Texas Business Search

How to read the official business-entity file, and a way to have the search run for you.

Texas Business Search

Texas assumed name

Quick answer. A Texas assumed name for a corporation, LLC, LP, LLP, or other filing entity is Form 503, filed with the Secretary of State, and it must say which counties the name will be used in. An unincorporated business files an assumed-name certificate with the county clerk instead. The two indexes are not interchangeable.

Official office

Texas Secretary of State, Corporations Section

Open the official search

Phone: (512) 463-5555

Secretary of State, 400 W. 15th Street, Austin, TX 78701. Mail: P.O. Box 13697, Austin, TX 78711-3697.

SOSPortal is online 24/7. The Secretary of State states a $1 statutory fee for each search.

Steps

  1. Identify who is using the name

    If the legal party is an LLC or corporation, you are in Secretary of State territory. The Form 503 instructions cite Business & Commerce Code section 71.103 for entities that regularly conduct business under a name other than the name in the certificate of formation.

  2. File Form 503 in SOSPortal

    The instructions say to submit through SOSPortal rather than attaching the PDF, to include the SOS file number if you have it, and to state the counties. You can select all counties, all except a list, or only named counties. The certificate filed with the Secretary of State does not need a notarization. A county-clerk certificate for an unincorporated business does.

  3. Search the entity, not only the assumed name

    SOSPortal finds the filing entity by legal name or file number. The assumed name is a filing on that entity. If a customer only knows the brand, you may need the Form 503 record to learn which LLC stands behind it.

  4. Use the county clerk for a sole proprietor

    An individual using a business name files with the county clerk in the county of the business, under the county’s own index. Harris, Dallas, Travis, and other clerks each run their own search. A clear SOSPortal search does not prove that a person’s DBA is unregistered at the courthouse.

Counties on the state form

Form 503 still asks for counties even though the filing is statewide at the Secretary of State. That county list is part of the certificate. It does not mean you also file the same certificate with each county clerk when the filer is an LLC or corporation. The statute, as the SOS instructions summarize it, puts the entity’s certificate with the Secretary of State.

Common mistakes

  • Sending an LLC to the county clerk only, and never filing Form 503.
  • Sending a sole proprietor to SOSPortal only, and never filing at the county clerk.
  • Notarizing the SOS form because the county form required a notary. The SOS instructions say the Secretary of State filing is not notarized, and extra material can cause a rejection.

Questions

Does a Texas LLC file an assumed name with the county or the state?

With the Secretary of State, on Form 503, naming the counties where the name will be used. County-clerk assumed-name filings are for unincorporated businesses.

Where are the Form 503 instructions?

On the Secretary of State site at sos.texas.gov/corp/instructions/503.shtml. File through SOSPortal. Business-filing email is CorpInfo@sos.texas.gov.

Will an assumed name appear in the Comptroller status search?

The Comptroller search is by taxpayer number or EIN, not by DBA. Look up the legal entity’s tax ID, and look up the assumed name on the SOS filing.

Sources reviewed