Business Name Search
You can look up an existing business entity or find out if the business name you want is available by completing a business search with the Secretary of State.
Our Business Name Search guide will give you instructions for looking up all business types, including corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs).
Ready to register your business name? Northwest will verify and register your business name when they form your LLC.
Secretary of State Business Search
Choose your state for detailed name search instructions:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
LLC Name Search
When you form an LLC, you have to make sure your business name is available and distinguishable from other business names.
To verify that your business name is unique, you’ll need to complete a business entity search in your state. For example, if you're starting a business in Florida, you'll need to do a Florida LLC name search.
If you find that your business name isn’t available, we recommend taking a look at our LLC Name Generator tool for help with coming up with a unique name.
Domain Name Search
When choosing a business name you'll need to find out whether or not a good web domain name is available. Having a URL that clearly matches your business name is important.
US Trademark Search
A quick search on the U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System will tell you whether someone else has trademarked your name. The cost of trademarking a name is usually too high for a startup business, but it’s good to know if your name is already taken.
To learn more about trademarks and the steps you will need to get one, read our How to Trademark Your Business guide.
LLC Naming Guidelines
Most LLC filing rejections are due to business name issues. This happens when the name isn’t distinguishable enough from other business names or when the name doesn’t meet state guidelines.
General State Naming Guidelines:
- Your name must include the phrase “limited liability company,” or one of its abbreviations (LLC or L.L.C.).
- Your name cannot include words that could confuse your LLC with a government agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).
- Restricted words (e.g. Bank, Attorney, University) may require additional paperwork and a licensed individual, such as a doctor or lawyer, to be part of your LLC.
In most states, your business name is officially registered when your LLC is approved. Use our Best LLC Services review to get started.
Corporation Search
When you register a corporation, you’ll need to complete a name search, follow naming guidelines, and then complete corporation registration documents to officially register your name.
We also recommend searching domain names and trademarks at this time.
When you start a corporation, you have to make sure your business name is available and distinguishable from other business names.
To verify that your business name is unique, you’ll need to complete a business entity search.
If you find that your business name isn’t available, we recommend taking a look at our Business Name Generator tool for help with coming up with a unique name.
When choosing a business name you'll need to find out whether or not a good web domain name is available. Having a URL that clearly matches your business name is important.
Follow Corporation Naming Guidelines
Most business filing rejections are due to business name issues. This happens when the name isn’t distinguishable enough from other business names or when the name doesn’t meet state guidelines.
General Corporation Naming Rules:
- Your name must contain the word “corporation,” “company,” “incorporated,” “limited” or an abbreviation of one of these terms.
- Your name must be distinguishable from any existing business in your state.
- Your name cannot include words that could confuse your corporation with a government agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).
In most states, your business name is registered when your corporation is approved. Use our free step-by-step Start a Corporation guide to get started.
Business Search FAQ
Naming a small business is often a do-it-yourself job. Small business startup budgets usually won’t support hiring someone to help name your business. For easy step-by-step instructions on naming your small business, visit our How to Name a Business guide.
The first step to naming your business is figuring out what business structure you will use for your new company. After that, you will brainstorm at least 4-5 possible names. The more you brainstorm the better. Once you have some names, you can test the names against best practices, name availability, and state guidelines.
Not sure what to name your business? Check out our LLC Name Generator.
Naming your business after yourself has its benefits. Unless you have a name like John Smith, your name can help you find a .com domain name. If you are coming up with innovative ideas or a new approach, using your name can help create a strong brand.
There are also reasons NOT to name your business after yourself. If you don’t want to be the face and name of your business, it won’t work. If your type of client or customer base would prefer a company name, then you should give them a company name to work with.
If you want your business to someday run on its own, without you working there every day, then you shouldn’t use your name.
Yes, you can sell or buy a trademark. A trademark is considered intellectual property which means it can be sold like property. It’s important to consult with an attorney before buying or selling intellectual property, especially trademarks.
Yes, your trademark application, including your personal identification information, is public. By law, your trademark information must be easily searchable by the public.
Our top choice in web hosting and domain registrars is GoDaddy. We like their domain search tool— you can search for the exact name you want or make suggestions based on keywords and available names. There are also several other companies to choose from that will provide a good experience.
Visit GoDaddy to search for domain names.
You can only use the word “company” in your business name if your business is a corporation.
If you choose to use a limited liability company structure for your new business, most states will require that you use LLC after the name. You can also use the full term limited liability company.
If you are marketing your business, you usually don’t have to use LLC after the name.