How to Register a Business in Texas (2026): Steps, Costs, and Timelines

Registering a business in Texas is one filing with the Secretary of State, or none at all if you are a sole proprietor working under your own name. This guide walks through the registration itself, screen by screen: which form your structure needs, what the state asks for, what it costs in 2026, how long approval takes now that Texas Express exists, and what to file in the weeks after the certificate comes back.

The short version. An LLC or corporation files a Certificate of Formation through SOSDirect for $300 (about $308 with the card fee) and is usually approved within a few business days. A sole proprietor or general partnership files nothing with the state and, if it uses a trade name, records an assumed name certificate with the county clerk for a small fee. If you are still deciding what to form, start with how to start a business in Texas; this guide picks up once you know.

Which registration your business needs

Texas has no general business license and no statewide business registry for sole proprietors. What you register depends entirely on the structure.

Every form on that list lives on the Secretary of State's business forms page. The rest of this guide follows the LLC filing, because that is what most owners are doing, and notes where a corporation differs.

Before you file: the name and the registered agent

Two things get filings rejected more than anything else: a name that is not distinguishable from an existing entity, and a registered agent who never agreed to the job. Settle both first.

Check the name

The Comptroller's taxable entity search is free and catches most conflicts. The Secretary of State's own search inside SOSDirect costs $1 per search and applies the state's actual distinguishability rules, so run it there before you pay the $300. An LLC name must carry "LLC," "L.L.C.," or "Limited Liability Company." Words like bank, trust, insurance, or a profession you are not licensed in need consent or get refused.

If the paperwork is weeks away, a name reservation (Form 501, $40) holds the name for 120 days.

Pick the registered agent

Texas requires every registered entity to name a registered agent: a Texas resident or a company registered in Texas, with a street address (no P.O. boxes), available during business hours to accept legal papers. The agent must consent in writing. The state does not file the consent form (401-A), but you must keep it, and filing a certificate that names someone who never agreed is a false statement under the Business Organizations Code.

You can name yourself. The trade-off is that the registered office address becomes public record, which is why owners working from home often pay a commercial agent, typically $50 to $300 a year. The Secretary of State's registered agent FAQ covers the edge cases.

Step 1: Open a SOSDirect account

SOSDirect is the state's online filing system. Anyone can open an account; it takes a name, an email, and a credit card on file. There is no subscription. You pay per action: $1 for each name search or document inquiry, and the filing fee plus a 2.7% card convenience fee when you file.

The alternative is SOSUpload, which accepts a completed PDF form instead of walking you through fields. It is the right choice if an attorney drafted the certificate with custom provisions. For a standard LLC, the SOSDirect walkthrough is faster and harder to get wrong.

Step 2: Fill in the Certificate of Formation

Once you are logged in, choose Business Organizations, then the formation type. The LLC certificate asks for seven things.

1. Entity name, exactly as you cleared it, with the LLC designator.
2. Registered agent and registered office: the agent's name and the Texas street address. An organization can serve as agent only if it is itself registered in Texas.
3. Governing authority: whether the LLC is managed by its members or by managers, and the name and address of each. This is public, so many owners list a business address here.
4. Purpose: the default "any lawful purpose" language is fine for almost everyone. Professional LLCs must state the profession.
5. Organizer: the person signing the certificate. It can be you, your attorney, or a formation service; the organizer has no ownership role.
6. Effectiveness: on filing, on a later date up to 90 days out, or on a future event. Choose a later date if you want the company's first franchise-tax year to start in January.
7. Signature and payment.

A corporation's certificate adds the number of authorized shares and their par value, and the names of the initial directors. A professional LLC adds the professional service and, for some professions, the license numbers of the members.

Step 3: Pay and submit

The filing fee is $300 for an LLC, corporation, or PLLC. SOSDirect adds the 2.7% convenience fee, so the card is charged about $308. Nonprofit corporations pay $25. Limited partnerships pay $750.

The official fee schedule (Form 806) lists every filing the office handles. Keep the confirmation email; it carries the filing number you will need if anything comes back for correction.

Step 4: Wait for approval (it is shorter than it used to be)

Online filings through SOSDirect and SOSUpload are usually approved within a few business days. The Secretary of State does not publish a guaranteed turnaround, and it varies with volume, so treat "a few business days" as typical rather than promised.

If you file on paper, by mail, courier, or in person, you can pay for speed through Texas Express, the tiered expedite service that launched in October 2025 and covers every business filing since July 14, 2026. The old flat $25 expedite fee no longer exists.

Online filings cannot be expedited, and fax filing was retired in September 2025. In practice, SOSDirect is both the cheapest route and one of the fastest; Texas Express matters when a bank, a lease, or a deal is waiting on a paper filing.

When the filing is approved you receive a file-stamped Certificate of Formation and a certificate of filing by email. Download both. Banks, landlords, and the IRS will ask for them.

Step 5: The filings that follow the certificate

Registration creates the company. Four more registrations make it usable.

EIN, the same day

Apply for the Employer Identification Number directly with the IRS. It is free, online, and issued immediately. Any service that charges for it is reselling a free form.

Sales tax permit, before the first taxable sale

If you sell taxable goods or taxable services in Texas, register for a sales and use tax permit with the Comptroller. No fee. The permit arrives by mail, usually within a few weeks, and you can start collecting once you have the number.

Franchise tax account and the May 15 report

The Comptroller opens a franchise tax account for every new LLC and corporation automatically, using the formation record. From then on, a report is due every May 15. For the 2026 and 2027 report years the no-tax-due threshold is $2,650,000 in annualized total revenue. Below it you owe nothing, but the No Tax Due Report was discontinued, so you still file the Public Information Report (LLCs and corporations) or the Ownership Information Report (partnerships). Miss it and the penalty is $50, followed eventually by forfeiture of the right to do business.

Texas Workforce Commission, once you hire

Employers register for an unemployment tax account once they become liable (most businesses: $1,500 in wages in a calendar quarter) and report each new hire to the state within 20 calendar days.

Registering a trade name (DBA)

An LLC or corporation that wants to operate under a name other than its legal name files an assumed name certificate, Form 503, with the Secretary of State for $25. It lasts ten years. Since 2019, entities no longer file the county copy; the state filing is enough.

Sole proprietors and general partnerships do the opposite: they file the assumed name certificate with the county clerk in each county where they do business, and nothing with the state. Fees are set by the county and run under $25 almost everywhere. Harris County accepts the filing in person or by mail.

Registering an out-of-state company in Texas

A company formed in another state that transacts business in Texas does not form a new Texas entity. It registers the existing one as a foreign entity: Form 304 for an LLC, Form 301 for a corporation, $750 either way, with a certificate of existence from the home state that is no more than 90 days old and a Texas registered agent. Transacting business without registering brings penalties and the inability to sue in Texas courts until you fix it.

Can you register a business in Texas for free?

Only one way. A sole proprietor operating under their own legal name has nothing to register and pays nothing. Add a trade name and the county charges a small filing fee. Form an LLC, corporation, or partnership and the state fee applies; there is no waiver, and the veteran fee waiver that used to cover LLC formation ended on January 1, 2026 (businesses that qualified between 2022 and 2025 keep their existing franchise-tax exemption for the rest of its five-year term).

The EIN and the sales tax permit are free from the agencies that issue them. If you have paid for either, you paid a middleman.

Changes after registration

• New registered agent or office: Form 401, $15.
• New name or other amendment: Certificate of Amendment, Form 424, $150.
• Closing the company: Certificate of Termination, Form 651, $40, after the Comptroller issues a certificate of account status showing the franchise taxes are settled.
• Certified copies and certificates of fact: ordered through SOSDirect, $15 plus $1 per page for copies.

Registration costs at a glance

Questions about registering a business in Texas

How do I register a business in Texas online?

Open a SOSDirect account, choose the formation type, complete the Certificate of Formation on screen, and pay the $300 fee plus the card fee. Approval usually arrives by email within a few business days.

How long does it take to register an LLC in Texas?

Online, usually a few business days; the state publishes no guarantee. Paper filings can be expedited through Texas Express for $50 (2 to 3 business days), $500 (next day), or $750 (same day).

How much does it cost to register a business in Texas?

$300 for an LLC or corporation, about $308 online. Sole proprietors pay nothing to the state and a small county fee only if they use a trade name.

Do I have to register a sole proprietorship in Texas?

Not with the state. If you use any name other than your own legal name, file an assumed name certificate with the county clerk. You will still want an EIN and, if you sell taxable goods, a sales tax permit.

Is there an annual registration fee for a Texas LLC?

No. The recurring obligation is the franchise tax report and Public Information Report due May 15, with tax owed only above $2,650,000 in annual revenue.

Can I register a Texas business without living in Texas?

Yes. There is no residency requirement for owners. The registered agent must have a Texas street address, and a company already formed elsewhere registers as a foreign entity for $750 instead of forming a new Texas LLC.

After the certificate

Registration is the easy week. The harder question is what happens when a customer searches for the business you just created and finds nothing. That part, the website and the search presence, is what Nimbus builds for new Houston firms. If the industry needs licenses on top of the registration, the Texas business license guide covers them city by city.