumed Business or Professional Name
- tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/LG/htm/LG.118.htmTexas Local Government Code, Chapter 118, Fees Charged by County Officers
- sos.state.tx.us/corp/instructions/503.shtmlTexas Secretary of State, Form 503 Instructions for Assumed Name Certificate
- sos.state.tx.us/corp/forms/503_boc.pdfTexas Secretary of State, Form 503, Assumed Name Certificate
- sos.state.tx.us/corp/forms_boc.shtmlTexas Secretary of State, Business Organizations Code Forms
- sos.state.tx.us/corp/filingandothergeneralfaqs.shtmlTexas Secretary of State, Filing and Other General FAQs
Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.