Listing criteria

The Bastrop Passport is a hand-picked guide to the people, places, and businesses that make Bastrop County worth knowing. Because we curate it, not every submission makes it on. Here is what we look for, so a yes or a no always points to a rule and not a personal call.

Getting listed is free.

Who we list

Two kinds of places:

Local businesses that serve Bastrop County.
Community places worth knowing: parks, trails, the library, city offices, churches, nonprofits, markets, and local makers.

The bar is a little different for each.

For businesses

To be listed, a business needs to:

Be a real, operating business. Show any one of these: a Texas assumed name certificate (DBA), a sales and use tax permit, an EIN, or a clear public footprint we can verify (an active website, real reviews, a findable address or service record). Working under your own legal name as a sole proprietor is fine. We just need to confirm you are actually operating.
Hold the permits your work calls for. Food businesses, for example, need the right health permits.
Have a location or service area in Bastrop County.
Give us a contact we can reach and confirm (a working email or phone).
Be open for business now. Not closed, and not a “coming soon” with no real opening in sight.

For community places

Parks, trails, civic buildings, churches, nonprofits, markets, and makers do not need business paperwork. We just confirm they are real, in or serving Bastrop County, reachable, and currently active.

What we do not list

Anything illegal.
Adult or sexually explicit businesses.
Multi-level marketing, pyramid, or recruiting schemes.
Hate groups, or anything built to harass or harm.
Back-office and transactional services that do not help someone discover or experience Bastrop, like realtors, mortgage, title, insurance, financial advising, tax and accounting, and law firms. These are good businesses. They just are not what this guide is for.

If we say no

We get it wrong sometimes, and rules have exceptions. If you think your place belongs and we passed on it, email howdy@bastroppassport.com and a real person in town will take another look.

Getting listed is free. Businesses that want a fuller, featured profile can upgrade to a Showcase.