Missouri Business Name Availability Checker
Data verified September 4, 2026 · Official database: Missouri Secretary of State Corporations Division
LLC filing fee
Name reservation cost
Reservation hold two renewals; 180 days maximum
Quick answer: Missouri puts Name Availability and Business Name in the same Search menu. Use the first for a preliminary answer, then use Business Name, Starting With and the unselected Only Active Corporations box to expose close records. The results can repeat one exact name under several charter numbers, so open the records before drawing a conclusion. The Corporations Division makes the filing decision.
How to check a name in Missouri
The Missouri Business Filings portal serves two related jobs. Name Availability opens a single-field preliminary screen. Business Name returns the public records that explain why wording may conflict. The walkthrough uses the second route because its status, type and charter-number columns let you compare exact and partial matches instead of accepting a one-line answer.
Step 1: Open the business-name record search
Open Search for a Business Entity. The Search selector defaults to Business Name. The page advises that an Exact Match query should include entity designations and punctuation, but recommends leaving them out for other searches. Keep the broader record-search route for the first pass.
Step 2: Enter the distinctive wording
Enter the words that make the proposed name recognizable in Business Name. The capture uses Microsoft without an LLC ending. Leave Includes names on Starting With, and keep Only Active Corporations unchecked. That combination preserves inactive and non-corporate records that an active-only search could hide. Select SEARCH after the broad wording is set.
Step 3: Separate repeated names by charter number
The result heading records the search time and reports items 1 to 14 of 14. Read across Business Name, Charter No., Type, Status, Created and Registered Agent Name. MICROSOFT CORPORATION appears more than once, including rows marked Good Standing and Inactive - Merged. The repeated wording does not identify one interchangeable record. Use the linked name and charter number to inspect each close match.
Step 4: Confirm the record behind the match
The detail heading identifies a Gen. Business - For Profit record. Under General Information, the selected result shows charter number F00387527, Foreign domesticity, home state WA and Good Standing status. The page also offers Filings and Principal Office Address tabs. Return to the results and open other close records when their status or charter number differs. A preliminary search is not final name approval; only the Missouri Corporations Division applies the legal test to a filing.
Missouri LLC naming rules
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.020 gives Missouri LLC names an unusually specific boundary:
- Use one of six LLC forms. The name must contain “limited company,” “limited liability company,” “LC,” “L.C.,” “LLC” or “L.L.C.”
- Do not borrow another entity type. The same section bars “corporation,” “incorporated,” “limited partnership,” “limited liability partnership,” “limited liability limited partnership” and “Ltd.,” including abbreviations. Missouri therefore rejects an ending that some other states accept for an LLC.
- Compare across several registers. The proposed name must be distinguishable from domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, LLPs and LLLPs that are licensed, organized, reserved or registered on the Secretary’s records.
- Treat consent as a coordinated filing. Written consent alone is insufficient. The existing holder must also file appropriate documents to change its own name to distinguishable wording. A certified court decree establishing the applicant’s prior right is the other statutory route.
- Avoid a false purpose or public identity. The name cannot imply a purpose outside the articles of organization or imply that the LLC is a government agency. Separate banking law restricts use that presents an unauthorized business as a bank or trust company.
Reserving a name in Missouri
A reservation costs $25 and begins with a 60-day term. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.025 allows no more than 180 days from the first application. The Secretary of State explains this as the first period plus two additional 60-day renewals.
The end of that sequence has a Missouri-specific limit. On day 181, the name leaves reserved status, and the applicant who used the full 180 days cannot reserve that wording again. The applicant may still use it in an LLC creation filing if it remains available. Another party may also reserve it. Use the Secretary of State’s reservation instructions to confirm the current form and filing route before payment.
Fictitious names in Missouri
Missouri calls a DBA a fictitious name and registers it centrally with the Secretary of State. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 417.210 requires a person or organization doing business under a name other than its true name to file within five days after beginning to use it. The registration costs $7 and remains active for five years. A renewal must arrive during the six months before expiration.
This filing discloses the business name, physical business address and owners. It does not reserve or protect the wording. The Secretary’s fictitious name FAQ states that multiple businesses may use the same name. If the registration expires, it cannot be renewed; the owner files a new registration and receives a new charter number. That makes a fictitious-name result useful public-record context, but not an entity-name veto by itself.
If your Missouri name is taken
- Use both search modes. Start with Name Availability, then switch to Business Name to identify the records behind the preliminary response.
- Keep inactive records visible. Do not select Only Active Corporations on the broad pass. Missouri’s result table shows why an exact name can have several charter numbers and statuses.
- Follow the portal’s match guidance. Omit entity designations and punctuation for Starting With, All Words or Any Word searches. Include them only when testing Exact Match.
- Change the recognizable words. Adding LLC satisfies the required ending but does not resolve a conflict with a name already held on the Secretary’s records. Replace or add substantive wording and search again.
- Do not use a fictitious name as a shortcut to entity-name rights. Its $7 registration permits public disclosure of a trade name, but it creates no exclusive claim. The legal LLC name still has to pass § 347.020.
A Missouri domestic LLC currently costs $50 online or $105 on paper to form. The Secretary of State does not require an LLC annual report. Those two facts make the timing decision concrete: a $25 reservation holds the wording while documents are unfinished, while an online formation filing establishes the LLC for $25 more and removes the reservation clock.
Official Missouri sources
- Search for a Business Entity: Name Availability and Business Name searches, charter numbers, types, statuses and detail records
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.020: LLC endings, barred entity-type terms, distinguishability and the consent or court-decree routes
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.025: 60-day reservation periods and the 180-day maximum
- Starting a Business: Secretary of State instructions for names, reservations and fictitious names
- Schedule of Fees and Charges: $25 reservation, $50 online LLC formation, $105 paper formation and $7 fictitious-name filing
- Fictitious Name Registration FAQ: filing route, no exclusive rights, fee, renewal window and expiration treatment
- Missouri corporations FAQ: LLC annual-report rule and business-name explanations
Frequently asked questions
How do I check business name availability in Missouri?
Open Missouri Business Filings and select Name Availability from the Search menu for a preliminary screen. Then use Business Name with Starting With and leave Only Active Corporations unchecked to inspect close records. The Corporations Division decides the name when it reviews a reservation or entity filing.
Which endings can a Missouri LLC name use?
Missouri accepts limited company, limited liability company, LC, L.C., LLC and L.L.C. An LLC name cannot use corporation, incorporated, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability limited partnership, Ltd. or abbreviations of those entity types.
How much does a Missouri name reservation cost and how long does it last?
The Secretary of State charges $25 for an LLC name reservation. The first reservation lasts 60 days and may be renewed twice, for no more than 180 days from the first application. After that limit, the former applicant cannot place that name back into reserved status.
How does a fictitious name work in Missouri?
A Missouri fictitious name registration costs $7, lasts five years and is filed with the Secretary of State. It creates no exclusive right to the wording. Renewal must be filed during the six months before expiration; an expired registration requires a new filing and receives a new charter number.
Does a Missouri LLC file an annual report?
No. The Missouri Secretary of State states that LLCs do not file annual reports. A domestic LLC currently costs $50 to form online or $105 on paper, apart from any electronic-payment convenience fee. Corporations follow a different registration-report schedule.