LLC Name Search: Check Availability in Every State

How to search an LLC name, step by step

A name search is a check against one state's register of companies. It takes a few minutes and costs nothing in almost every state. The state runs the same check when your articles of organization arrive, and a name that fails it is a common reason a formation is rejected, so it pays to run it first and run it the way the state does.

1. Open the official search for your state. Use the business entity search run by the state's filing office (linked for every state in the table below). Third-party name checkers copy these records on their own schedule and can be out of date.
2. Search the distinctive words, not the whole name. Search the one or two words that make the name yours, without the LLC ending, and try variations: singular and plural, with and without spaces, numbers written as words. A search for the full name misses near matches the state will count against you.
3. Read the status of every close match. Active companies block the name. Many states also hold the names of recently dissolved or revoked companies and of pending reservations for a period, so an inactive match is not automatically free.
4. Apply the distinguishable test. Differences in the entity ending, punctuation, capitalization, articles such as the, and usually singular versus plural or and versus & do not make a name distinguishable. A different, meaningful word usually does.
5. Check trademarks and the domain. Search the USPTO trademark database and your state's trademark register for the name in your line of business, then check the domain and social handles. The state's approval does not clear a trademark.
6. Reserve the name or file. If you are ready, file the articles; the name is claimed when the state accepts them. If you need time, most states hold a name for a fee for a fixed period; a few do not offer reservations at all.

Every state's official LLC name search

One row per state and DC: the state's own business entity search, the words an LLC name must carry there, and what a name reservation costs and how long it holds. Values were read on each state's own pages on November 1, 2026 (47 official searches, 51 designator rules and 50 reservation fees confirmed). A cell that reads "see the state's portal" is one we could not confirm on an official page, and links the state's filing site instead of a figure from elsewhere.

Searches, naming rules and reservation fees read on each state's own website, form or statute on November 1, 2026. Reservation fees are set by the state, not by us, and are the online price where online and paper differ.

How to tell whether a name is available

Every state asks the same question in slightly different words: is the new name distinguishable on the records from every name already there? The test is mechanical, not about confusion in the marketplace. The filing office strips both names down to their meaningful words and compares what is left. In most states the following are ignored when it does:

• the entity ending: LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company, Inc., Corp. and the like;
• punctuation, spacing and capitalization: Blue-Harbor, Blue Harbor and BLUEHARBOR are one name;
• articles and small words: the, a, an, and, of;
• in many states, singular versus plural, and & versus and, and numbers versus the same number in words.

What usually does make a name distinguishable is a different, meaningful word: Blue Harbor Design LLC against Blue Harbor LLC, or Harbor Point Bakery against Harbor Point Bakery Supply. A different geographic word often counts too, though not in every state. Each state publishes its own name guidelines with examples, and a few apply a stricter standard to names that could mislead the public about who stands behind the company, whatever the records say.

Two more checks belong in the same step. Restricted words such as bank, insurance, trust or university need another agency's approval or a license in most states, and words that suggest a corporation (Inc., Corporation) are off limits for an LLC. The full list, and the words that suggest a government connection, are in LLC name rules. Names in the queue count as well: a pending filing or a reservation filed yesterday blocks the name even if the search does not show a company yet, which is why the state's answer at filing is the final one.

What the search results show

The state's search returns the companies on its records whose names match, and for each one most states show:

• Status: active, inactive, administratively dissolved, revoked, withdrawn, or a reservation;
• Entity type and whether it is domestic or registered from another state;
• Formation or registration date and the company's file number;
• Registered agent and its address, and often the principal office;
• in many states, the filing history, with copies of the articles and reports.

An active match settles it. An inactive or dissolved match needs a closer look: many states keep a dissolved company's name off limits for a period (so it can reinstate), and some release it only once that period has passed. The search is also the quickest way to look up an existing LLC: who its agent is, whether it is in good standing, and when it last filed.

One search has a price worth knowing about. Texas's records are searched through the Secretary of State's SOSPortal, which charges $1.00 per search (waived when you order a document from the results); the office also answers preliminary name questions by phone or email at no charge, with the final answer given only when a filing arrives. Elsewhere the online search is generally free, though a few states ask you to accept terms of use or sign in before it shows results.

How to look up an existing LLC

The same search answers a different question: who is this company? Whether you are about to sign a contract, chase an unpaid invoice or check a contractor, the state's record tells you more than the company's website does. Search the company's exact name, or its file number if you have one, in the state where it was formed, which is not always the state where it does business. An LLC formed in Delaware or Wyoming and working in your state shows up in both: as a domestic LLC at home and as a registered foreign LLC in yours.

• Is it real and current? The status shows whether the company is active and has kept up its reports. A company that is administratively dissolved or revoked may still be trading, but it is not in good standing.
• Where to send legal papers. The registered agent and its address are the official place to deliver a lawsuit or formal notice.
• Who runs it. Owners are often not on the record. Some states list managers or members on the formation filing or the annual report; many list only the organizer and the agent.
• Proof for a third party. A bank, landlord or buyer who needs proof of standing will want the state's certificate of good standing rather than a screenshot of the search; most states sell it online from the same record.

Two limits apply. The record shows what the state has been told, not whether the company is solvent or reputable; and a search finds only companies registered with that state, so a sole proprietor trading under a business name may appear only in a county DBA index, if anywhere.

The required LLC ending

Every state requires the name to say the company is a limited liability company, and the accepted forms are close to universal: Limited Liability Company, LLC or L.L.C. Many states also accept Limited Company, LC or L.C., and allow Limited and Company to be abbreviated Ltd. and Co. The column above has each state's rule as its statute or filing office states it. The differences are in the details:

• Shorter endings that work in a few states. Ohio and Colorado accept Limited or Ltd. on its own, and Pennsylvania accepts Company or Limited alone (so Co. and Ltd. work there too).
• Endings that do not. Illinois bars Ltd. and Co. in an LLC name, and Washington bars Ltd. Minnesota lists only limited liability company and LLC.
• Spell it out or abbreviate it fully. New York requires the words Limited Liability Company without abbreviation, or LLC or L.L.C.; a half-abbreviated Ltd. Liability Co. does not qualify there.
• Limited Company and LC. Texas, Georgia, Arizona and many others also accept limited company and its abbreviation LC, which few owners use but the state will file.

Words that suggest another kind of entity (Inc., Corporation, Partnership) are barred from an LLC name almost everywhere, and the column notes the state-specific ones.

The ending is part of the legal name, exactly as filed, punctuation included. Pick the version you want on contracts, the bank account and invoices; changing it later is an amendment with a fee.

Reserving an LLC name

A reservation holds a name for you before you file the articles. It is optional in almost every state, worth it only when there is a real gap between choosing the name and filing: waiting on a partner, a license or financing. Among the states whose fee we read, it costs from $10 to $100, and it holds for 120 days in 32 states, from 30 days in Georgia and Maryland to a year in Alabama, Minnesota and North Dakota, sometimes with renewals.

• No reservation available: Florida does not take name reservations for LLCs. There the name is claimed only by filing.
• Reservation required: Alabama requires a name reservation before it will accept the certificate of formation, and the reservation number goes on the filing.
• Filing is faster than reserving in most states that approve online formations quickly: the articles claim the name for good, the reservation only for a while. The articles also name a registered agent in the state; each state's rules are in registered agent requirements by state.

Trademark and domain checklist

The state's search answers one question: can you form an LLC under this name here? It does not tell you whether you can use the name as a brand. Before you order signs, run through these:

1. Federal trademarks. Search the USPTO trademark search for the name and close variants, in your class of goods or services. A registered or pending mark for a similar name in your field is a reason to pick another.
2. State trademarks. Most states keep their own trademark register, usually with the same office that runs the business search.
3. Unregistered use. Search the web, app stores and local listings. A business using the name in your market can have rights without registering it.
4. The domain. Check the .com and the domains customers will try; a competitor on the obvious domain is a practical problem even if the name is legally clear.
5. Social handles. Check the platforms you will use, and register the handles when you file.
6. Other states. If you will register in other states, run their searches too; each checks only its own records.

What to do if your LLC name is taken

• Change the distinctive part. Add or swap a meaningful word: a place, a description of the work, a founder's name. Blue Harbor LLC is taken; Blue Harbor Landscaping LLC may not be.
• Check the holder's status. If the match is dissolved or revoked and the state's holding period has passed, the name may be free again; the filing office can confirm.
• Ask for consent. Some states accept a similar name if the holder of the existing name gives written consent and, in some, agrees to change its own name. Rules vary; the state's name guidelines say whether it applies.
• Use a DBA. Form the LLC under an available legal name and trade under the one you want as an assumed or fictitious name, registered with the county or state. It works only if the name does not infringe someone's trademark.
• For a foreign LLC, register in the new state under an alternate name for business there; the home-state name stays the legal name. How that registration works is in foreign LLC registration.

Once the name is clear, the formation itself is covered step by step in how to start an LLC and how to register an LLC. Filing with us, the name is checked again before the articles go in, and our fee and the state's are itemized on the checkout review screen before you pay.