Will My LLC Or Corporate Name Will Remain Unique from Other Companies?

If you are creating an LLC or corporation in a state, its name should be unique to your business within that state. However, others can use this name to form a corporation or LLC in other countries. Moreover, to protect your business name across all states, you will have to trademark it. Corporations and LLCs are created on a “by state” basis. Each state insists that every business has a unique name; otherwise, your formation documents will be rejected.

Naming Rules That Will Help You in Unique Business Name

There are some rules that you have to abide by to name your business. For instance, any of the following suffixes or factors do not make your business name unique. These are;

• Corporation, Incorporated, Company, Incorporation, Limited, Co., Corp., Ltd., Inc., and LLC, etc
• Definite articles such as “An,” “A,” “&,” “The,” etc
• The plural singular or possessive forms of a word
• Abbreviations, symbols, punctuation, typefaces, fonts, etc

In short, you have to make small changes in the main business name to make it unique.

Check If Your Business Name Is Available in Your State

It is the easiest and quickest way to analyze. If there’s an existing business with the proposed name of your business in your state is to utilize the business name search tool. This tool is completely free, and you can use this to find out the business registry of any state and for the LLC name search.

In short, it’s important to check for business or LLC names availability. Moreover, if you find out that your proposed name is not available, try making it unique by adding some more words or changing it entirely.

You can also search for website URLs and social media accounts and to check if there are countries elsewhere in the U.S. or any part of the world that are using this name.

Why Is It Essential to opt For A Unique Business Name?

If you use a similar name to any other company, it will only confuse your customers. Moreover, that company may also raise allegations of trademark infringement and copyright. Therefore, it’s important to find a unique name for your company. Moreover, it is equally important in order to secure the sole right of using that name in your state.

If you find out that the name you were trying to register is already taken, it can harm you in terms of money and time. Moreover, this will make all efforts, including building a brand, buying materials for your company, purchasing and advertising worthless.

Registering A DBA Name

If you are a company who are doing their business by using a fictitious name instead of your formal LLC name, then you can also register your trade or DBA name with your state’s Secretary of State office. It will provide you numerous advantages similar to that are provided by registering a company name.

Registering the DBA name will prevent other companies from using your company’s name. Moreover, this will save you from investing money in branding a name that is already registered by another company.

Trademarking Your Name

LLC formation andregistering its trademark are both different things. Registration of your company’s name as a trademark will help you to ensure that nobody in any state can use your company’s logo or name. Moreover, this additional step will allow you to make your company’s name unique. This way, your customers can find your company instead of the competitor’s company.

This is not a compulsion. However, registering your company as an LLC to obtain a trademark for your business name will protect your business from legal hassles.

LLC Designation As Part Of Your Company Name

If you are planning to create an LLC (Limited Liability Company), you can use the right to use LLC as part of your business name while registering it. This will also encourage other reputable businesses to collaborate and work with you.

In short, the letters “LLC” after a company’s name can assist new companies in attracting more clients. It also notifies other entities that the company is a separate legal entity and is not tied to the owner’s personal finances or assets. It is very important information if the company faces any lawsuit. In such cases, creditors pursue collection actions for unpaid company debts.

However, many states require businesses to use these three letters or other LLC designations as part of its full name. Mentioning this detail in the LLC operating agreement will reflect that the company is operating as a limited liability company.

Moreover, there are many states that restrict companies from using these words in the company’s name if operating under the LLC business structure. You can also get the information regarding the requirements for naming an LLC from your Secretary of State’s office.

However, using the “LLC” in your business name does benefit you in a lot of ways. You can also have a comparison of LLC vs corporation. Having an LLC in your business’s name will inform your potential clients and customers to take that extra step of registering an LLC. Moreover, this will also help make your business look more legitimate and reputable. This can be a crucial consideration, especially at your business startup.

In addition, if you have LLC in a business name, it notifies the public that your company is a separate legal entity. This way, they know that they’re dealing with that entity legally, not with you personally, if they are dealing with the business.

In short, having an LLC designation in your business name has big advantages that may urge you to have one.