Form 502
1
Form 502—General Information
(Application for Registration of an Entity Name)
The attached form is drafted to meet minimal statutory filing requirements pursuant to the relevant code
provisions. This form and the information provided are not substitutes for the advice and services of an
attorney and tax specialist.
Commentary
Sections 5.151 to 5.154 of the Texas Business Organizations Code (BOC) govern registration of entity
names.
The following organizations may register their names: (1) any organization authorized to do
business in Texas as a bank, trust company, savings association or insurance company, or (2) any
foreign filing entity not registered to do business in Texas.
Duration: The registration of a name is effective for one year unless the entity files an earlier written
notice of withdrawal. An application for registration of an entity name may be renewed for successive
one-year periods if an application for renewal of name registration is filed during the 90-day period
preceding the expiration of that registration.
The filing fee for an application to renew a name
registration is
$40.
Instructions for Form
• Entity Name: Set forth the entity name to be registered. Section 5.153 of the BOC and the
secretary of state’s name availability rules provide that a registered name cannot be the same as,
deceptively similar to, or similar to that of any existing domestic or foreign filing entity, or any name
reservation or registration filed with the secretary of state. If the applicant is a bank, trust company,
savings association or insurance company that has been in continuous existence from a date that
precedes the date the conflicting name is filed with the secretary of state, the registration may be
filed irrespective of the conflict
.
The administrative rules adopted for determining entity name availability (Texas Administrative
Code, title 1, part 4, chapter 79, subchapter C) may be viewed at www.sos.state.tx.us/tac/index.html.
If you wish the secretary of state to provide a preliminary determination on name availability, you
may call (512) 463-5555, dial 7-1-1 for relay services, or e-mail your name inquiry to
corpinfo@sos.state.tx.us. A final determination cannot be made until the document is received and
processed by the secretary of state. Also note that the preclearance of a name or the issuance of a
certificate under a name does not authorize the use of a name in violation of another person’s rights
to the name.
• Entity Address: Set forth a street or mailing address at which the entity may be contacted.
• Jurisdiction and Date of Formation: Set forth the date of formation of the organization and the
state or country under whose laws the organization is formed.
• Nature of Business: Set forth a brief statement of the nature of the organization’s business.
• Certification of Existence: By signing the application for name registration the person signing is
certifying that the organization validly exists and is doing business under the laws of its jurisdiction
of formation. In this item, check the applicable box to indicate the nature of the organization. If no
