VerifySOS is a 50-state business-verification tool for credit and underwriting in trucking and commercial finance. One search merges Secretary of State registration, FMCSA/USDOT authority, OFAC sanctions, UCC liens, ownership, and county DBA filings into a single PDF packet.

How do I look up a business across all 50 states?

Enter the company name and its 2-letter state code (or a USDOT number) on verifysos.com. It searches the Secretary of State and FMCSA SAFER side by side, screens OFAC, and generates a verification packet PDF.

How much does VerifySOS cost?

There is a free tier, a Starter plan at $14.99/month (about 250 searches), and a Pro plan at $25/month with unlimited searches plus API access, UCC, and DBA.

Does VerifySOS show business ownership and officers?

Yes. Where a state publishes officers, members, or managers in its free public records, VerifySOS pulls them into the packet, separate from the registered agent, which is not the owner.

← All posts June 23, 2026

Webb County DBA search — how to look up a fictitious business name (TX)

A DBA (doing business as) or fictitious business name (FBN) is not a legal entity. It is a filing that tells the county clerk that a person or company is operating under a trade name. Webb County, Texas, records these filings at the county level, not at the Secretary of State. If you are underwriting a credit deal and you see a business operating under a DBA, you need to find the legal entity behind it. A DBA lookup alone will not tell you about incorporation status, liability protection, or whether the operator is actually registered to do business in Texas.

What a Webb County DBA filing actually contains

When someone files a fictitious business name in Webb County, the county clerk records the person or entity operating under the assumed name, the assumed name itself, the principal place of business, and the file date and expiration date. On the filing, you will see who “owns” the DBA · that is, who signed the paperwork and registered it. This is often a sole proprietor, a partnership, or a corporation. The filing does not create a new legal entity; it is a public notice that an existing person or entity is using an alternate name for business.

The expiration date matters. Texas fictitious business name filings are typically valid for ten years from the date of filing. If the DBA has expired and has not been renewed, the filing is no longer current. An expired DBA can signal that the business has closed, changed hands, or simply neglected to renew · all of which are red flags in underwriting.

Why you cannot stop at the DBA

A frequent mistake in underwriting is to pull a DBA filing and treat it as verification that the business is legitimate and properly registered. It is not. A DBA is a filing; registration is a separate process. If the person operating under the DBA is a sole proprietor, there may be no registered entity at all. If the owner is a corporation, that corporation must be registered separately with the Texas Secretary of State. If the owner is an LLC, that LLC must also be registered at the state level. The DBA filing tells you who is using the trade name, but not whether that person or entity has complied with state requirements to do business.

For credit purposes, this gap is critical. You cannot assess the legal standing, tax compliance, or liability structure of the business without knowing what it actually is at the state level. A one-person operation trading under a DBA has zero liability protection. A corporation or LLC trading under a DBA has a separate legal identity. These are not equivalent risks.

How to find the legal entity behind the DBA

Once you have pulled the Webb County DBA filing, you know the name of the person or entity that registered it. If the filer is an individual, search that individual’s name in the Texas Secretary of State business search to see whether they have registered any entities (corporations, LLCs, partnerships) in their own name or under any variant. If the filer is a corporation or LLC, take the exact name from the DBA and search the Secretary of State database for that entity. Verify the entity status, formation date, registered agent, and principal place of business. Cross-check the principal address on the DBA filing with the address on the state registration. If they do not match, ask why.

Also search UCC filings in Webb County for any security interests filed against the DBA or the person behind it. A UCC search will show if the business has outstanding debt secured by personal or business assets.

The gap between county and state records

Webb County maintains DBA records at the county level only. The county clerk does not report DBAs to the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State does not maintain a statewide index of assumed names. This means you must search Webb County directly to confirm a DBA is current and to find the owner. You cannot rely on a Secretary of State search alone to verify a DBA. Similarly, the existence of a current DBA in Webb County does not guarantee that the entity behind it is in good standing with the state, has paid taxes, or has maintained liability insurance.

This fragmentation is by design in Texas law, but it creates friction for underwriters. You have to work two channels: county and state. If you skip the county search, you miss the DBA entirely. If you skip the state search, you miss the legal entity and its compliance status.

What to document in your credit file

When you verify a business operating under a DBA in Webb County, pull and save three documents: the current Webb County DBA filing, the Secretary of State registration for the legal entity behind it (showing status, formation date, registered agent, and officers/members), and a UCC search result from Webb County showing any filed liens. Note the DBA expiration date in your file. If the DBA is set to expire within the term of the credit facility, flag that in your conditions or follow-up plan. A business cannot legally operate under an expired assumed name, and operating illegally is a material change in risk.

Bottom line

A DBA search in Webb County tells you that someone is using a trade name and when that filing expires. It does not tell you whether that person or entity is legally registered to do business in Texas, whether they have incorporated, or whether they have complied with state law. Always pull the DBA, identify the legal entity behind it, search the Secretary of State, and verify state registration and status. Treat the DBA and the state entity as two separate verification steps, because they are.