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What does Texas call a DBA, and how do I file one for Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products?
The owner wrote: “I am looking to buy wholesale self defense products and sell them online, maybe from home.”
Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products is an exciting name to see on a new business in Humble. Your first step is the name itself: in Texas that means an Assumed Name Certificate, which most people simply call a DBA. Below you will find how Texas treats a business name, whether a newspaper notice is involved, and the other registrations Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products needs.
A name like Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products on your website and packaging is a business name, so unless you plan to sell under your own legal name, Texas expects an Assumed Name Certificate for it, and it shows no newspaper-publication requirement. Since you will buy wholesale, suppliers will want to see that the name on your application matches the name on your resale paperwork and bank account, so register it first. Self defense items can be regulated in some places and by some shipping carriers, so check the rules for each product before you list it. Selling from home does not change the name rule, only how much space your inventory takes over.
How Texas handles a business name
In Texas, a business name other than your own legal name is registered as a Assumed Name Certificate, which you will also hear called DBA, assumed business name, or fictitious name. A sole proprietor or partnership using a name that does not include the owners' own names must file one, and so must a corporation or LLC that uses any name other than its exact registered name. If you operate under your exact legal name, there is nothing to file.
Newspaper publication: Texas does not require this name to be published in a newspaper.
How long it lasts: A Texas certificate lasts up to ten years, and a new one has to be filed before it expires if you want to keep using the name.
What Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products needs
- Assumed Name Certificate – Register "Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products" before you use it on signs, invoices, and your business bank account. Most banks will not open an account or deposit checks made out to a trade name until it is registered to you.
- Name check – Before you file, search for the name: look for similar registered names where you operate, and check that the web address and social media handles are available. A registered DBA is public notice that you use the name, but it does not give you exclusive rights; a trademark does.
- LLC (limited liability company) – A DBA only registers a name. Forming an LLC is what puts a legal wall between the business and your personal assets. If a resold space heater sparks a house fire and the buyer sues, an LLC keeps the product claim aimed at the business. If you form the LLC under the exact name Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products LLC, the LLC filing itself protects that name and you will not need a separate DBA for it. Once profits grow, an LLC can elect S corporation tax treatment; ask a tax adviser when the numbers justify it.
- EIN (federal tax ID number) – You plan on 4 employees, so the federal tax ID number (EIN) is required for payroll, and you will use it for the business bank account opened in the registered name.
- Texas sales and use tax permit – You will be selling taxable goods, so register to collect sales tax before your first sale. It also lets you buy inventory for resale without paying tax on it.
- Texas employer ID – With 4 employees, you need a state employer account number for unemployment insurance. Texas has no state income tax on wages, so there is no withholding account to open.
- Business license – A business license puts Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products on the official map in Humble, which landlords, banks, and many customers will expect to see before they sign anything. Home-based businesses often need a home occupation permit as well, which can limit customer visits, employees, and how much inventory you keep at home.
By the numbers: Banks, insurers, and tax forms will ask for your industry code. For a general merchandise trading business it is NAICS 423990 (Other Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers). With 4 employees planned, you are already creating jobs in Humble. That makes 7 items on your list.
Tip: Keep supplier invoices and resale certificates organized so you can prove where every item came from.
To recap: Saints & Sinners Self Defense Products in Humble, TX needs an Assumed Name Certificate, a name check, an LLC, an EIN, a sales tax permit, a state employer ID, and a business license. With the paperwork done, the fun part begins: serving your first customers.
We can file your business name registration and the other paperwork for you: start here. |