DBAs Are Filed With the Bexar County Clerk

Filing a DBA is not the same as forming an LLC, and people mix the two up all the time. An assumed name certificate is a one-page form you fill out, get notarized or acknowledged, and submit to the Bexar County Clerk's Assumed Name/DBA office with the fee. It lets you do business under a trade name, nothing more.

Two details surprise people. The certificate is good for ten years from the date you register it, and the Clerk will not accept a copy of your notarized certificate; the original has to come in. Bring a photocopy expecting to walk out registered and you'll walk out empty-handed.

Lining up the trade name is usually the easy part. Before you order signs, open a business bank account, or start advertising, sort out whether the same business also needs to deal with the Secretary of State, the IRS, the Comptroller, a city, or a professional licensing board. The DBA covers your name, not the rest of it.