Business name search · Texas
How to check and reserve a business name in Texas
Texas decides name availability on one question: is your name distinguishable in the records of the Secretary of State from every entity, reservation, and registration already on file? Here's how to check that record yourself, and how to hold a name once it clears.
The rule Texas applies
Under Texas Business Organizations Code §5.053, the name of a filing entity (LLC, corporation, LP, and so on) must be distinguishable in the Secretary of State's records from: existing Texas filing entities, foreign entities registered in Texas (including their fictitious names), registered series of Texas LLCs, and any existing name reservation or registration.1
What counts as "distinguishable" is spelled out in the state's administrative rules — Texas Administrative Code, Title 1, Part 4, Chapter 79, Subchapter C. Differences like punctuation or an entity suffix ("LLC" vs. "Inc.") generally are not enough on their own; read the rules if your name is close to an existing one.1
Three ways to check availability
1. Free: the Comptroller's Taxable Entity Search
The Texas Comptroller's Taxable Entity Search is free and covers entities on file with the state. It's the fastest first pass: if your exact name or something very close is already there, stop and rethink before spending anything.
2. SOSDirect entity search
SOSDirect is the Secretary of State's own online filing system and searches the authoritative record — the one §5.053 is measured against. It's available 24/7; SOSDirect charges small per-use fees, listed on the SoS site.
3. Ask the Secretary of State for a preliminary determination
The Corporations Section will give a preliminary opinion on availability by phone at (512) 463-5555 or by email.1 Two important limits, in the state's own words: a final determination is only made when your document is actually processed, and the state warns — "Do not make financial expenditures or execute documents based on a preliminary clearance."1
Name clearance is not trademark clearance. The Secretary of State accepting your name does not give you the right to use it in violation of someone else's trademark. Search the USPTO database and Texas trademark records separately.1
Reserving a name before you file
- A Texas name reservation holds a name for 120 days, filed with Form 501 or online through SOSDirect, any day, any hour.1
- Reservations are generic — a name reserved "for a corporation" can be used to form an LLC or any other filing entity.1
- You can renew by filing a new application during the 30 days before your current reservation expires, and withdraw early with Form 507. There is no limit on how many times a name can be re-reserved.1
- Filing fees are set by the state and change occasionally — check the current amount on the SoS forms page (each form's instructions state its fee) before you file.
Operating under a different name (DBA)
If your entity will do business under a name other than its legal name, Texas calls that an assumed name, filed with Form 503. An assumed name certificate doesn't reserve or protect the name — it's a disclosure filing. Registered entities file it with the Secretary of State; unincorporated businesses file at the county level.
If the name is taken but dormant
A conflicting name held by an inactive entity doesn't automatically free the name — it must actually leave the record (or you must obtain consent where the rules allow filing with consent). If a name you want is tied up, the practical options are choosing a distinguishable variant, or waiting for the blocking filing to lapse.
Sources
- Texas Secretary of State, Name Filings FAQ (accessed 2026-08-21) — distinguishability standard, preliminary determinations, reservation term, renewal window, Forms 501/507.
- Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code ch. 5, §5.053.
- Texas Comptroller, Taxable Entity Search (accessed 2026-08-21).