How To Register A Online Business Name

How To Register A Business Proper noun

To register a business proper name, offset cheque to make sure your proper name is unique by doing a business organization entity name search, domain name search, and a federal trademark search. Later, depending on your business's needs, you may reserve a proper noun, grade an LLC or Corporation with information technology, file a DBA, or submit an amendment to the legal name of your business organisation.

Follow these steps to annals your business name:

Make sure the business proper name is unique and available
Determine your business entity naming needs
Register the business proper noun

How to Register a Business Name

Register a Concern Name

Step 1: Make Certain The Business Proper name is Unique and Available

The starting time step in registering a new business proper noun is to make certain it'southward unique, meaning that no ane else in your state has formed a company with, or reserved, that name. You can practice this by searching the following things:

Business Name Availability
Domain Name Search
Federal Trademark Records
Searching the Spider web

Business concern Name Search

The commencement search you will need to perform is a business entity proper name search, which is typically on your State's Secretarial assistant of State website. This is the most important pace in the process because if you try to file for a name that is already taken, your filing will be denied.

Search requirements tin vary depending on your business needs. For case, a unique and bachelor name is required for:

Filing for formal business structures similar LLCs and corporations
Filing a name reservation for an LLC or corporation earlier filing
Filing a DBA for an existing business, both formal or informal

In some states, a country-level proper name search is not required for informal business structures similar sole proprietorships or general partnerships. Cull your country from the dropdown above to come across its rules.

Domain Name Search

We recommend that you check to meet if your business name is available as a web domain (URL) too. Even if y'all don't program to make a business website today, you may want to buy the spider web address to forbid others from acquiring it. It'southward free to search.

Discover a Domain Now

Federal Trademark Search

Side by side, a quick search on the U.S. Trademark Electronic Search Arrangement will tell you lot whether someone else has already trademarked your name. Once you know the name is bachelor, you tin can choose to apply for a trademark for your concern, although the cost is sometimes as well high for a startup or fledgling business.

Regardless of whether y'all volition be registering a trademark, it'due south good to know if your name is already taken.

To acquire more about trademarks and the steps you volition need to get one, read our How to Trademark Your Business Proper noun guide.

Search the Web

Finally, when doing your research, it's a good idea to check and run across what else comes up when y'all search your prospective business name online on sites like Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more than. Doing this will show you who else will testify up on these platforms, whether they have a big online presence, and how tough they may be to compete with while yous're building your brand.

It's also smart to come across if anyone else in your manufacture already has a similar proper name to the 1 you want to employ. Y'all can do this by looking up some search terms related to your manufacture and make. Y'all may make up one's mind on a different business proper name to brand yourself stand out.

Step ii: Make up one's mind Your Business Entity Naming Needs

Now that yous know how to find a unique name, you'll need to know what to do with one. This will be different based on your chosen business concern entity.

If y'all haven't already chosen one, choosing the best business organization structure for your new venture is an of import step because different business structures have unlike benefits, disadvantages, and naming rules.

Business concern structures can be formal or informal and are the way that your business is set, operated, and taxed. Nosotros cover all the following naming needs for the post-obit concern structures:

Limited Liability Companies
C Corporations
Sole Proprietorships
General Partnerships

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)

An LLC, or Limited Liability Visitor, is the simplest mode of structuring your business to protect your personal avails in case your concern is sued. LLCs require unique names that must follow certain naming requirements, here are a few common ones:

Your proper noun must include the phrase "limited liability company," or 1 of its abbreviations (LLC or L.50.C.).
Your name cannot include words that could misfile your LLC with a government agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).
Restricted words (e.thou. Banking company, Attorney, University) may crave boosted paperwork and a licensed individual, such as a doc or lawyer, to be office of your LLC.

Choose your country from the dropdown above to see a full list its LLC naming rules.

Common LLC Naming Scenarios:

What yous will demand to do with your LLC'southward name depends on if you are already in concern or are forming a new LLC. For pace-past-step instructions of common LLC naming scenarios, skip ahead to:

Proper noun Reservation for Before long-to-be-Opened LLCs
Forming a LLC
Filing a DBA For an Existing LLC
Submitting an Amendment to an LLC'southward Legal Name

Corporations

A corporation is a separate legal entity from its owners with a basic operational structure consisting of shareholders, officers, directors, and employees. A C corp business construction will protect your personal avails. Corporations require a unique proper noun and must see certain naming requirements, here are a few common requirements:

Your name must contain the give-and-take "corporation," "company," "incorporated," "express" or an abbreviation of i of these terms.
Your name must be distinguishable from whatever existing business in your state.
Your proper name cannot include words that could confuse your corporation with a authorities agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).

Choose your state from the dropdown above to run into a total listing its corporation naming rules.

Common Corporation Naming Scenarios

What you will demand to exercise with your corporation's name depends on if you are already in concern, or are forming just forming the business. For step-past-step instructions of common corporation naming scenarios, skip alee to:

Name Reservation for a Soon-To-Be-Opened Corporation
Forming a Corporation
Filing a DBA for an Existing Corporation
Submitting an Amendment to the Corporation's Legal Name

Sole Proprietorships

A sole proprietorship is the simplest business type . A sole proprietorship is an informal business concern construction that doesn't provide personal asset protection and does not need to be filed with the land.

This business organization structure must operate under the surname of the owner. To apply a different name, the concern owner must file for a DBA (Doing Business concern Equally).

Choose your country from the dropdown above to see a total list its sole proprietorship rules.

Full general Partnerships

General partnerships are similar to sole proprietorships. The difference is that a partnership consists of two or more people. A full general partnership is an informal business organisation construction that doesn't provide personal nugget protection.

Full general partnerships must include the surnames of the partners. To use a different name, business owners must file for a DBA (Doing Business Every bit), known as an causeless proper noun.

Choose your state from the dropdown above to see a total list its rules for partnerships.

Footstep 3: Register the Business Name

Now that you know your business organisation name is unique, and what you want to practise, here's how to get the following deportment washed:

Filing a Name Reservation
Class a LLC
Form a Corporation
File a DBA for Existing Businesses
Submitting an Amendment to the Legal Name of an Entity

Cull your state from the dropdown above to run into the state-specific things you will need to practice to annals your business organisation name.

Proper name Reservation

A proper name reservation is not required to be filed, in most states, to open a new company or file for a DBA.

Yet, there are benefits to filing a name reservation, like if you find a unique name for your business concern, but practice non want to form your LLC or Corporation right abroad.

The procedures to reserve a business name vary state to state.

How to Form an LLC

Registering a business name is part of the LLC filing process: once your LLC is filed in the state, your proper noun is registered. While the name can be reserved beforehand, this is typically not necessary to file for an LLC.

Forming an LLC is easy and just requires five simple steps:

Naming Your LLC (If you lot've gotten this far, you should already be set!)
Choosing a Registered Agent
Filing the Manufactures of Organization
Creating an Operating Understanding
Getting an EIN

How to Class a Corporation

Registering a business name is function of the corporation filing process: once your corporation is filed, your name is registered. While the name tin can be reserved beforehand, this is non typically necessary to file.

Forming a Corporation is easy, and merely requires a few steps:

Naming Your Corporation (If you've gotten this far, you should already be set up!)
Choosing a Registered Agent
Choosing your Corporation's Initial Directors and Share Construction
Filing the Formation Documents
Getting an EIN

How to File a DBA

Filing a DBA (Doing Business Every bit) allows your existing or new business concern to do business organisation as a name other than your legal business name. This can exist helpful for getting a make name established, or to change the name of a business concern without having to file an amendment to an original filing.

A DBA can be filed by all business structures covered in this article; however, LLC and corporation filing tin can sometimes be different than filing for sole proprietorships and full general partnerships in some states.

Submit an Amendment to the Legal Name of an Existing Business

To change the legal name of your business concern, you volition need to file your land's Document of Subpoena, or a similarly named document, along with the right filing fee for your business organization entity.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do you legally proper noun a business concern?

To legally name a business, you will demand to class a visitor with the desired name, file a DBA, or file an subpoena to modify its legal name.

How can I make my business proper name official?

Making a business proper noun official requires forming a visitor with it, filing a DBA for an existing company, or submitting an amendment to the legal name of an existing business concern.

See how to do this in a higher place in stride three of this guide.

What is a business legal name?

A business'south legal name is the official name of a business entity listed on the germination documents submitted and filed with the state. A legal proper noun tin be changed by filing an amendment to the business'southward formation documents.

A business concern can cull to operate under other names past filing for a DBA, as well known as a trade proper name, fictitious name, or causeless name. Filing for a DBA does not change a business organization's legal proper name.

What is the first step to starting a business concern?

The first step in starting a business is to choose the right business concern thought, followed by planning and forming your business. Learn how to showtime a business past reading our full, in-depth guide that discusses these subjects and more.

How much does registering a concern name toll?

The cost of registering a business name is different depending on your needs and your state's filing fees for reserving a business concern name, forming a visitor, filing a DBA, or filing a legal amendment to your business organisation'southward proper noun.

Observe your state in the dropdown above for more than specific information.

How do yous pay for a business organisation name?

Paying for a business organization name is washed when filing paperwork such equally name reservations, formation documents, DBA filings, and legal amendments with the Secretary of State or responsible department in the state the business concern will exist formed or exists in.

Does LLC have to exist in a business name?

If a business is formed every bit an LLC, information technology is required to have some grade of "limited liability company" in its legal name. This includes abbreviations such as "LLC," "llc," or "l.l.c."

For more than data on your land's specific naming requirements, find your state in the dropdown to a higher place.

What happens if you don't renew your business name?

The effect of not renewing your business concern proper name depends on how you registered the business proper name in the first identify. If you reserved your name and didn't renew the reservation, the proper name will become available for anyone in that state to utilise.

If the business is either dissolved willingly or past going out of good standing, the name volition also become available to utilize by others depending on state laws, unless reinstated.

Tin can I register a business proper name for gratis?

No. In that location are filing fee requirements for reserving a business name, forming a company with one, getting a DBA, and filing an subpoena.

These fees vary by country. Find out more by selecting your state in the dropdown in a higher place.