The cost to change the name of a Texas LLC is $150, which equals the filing fee for the required Certificate of Amendment.

We charge a flat fee of $200 (+ the $150 filing fee) to change the name of an LLC (i.e., to handle everything on the task list below except for the last two items).

1. Check name availability;
2. Prepare and sign an authorizing resolution;
3. File a Certificate of Amendment;
4. Send Notice to the IRS;
5. Report the updated name to FinCEN; and
6. Provide notice to everyone else.

The filing of a Certificate of Amendment (Form 424) with the Texas Secretary of State is the customary mechanism used to officially change the name of a Texas LLC. The Secretary of State charges a filing fee of $150 for an Amendment.

If the name change is filed soon after the date of formation (or is done to fix a typo), you can use a Certificate of Correction (Form 403) which has a filing fee of only $15.

If you obtained an EIN (aka Federal Tax ID) under the old name, you’ll want to notify the IRS of the name change once the name change is official. Per the IRS’ website, the mechanism in which the IRS wants to be notified depends on the way the LLC is taxed:

Sole Proprietorship: An LLC taxed like a sole proprietorship (most single-member LLCs are taxed this way) should send a letter to the IRS at the address where you filed your last return, informing them of the name change.  The notification letter must be signed by the business owner or authorized representative.

Corporation: An LLC taxed like an S-Corp or C-Corp would mark the appropriate name change box on the corporate tax return (Form 1120). If you have already filed your return for the current year, send a letter to the IRS at the address where you filed your last return to inform them of the name change. The notification letter must be signed by a corporate officer.

Partnership: If the LLC is taxed like a partnership (most multi-member LLCs are taxed this way), you can mark the appropriate name change box on Form 1065.  If you have already filed your return for the current year, send a letter to the IRS at the address where you filed your last return to inform them of the name change. The notification letter must be signed by a partner of the business.

The Texas Secretary of State is taking 4 business days (as of the writing of this article) to process a Certificate of Amendment that is filed via SOSDirect. Non-expedited fax filings are taking 10 business days and non-expedited filing via the mail are taking 70 business days.

Please note, a Certificate of Amendment can only be filed via SOSDirect if the Amendment is for a name change only. If any of the amendments outlined below are needed, you will need to fax or mail the Amendment or upload via SOSUpload.

Typically, a name change does not require an amended Company Agreement. The initial Company Agreement is usually dated as of the LLC’s date of formation. If your LLC was named ABC LLC on January 1 and you change the name to XYZ LLC on March 1, the January 1 Company Agreement remains accurate (i.e., the name of the LLC was ABC LLC on January 1).

If you decide to amend the Company Agreement, you will want to pay attention to the date of amended Company Agreement and make sure it matches the date in which the Certificate of Amendment was filed.