Kentucky Business Name Availability Checker
Data verified September 3, 2026 · Official database: Kentucky Secretary of State
LLC filing fee
Name reservation cost
Reservation hold renewable
Quick answer: Use Kentucky’s Name Availability Search first. Then clear Show active entities only in the Business Entity Search and inspect close records. Both searches are preliminary. The Secretary of State decides the name when it reviews a reservation or entity filing.
How to check a name in Kentucky
The walkthrough follows the Business Entity Search because it exposes company IDs, statuses, entity types and full records. Kentucky’s separate Name Availability Search accepts at least four characters and can screen a whole name or part of one. Its own notice says the result is current but still first come, first served and not a guarantee that a later filing will be accepted.
Step 1: Open Business Entity Search
Open Business Entity Search. Under I want to Search By, keep Business Name or Organization Number selected. The I want to Search For field accepts either value. For a name check, leave Show active entities only unchecked so an inactive record with similar wording remains visible. The sidebar also links Kentucky’s Name Availability Search, but stay in the record search for this pass.
Step 2: Enter the distinctive words
Type the part customers would recognize, without an entity ending. The capture uses microsoft, not “Microsoft LLC.” Kentucky’s comparison guidelines ignore endings such as LLC, articles, punctuation, conjunctions, symbols and capitalization, so changing only those features does not create a distinct name. Select Search. If the list is noisy, return to Advanced Search only after completing this broad pass.
Step 3: Compare status and company type
This search found 4 Results. Read Company Name, Company ID, Status and Company Type together. The list includes active foreign corporations in green and inactive records in red, including a Kentucky corporation. An inactive label is context, not an automatic release of the name. Kentucky compares a proposed name against the names still on the Secretary of State’s records, so open the closest spelling before drawing a conclusion.
Step 4: Open the organization record
The detail page identifies the company by Organization Number and adds Company Type, Industry, Status, Standing, home State, filing dates and principal-office information. The actions above the record include File Certificate of Assumed Name (DBA), showing where an existing entity starts Kentucky’s online DBA filing. Use the details to understand the match, then return to the availability search for the preliminary filing screen.
Kentucky LLC naming rules
KRS 14A.3-010 sets the shared entity-name rules, and Kentucky publishes a separate comparison guide for the distinctions its examiner ignores:
- Use an accepted ending. A regular LLC may use “limited liability company,” “limited company,” “LLC” or “LC.” “Limited” may become “Ltd.” and “company” may become “Co.” Professional LLCs use the corresponding professional wording, “PLLC” or “PLC.”
- Clear every name of record. Under KRS 14A.1-070, that group includes real, fictitious, reserved, registered and assumed names of domestic and foreign entities.
- Change meaningful wording. Entity endings, “a,” “an” and “the,” conjunctions and symbols, punctuation and letter case are disregarded. “The River & Stone LLC” cannot rely on those elements to differ from “River and Stone.”
- Treat regulated words separately. Banking and trust terms are reserved for authorized businesses, insurer names receive insurance review, and “cooperative” has a statutory restriction.
Reserving a name in Kentucky
Kentucky lets an applicant reserve a name when formation is not ready, but does not require the extra filing first. The reservation form costs $15 and holds a distinguishable name for 120 days.
The timing of a renewal matters. KRS 14A.3-020 permits another 120-day term only when the renewal is filed during the 30 days before expiration. The same statute lets the applicant cancel or transfer the reservation. If the Articles of Organization are ready now, filing them avoids adding a separate reservation step.
Assumed names in Kentucky
Kentucky calls a DBA an assumed name, and an LLC normally has a state step followed by a county step. The entity files a $20 Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State. It then records the stamped copy with the county clerk where its registered agent is maintained, or where its principal office sits if no Kentucky registered agent is required. An entity with neither location in Kentucky files only with the Secretary of State. A sole proprietor files with the county clerk for the principal place of business instead.
KRS 365.015 gives the filing a five-year term and allows renewal during the final six months. No publication is required. Filing does not automatically prevent another person from using the words, although an entity’s assumed name must be distinguishable when it enters the Secretary of State’s records. That is why an assumed-name match belongs in the entity-name review even though the registration itself grants no exclusive right.
If your Kentucky name is taken
- Remove the cosmetic differences. Search again without LLC, punctuation, articles or symbols. Kentucky’s examiner disregards them.
- Check inactive results instead of hiding them. Clear Show active entities only and open any close record to see its organization number, status and type.
- Replace the distinctive words. A new geographic, product or founder term changes more than switching “and” to an ampersand.
- Search assumed names too. Entity assumed names count as names of record and can appear in the state results. County-only sole proprietor filings need a separate local check.
- Use the availability tool as a screen, not an approval. Results are first come, first served. Only review of the reservation or formation filing settles the state filing question.
Once the wording survives both searches, a Kentucky LLC can file Articles of Organization for $40. The ongoing state filing is a $15 annual report, due between January 1 and June 30 each year after formation. Against those filing costs, the optional $15 reservation is most useful when the name needs to be held while documents or ownership details are still being prepared.
Official Kentucky sources
- Business Entity Search: entity names, IDs, status, type and full public records
- Name Availability Search: Kentucky’s preliminary filing-name check
- Name Availability Guidelines: comparison elements and preliminary-result warning
- KRS 14A.3-010: distinguishability, LLC endings and restricted terms
- KRS 14A.3-020: 120-day reservation, renewal window, transfer and cancellation
- Secretary of State fees: $40 LLC filing, $15 reservation, $20 assumed name and $15 annual report fees
- KRS 365.015: assumed-name filing offices, duration and legal effect
Frequently asked questions
How do I check business name availability in Kentucky?
Use the Kentucky Secretary of State's Name Availability Search for a preliminary check, then search the same wording in the Business Entity Search with the active-only box cleared. Review close active and inactive records. The Secretary of State makes the final decision only when it reviews a reservation or entity filing.
Does adding LLC or punctuation make a Kentucky name distinguishable?
No. Kentucky's official guidelines disregard entity endings, articles such as a or the, conjunctions and symbols, punctuation, and capitalization when comparing names. Change the distinctive words rather than adding LLC, an ampersand, a hyphen or different letter case.
How much does a Kentucky name reservation cost and how long does it last?
A Kentucky name reservation costs $15 and lasts 120 days. It may be renewed for another 120 days, but the renewal application must be filed during the 30 days before the current reservation expires. Reserving a name is optional if you are ready to form the entity now.
Do assumed names count when Kentucky compares an LLC name?
Yes. Kentucky's definition of a name of record includes assumed names filed for entities, so an assumed name on the Secretary of State's records can affect a new entity-name filing. Sole proprietor assumed names are filed only with the appropriate county clerk and do not appear in the state entity search.
Where does a Kentucky LLC file a DBA?
Kentucky calls a DBA an assumed name. An LLC files a $20 Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State and usually records the stamped copy with the county clerk where its registered agent or principal office is located. The filing lasts five years and does not create an exclusive right to the name.