Dallas County DBAs use the County Clerk

Hang a name on your Dallas County business that isn't your own legal name, and you owe the County Clerk's recording division an assumed name, a DBA. Fill it out online, or walk in and use the research library computers if you'd rather sit down and do it by hand.

Two things catch people. The clerk won't tell you whether somebody else already grabbed your name, so checking that is on you, before you order signs and business cards. And once it's filed, the name rides for 10 years before a renewal comes due.

Filing puts your name in the public record. It does not hand you a green light to operate. What you actually do behind that name decides the rest: city permits, a state tax account, a professional license, sometimes a lawyer's once-over before you flip the sign to open.