State Business Name Reservation Service

Reserve a business name with your state of incorporation for later use.

Reserve a Business Name

$35 + state fees

Reservations typically valid for 120 days.

Overview
FAQs

Save your name

If you are not yet ready to incorporate or form a limited liability company (LLC), but would like to reserve your business name, most states allow for name reservations.

Why it’s important

The name of a corporation (C corp or S corp), LLC, limited partnership (LP), limited liability partnership (LLP) or nonprofit corporation must be distinguishable on the records of the state government. That means that it must not be substantially similar to another name already in use by a business incorporated or registered to transact business in that state. If the name is not unique or if it is already in use, the state will reject the formation documents.

Features & benefits

Once a State Name Check is performed, we can reserve that company name for you for a certain period of time. Allowed reservation time frames depend upon the state, but they are often 120 days.

Key Benefits

If you are incorporating your business and plan to register to transact business in other states (foreign qualify) shortly thereafter, you can reserve your desired name in those states until you are ready to file the incorporation paperwork.

Keep in Mind

If you do not form or foreign qualify your company before the end of the reservation time period, the name becomes available for use by other companies. You are allowed to file another reservation for the same name, however after your first reservation period expires.

State Name Reservation FAQs

What is a name reservation?
How long can my business name be reserved?
Can you provide some guidelines for naming my business?

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.

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