A Hays County DBA is a ten-year filing, not a business license

Say you're opening 'Blanco River Landscaping' as yourself, not as an LLC. In Hays County, that trade name goes to the County Clerk as an assumed name certificate. As of July 2026, the county lists a $25 filing fee, plus 50 cents for each extra owner. You can start online. You can also go to an office with all owners and valid ID. If you use the paper form, have it notarized, then bring the original or mail it to San Marcos.

A DBA is mostly a public-record label. It tells people who is behind a business name. It does not lock up the name for you. The Texas Secretary of State says a filing is not rejected just because the same or a similar name is already on file. More than one person can have the same assumed name.

Put the ten-year date somewhere you will see it. Hays says the certificate lasts ten years unless you choose a shorter term, and the clerk does not have to remind you. If the business is an LLC or corporation, Hays says the assumed-name filing goes through the Secretary of State, not the County Clerk.