State Name Reservation

What is a name reservation?

If you are not yet ready to incorporate or form a limited liability company (LLC), limited partnership (LP) or limited liability partnership (LLP) but would like to reserve your business name for future use, filing a name reservation will prevent another company from forming in that state with that name.

How long can my business name be reserved?

Name reservation timeframes vary depending on the state. A name can be reserved, typically for 120 days, by applying with the proper state authority and paying the necessary state reservation fee.

Can you provide some guidelines for naming my business?

Choose the name of your company carefully. It is very important that you portray the image you want for your new business. Legally, the name you select must not be "deceptively similar" to any existing corporation, limited liability company (LLC) or partnership in your intended state of formation and must be "distinguishable on the record" of your state.

Additionally, your name must show your business type. Most states require that the company name be followed by a specific identifier, such as "Corporation", "Incorporated", or an abbreviation such as "Inc." or "Corp" for corporations, "Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation of " LLC" for LLCs, "Limited Partnership" or the abbreviation "LP" for limited partnerships or "Limited Liability Partnership" or the abbreviation of "LLP" for limited liability partnerships. These requirements vary by state. Check our state guides for more detail on your state’s requirements. Keep in mind, changing only your company’s identifier (such as from Corporation to Inc.) will not make your name distinguishable.