How to start an LLC in Texas

Check the name is free

Search on SOSPortal name search. SOSPortal charges a $1.00 fee for each search, and the Secretary of State will also give a free preliminary name check by phone at (512) 463-5555 or by email, but no answer is final until the filed document is reviewed.

Name ending

limited liability company, limited company, or an abbreviation of either (the Secretary of State lists L.L.C., L.C. and Ltd. Co.; abbreviations may be used with or without punctuation, so LLC and LC work too)

Reserving

Name reservation: $40 for 120 days, renewable for $40 in the 30 days before it expires, with no limit on renewals; reservations are generic and can be used for any entity type.

Words to avoid or that need permission:

• lotto or lottery (banned outright)
• veteran, legion, foreign, Spanish, disabled, war or world war when the name implies a veterans' organization (needs written approval from a recognized veterans' group)
• bank, banc, bank and trust, trust (needs a letter of no objection from the Texas Banking Commissioner; $100 request fee)
• college, university, school of medicine, medical school, health science center, school of law, law school, law center (needs prior approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board)

Also worth knowing:

• The name must be distinguishable in the Secretary of State records from existing Texas entities, registered out-of-state entities and their fictitious names, and reserved or registered names; a name that differs only in its entity ending needs the existing holder's notarized written consent, and consent does not help if the Secretary of State decides the names are the same.
• The Comptroller's Franchise Tax Account Status search also lets anyone look up existing Texas entities by entity name.

Choose a registered agent

Can it be you?

An owner, officer or employee can be the agent if they are a Texas resident individual, but the LLC itself can never be its own registered agent.

Address

The registered office must be a Texas street address where the agent can be personally served during business hours; it cannot be solely a mailbox service or a telephone answering service.

Their consent

Yes: the agent must consent in writing or electronically before being named, but the consent (Form 401-A) is kept by the LLC rather than filed; by signing Form 205 the organizer affirms the consent exists.

• An organization can serve as agent only if it is registered or authorized to do business in Texas and keeps an employee at the registered office during business hours.
• The Secretary of State cannot act as anyone's registered agent and keeps no list of agent service companies.
• Naming someone without their consent is a false-filing offense, and that person can file a rejection of the appointment, which ends it.

File the Certificate of Formation (Form 205)

File online at SOSPortal. Fee: $300 (online card payments add a convenience fee of $0.25 plus 2.25%; ACH is also accepted).

The form asks for:

• LLC name
• registered agent (an organization or a Texas-resident individual) and the registered office street address in Texas
• governing authority: whether the LLC has managers or not, plus the name and address of each initial manager, or each initial member if there are no managers
• purpose (pre-filled as any lawful purpose)
• initial mailing address for Comptroller franchise tax mail
• optional supplemental provisions (for example a limited duration)
• organizer name and address
• effective date: on filing, a later date within 90 days of signing, or a future event
• organizer signature affirming the agent has consented and the name does not falsely imply a government affiliation

What is different about Texas’s form:

• Since January 1, 2022 the certificate must give an 'initial mailing address', which the Comptroller uses to send franchise tax letters (a PO box is allowed).
• The organizer signs an affirmation that the name does not falsely imply a link with a government body, under penalty of perjury.
• The Secretary of State will pre-check a draft filing for $50 (preclearance) before you file it for real, online or in person.
• Filings that include personal identifying information, duplicate copies or the instruction pages can be rejected.

On paper: Yes: Form 205 can still be mailed to P.O. Box 13697, Austin, TX 78711-3697 or delivered to 400 W. 15th St., Austin, with a check or money order, and a wet-ink signature is not needed.

Wait for approval, or pay to go faster

The Secretary of State does not publish a routine turnaround; it says electronic filing through SOSPortal gives the swiftest processing, and evidence of filing is emailed to the submitter.

The quoted times are review times only; the Secretary of State says expediting does not guarantee a document will be filed.

Do what comes after filing

Approval is the start. Get the LLC’s EIN, free from the IRS, then work through what Texas expects next:

• Franchise Tax Accountability Questionnaireafter the Comptroller's letter arrives (soon after formation) · free

  The Comptroller opens a franchise tax account automatically from Secretary of State data and mails a letter with an FQ Webfile number; newly registered Texas LLCs must complete the questionnaire online to confirm the mailing address and tax start date.

• First franchise tax filing and Public Information ReportMay 15 of the year after the LLC is formed (an LLC formed in 2026 files by May 15, 2027) · no tax due if annualized revenue is at or below $2.65 million (2026 and 2027 reports); the PIR is free

  Below the threshold no franchise tax report is filed, but Form 05-102, the Public Information Report, is still required; above it the LLC files a franchise tax report on its margin.

• Annual Public Information Report (every year)May 15 each year (next business day if it falls on a weekend or holiday) · free

  Missing the PIR can forfeit the LLC's right to do business in Texas, which bars it from suing or defending in a Texas court and can make officers and members personally liable for certain debts of the LLC.

• Sales and use tax permitbefore selling, leasing or renting taxable goods or selling taxable services in Texas · free (a security bond may be required)

  Apply with the Comptroller online; allow 2-3 weeks to receive the permit.

• Texas Workforce Commission unemployment tax accountwithin 10 days of becoming a liable employer

  An employer becomes liable once it pays $1,500 or more in gross wages in a calendar quarter or has at least one employee in 20 different weeks of a calendar year.

• Business license (none at state level)before trading, where one applies

  The Governor's office says a general business license is not required in Texas; licenses and permits depend on the activity, at state and local level.

• Assumed name certificate (if trading under another name)before using the other name · $25

  An LLC files Form 503 with the Secretary of State, not the county clerk (county filing for entities ended in 2019); it lasts up to 10 years and does not stop anyone else using the same name.