An independent business name search service, not a government website. How our checks work

We run preliminary name checks against state business records to help you see whether a name appears to be taken before you file. Only the official Secretary of State database is authoritative, and we link to it on every result so you can verify for yourself. Some links on this site are affiliate links; see our disclosure.

Read more: How the check works

BusinessNameSearch Pre-filing name check
Menu

LLC Naming Rules by State

Every state sets its own rules for what an LLC may be called: a required ending such as "LLC," a distinguishability standard against existing records, restricted words, and an optional name reservation with its own fee and clock. The table below carries the reservation cost, the hold period and the naming statute for all 51 jurisdictions, read from state statutes and Secretary of State fee schedules. Detailed pages, with the portal walkthrough and that state's own rules, are live for 31 of them.

51

Jurisdictions tracked

31

Detailed pages live

$10–$100

Reservation cost range

State Reservation cost Holds for Naming statute Details
Alabama $28 1 year Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.03 Rules & search
Alaska $25 120 days AS 10.50.025 No page yet
Arizona $10 120 days (nonrenewable) A.R.S. § 29-3112(B), (C), (D) Rules & search
Arkansas $22.50 120 days Ark. Code § 4-38-112(b) through (g) No page yet
California $10 60 days Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.08(b) Rules & search
Colorado $25 120 days C.R.S. § 7-90-601(2) Rules & search
Connecticut $60 120 days Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-243k No page yet
Delaware $75 120 days 6 Del. C. § 18-102 No page yet
District of Columbia $50 120 days D.C. Code § 29-103.01 No page yet
Florida $25 120 days (non-renewable) Fla. Stat. § 605.0112(2) Rules & search
Georgia $35 30 days Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 590-7-20 Rules & search
Hawaii $10 120 days HRS § 428-105(b), (c) Rules & search
Idaho $20 4 months Idaho Code § 30-21-301 No page yet
Illinois $25 90 days 805 ILCS 180/1-10(d), (f) Rules & search
Indiana $10 120 days Ind. Code § 23-0.5-3-1 Rules & search
Iowa $10 120 days Iowa Code § 489.112(2) No page yet
Kansas $35 120 days (non-renewable) K.S.A. 17-7918 Rules & search
Kentucky $15 120 days (renewable) KRS 14A.3-010(1) Rules & search
Louisiana $25 120 days (non-renewable) La. R.S. 12:1306(A)(3) Rules & search
Maine $20 120 days (non-renewable) 31 M.R.S. § 1508(2), (3) Rules & search
Maryland $25 30 days Md. Code, Corps. & Ass'ns § 1-504 No page yet
Massachusetts $30 60 days (one extension) M.G.L. c. 156C, § 3 Rules & search
Michigan $25 Until the end of the sixth full calendar month after the month of filing (LARA's own page rounds this to 180 days; re-reservable by filing another application and fee) MCL 450.4204(3) No page yet
Minnesota $55 12 months, renewable Minn. Stat. § 322C.0108, subd. 1-2 Rules & search
Mississippi $25 180 days, renewable once Miss. Code § 79-29-109(1)(c), (3) No page yet
Missouri $25 60 days (two renewals; 180 days maximum) Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.020 Rules & search
Montana $10 120 days (non-renewable) Mont. Code Ann. § 35-8-103(2) No page yet
Nebraska $30 120 days Neb. Rev. Stat. § 21-108(b) No page yet
Nevada $25 90 days NRS 86.171 Rules & search
New Hampshire $15 120 days RSA 304-C:32, III, III-a, IV, V and VI No page yet
New Jersey $50 120 days (renewable) N.J.S.A. 42:2C-8(c) Rules & search
New Mexico $20 120 days NMSA 1978 § 53-19-3(B) No page yet
New York $20 60 days (two 60-day extensions) N.Y. LLC Law § 204 Rules & search
North Carolina $30 120 days (nonrenewable) N.C.G.S. § 55D-21; § 55D-20(b) Rules & search
North Dakota $10 1 year N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-11 No page yet
Ohio $39 180 days Ohio Rev. Code § 1706.07 Rules & search
Oklahoma $10 60 days Okla. Stat. tit. 18, § 2008 Rules & search
Oregon $100 120 days (nonrenewable) ORS 63.094(3), (4), (5) Rules & search
Pennsylvania $70 120 days (non-renewable) 15 Pa.C.S. § 202 Rules & search
Rhode Island $52.50 120 days R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-9(a)(2) No page yet
South Carolina $25 120 days (non-renewable) S.C. Code § 33-44-105 Rules & search
South Dakota $25 120 days SDCL § 47-34A-105 No page yet
Tennessee $20 4 months Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-106 Rules & search
Texas $41.08 120 days (renewable) Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 5.053 Rules & search
Utah $22 120 days Utah Code § 48-3a-108(2) through (5) Rules & search
Vermont $25 120 days 11 V.S.A. § 4005(b) No page yet
Virginia $10 120 days Va. Code § 13.1-1012 Rules & search
Washington $30 180 days (nonrenewable) RCW 23.95.300 Rules & search
West Virginia $15 120 days, renewable once for one additional 120 days W. Va. Code § 31B-1-105(b) No page yet
Wisconsin $15 120 days (renewable) Wis. Stat. § 183.0112(2), (4), (6) Rules & search
Wyoming $60 120 days W.S. § 17-29-108 No page yet

Fees and durations are verified against state statutes and Secretary of State fee schedules on each state page's "data verified" date. Rows marked "No page yet" carry no walkthrough of their own; their figures were last checked on July 23, 2026. Rules change; the linked official sources are always authoritative. For what a reservation actually buys, how long each state holds a name, and when the fee is worth paying, see business name reservation by state. Trading under a name your entity does not carry is a separate filing with different rules; see DBA and assumed names by state.

Once your name meets the rules, check its availability

Run a preliminary availability check, then verify the result on the official state database before you reserve or file the name.

Check a name