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YOUR
ASSUMED NAME CERTIFICATE Now that you have
filed your Assumed Name Certificate with the County Clerk’s Office
you may believe you are free to use that name for your business. But
nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, an Assumed Name
Certificate (or dba as it is called by most people) is for the
protection of the public in dealing with your business. Chapter 36
of the Texas Business and Commerce Code sets out the requirements of
Assumed Name Certificates. The idea behind
the Assumed Name Certificate is to give members of the public a
central location to search for the owners of a business.
If you are doing business as “Fred’s Garage” and
someone wants to know who owns Fred’s Garage they look in the
Assumed Name records. In almost any instance in which your business
name is different from your last name, or doesn’t include your
last name, you need to file an Assumed Name Certificate. If
you are in a partnership, like “Smith and Jones” and you do
business as “Smith’s Furniture” you will need to file an
Assumed Name Certificate so that members of the public know that
someone besides just Smith is an owner. Similarly, if you do
business as “Sanford & Son”, “Sanford & Company”, or
“Sanford & Associates” you are required to file an Assumed
Name Certificate to identify everyone other than Sanford involved in
the ownership of the business, or to notify the public that there is
no one other than Sanford involved. And corporations sometimes need Assumed Name Certificates. The “Subway” sandwich name is an example. The business is actually named “Doctor’s Associates, Inc.” but it does business as “Subway”. As such, they need an Assumed Name Certificate (or some other legal mechanism) to allow members of the public to find out who runs the “Subway” sandwich shop. *This
information is a general overview of the law regarding Assumed Names
in Texas. It is not legal advice and is no substitute for
consultation with an attorney regarding your specific legal matter.
Do not rely on this document or the information contained herein in
making decisions regarding legal matters. ©
2000 Michael Hrabal, P.C. All Rights Reserved. |