Opening a Shop Under a Business Name? File the DBA With the County Clerk

Say you're a Hewitt handyman who wants to hang out a shingle as 'Brazos Valley Home Repair,' or you're starting a lawn service under a catchier name than the one on your driver's license. If you run as a sole proprietor or a general partnership, Texas wants that name on the public record: an assumed name certificate, the old 'DBA,' filed with the McLennan County Clerk. (Since 2019, LLCs and corporations file their DBAs with the Secretary of State instead, so the courthouse step is for the unincorporated folks.)

The certificate runs for 10 years from the day you file it, then goes null and void unless you file a renewal in the six months before it expires. The filing fee is modest, and the clerk will want the certificate notarized.

Worth being clear-eyed about what it is and isn't: a DBA is a name registration, not a business license. It doesn't cover you for a food permit, a sales-tax permit, an alcohol license, or any city sign and zoning rules — those are separate doors you may still have to walk through.