Filing a DBA in Harrison County: Who Gets Your Paperwork

If you're running a one-person shop or a partnership of individuals in Harrison County and you want to operate under a name that isn't your own (a landscaping business, a roadside bakery, an Etsy storefront), your assumed name certificate goes to the County Clerk at the Marshall courthouse. The certificate runs ten years; if you're still using the name a decade later, you re-file before it lapses.

Here's the split that catches people out. Since September 1, 2019, the clerk no longer takes DBA filings for corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, or other registered entities. House Bill 3609 in the 86th Legislature moved all of those to the Texas Secretary of State. So the answer to 'where do I file' depends entirely on what kind of business you set up first.

A DBA isn't a business license, a trademark, or any guarantee that nobody else uses the name. The clerk can't stop a duplicate, and protecting the name is on you. And if your business sits inside Marshall, Hallsville, or another city's limits, check with that city hall too; the county filing doesn't cover local requirements.