Filing Guide

Harris County · checked 2026-09-02 · Source-backed guide

Harris County assumed name filing guide

Sole proprietor

Authority and fee for this entity route. Choose your entity below before filing.

Authority: Harris County County ClerkSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptHarris County County Clerk
Official fee: $24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional OwnerSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional Owner
Form: 1-2 Owners ApplicationSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt1-2 Owners Application

Read official guidance →Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved

Supporting excerptOfficial destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

What Harris County calls a DBA

The official term documented here is assumed name.

Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptassumed name

Harris County’s record uses “assumed name” and identifies the Harris County County Clerk as the county authority.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • assumed name
  • Harris County County Clerk
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

The verified entity statement draws a sharp boundary around this page: unincorporated businesses use the county filing, while corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and foreign filing entities use the Texas Secretary of State.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Harris County County Clerk
  • Unincorporated businesses use the county filing; corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and foreign filing entities use the Texas Secretary of State.
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

This guide therefore addresses the county branch documented for a sole proprietor; it is not a substitute for the state branch.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Unincorporated businesses use the county filing; corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and foreign filing entities use the Texas Secretary of State.

Rules by legal entity type

Jump to the entity that already exists. Each section keeps its own authority, fee, exceptions, and official evidence.

Build a personal filing plan for Harris County →

Sole proprietor

Required: Yes, when the documented conditions apply.Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptAny individual doing business in Harris County is required to file an Assumed Name reflecting his/her business name and the ownership of the business pursuant to Business and Commerce Code 71.001.
Authority: Harris County County ClerkSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptHarris County County Clerk
When this route applies: Unincorporated businesses use the county filing; corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and foreign filing entities use the Texas Secretary of State.Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptUnincorporated businesses use the county filing; corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and foreign filing entities use the Texas Secretary of State.
Official form: 1-2 Owners ApplicationSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt1-2 Owners Application
Form destination: Not confirmed in this guide.
Online filing link: Not confirmed in this guide.
Official fee: $24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional OwnerSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerpt$24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional Owner
Effective duration: The period stated on the certificate may not exceed ten years.Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptThe period stated on the certificate may not exceed ten years.
Renewal: The period stated on the certificate may not exceed ten years.Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptThe period stated on the certificate may not exceed ten years.
Changes or amendments: Not confirmed in this guide.
Abandonment or cancellation: A Certificate of Abandonment is used when discontinuing the business name.Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptA Certificate of Abandonment is used when discontinuing the business name.
Important exclusions: Not confirmed in this guide.
Mail filing: Send completed notarized form for recording. Must send cashier's check or money order as personal checks will not be accepted.Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptMAIL IN - Send completed notarized form for recording. Must send cashier's check or money order as personal checks will not be accepted. - Teneshia Hudspeth - Harris County Clerk - P.O. Box 1525 - Houston, TX 77251-1525
In-person filing: Complete form by deputy clerk; all owners must be present with valid government issued identification for recording, or have completed notarized form available for recording.Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
Supporting excerptWALK IN - Complete form by deputy clerk; all owners must be present with valid government issued identification for recording, or have completed notarized form available for recording. Please note that notarized Assumed Names must have a photo ID from the person submitting the assumed name; as per the Texas Local Government Code, Section 191.011 (b) (1), Effective September 1, 2017. Our office will accept cash, personal checks or credit card for payment of fee.

Why this local filing matters

Its verified material contributes a Harris-specific fee formula: twenty-four dollars for the first owner and fifty cents for each additional owner.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • $24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional Owner

It also locates the filing at the county clerk for the unincorporated side of Texas’s split system.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Harris County County Clerk
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

A state-only answer would miss the local charge, while this county answer would be wrong for the state-filing entities named in the evidence.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Unincorporated businesses use the county filing; corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and foreign filing entities use the Texas Secretary of State.

How to file through the authority

The supported starting point is the clerk’s Personal Records page.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Harris County County Clerk
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

It identifies the clerk and gives the county’s fee as “$24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional Owner.”

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Harris County County Clerk
  • $24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional Owner
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

Because the price is expressed per owner, this guide preserves the wording rather than calculating a total.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • $24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional Owner

A filer should use the cited clerk page to obtain those current details directly.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Harris County County Clerk
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

Nothing on DBA Filing Guide accepts a certificate or payment, and an unsupported submission route is deliberately not supplied.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • assumed name
  • $24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional Owner

Renewal, amendment, and abandonment

For the certificate’s time period, the verified text says that the period stated on it may not exceed ten years.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • The period stated on the certificate may not exceed ten years.

The same sentence is the available renewal evidence; it does not supply a separate renewal form, filing window, or automatic-renewal promise.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • The period stated on the certificate may not exceed ten years.

Harris County’s record also identifies a Certificate of Abandonment for discontinuing the business name.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • A Certificate of Abandonment is used when discontinuing the business name.

Those blanks matter, because the ten-year ceiling cannot safely be converted into a publication schedule or a guessed amendment procedure.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • The period stated on the certificate may not exceed ten years.

Publication and notice

Publication could not be confirmed for all covered entity types. No requirement or exemption is asserted.

Next steps: self-file first

If it does, open the Harris County clerk record and confirm the current procedure before preparing anything.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Harris County County Clerk
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

Use the quoted owner-based fee as a checkpoint, not as a computed invoice.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • $24.00 First Owner + .50 for Each Additional Owner

Ask the clerk for the current certificate, accepted delivery channels, execution requirements, and any details absent from this evidence.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Harris County County Clerk
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

Choose the Secretary of State route instead when the verified entity statement places the business there.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Harris County County Clerk
  • Unincorporated businesses use the county filing; corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and foreign filing entities use the Texas Secretary of State.
Source: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • Official destination title: Harris County Clerk's Office

If use of the assumed name ends, look for the county’s Certificate of Abandonment.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • assumed name
  • A Certificate of Abandonment is used when discontinuing the business name.

Keep the certificate’s stated period separate from any unverified renewal assumption.

Official sources and supporting excerptsSource: cclerk.hctx.net official record · retrieved
  • The period stated on the certificate may not exceed ten years.

Paid help, if offered later, is optional. This independent guide does not submit filings or accept government fees.

Related filing guides

Official sources

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