New Jersey Business Name Search
Data verified July 18, 2026 · Official database: Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services
LLC filing fee
Name reservation fee
Reservation hold renewable
Quick answer: New Jersey names are checked in the Business Name Search run by the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, a tool that answers availability directly instead of handing you a records list. A new LLC name must be distinguishable from every entity and reserved name on the records and needs an ending such as “LLC.” Even the state tool’s verdict is preliminary until your filing is accepted.
How to check a name in New Jersey
The checker above runs a first sweep. The three screens below walk the state’s own tool, and three is the full flow: New Jersey’s free search returns a verdict rather than records to browse, because reading the full records is the Division’s separate paid Business Records Service. What you can do free is exactly what a pre-filing check needs.
Step 1: Open the Business Name Availability search
Open the Business Name Search under the NJ Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue & Enterprise Services banner. The page is titled Business Name Availability and asks for one thing: the Business Name field inside the Search Criteria box, marked with the site’s “Required Fields [ * ]” convention. A green Search and a red Cancel button are the only controls, and no account is needed.
Step 2: Enter the exact wording you want
Type the name into Business Name and watch the field validate with a green check. Precision matters more here than in most states: the Division’s guidance says to be exact when checking, because spacing and punctuation change the comparison. Run your main wording first, then repeat the search for each variation you would accept, and press Search each time.
Step 3: Read the verdict and the similar names
The answer comes back as a verdict. A conflict produces a red Not Available notice stating the name “may be in conflict with another name that we have on file,” a link to check the similar names, and a Similar Businesses Found list, which for this test read MICROSOFT CORPORATION, MICROSOFT MOBILE INC., MICROSOFT ONLINE, INC., and MICROSOFT PAYMENTS, INC. A name with no conflict comes back available for the online filing flow. Treat even that as preliminary: the Division examines the name again when your Certificate of Formation arrives, and only that acceptance settles it.
New Jersey LLC naming rules
The rules sit in N.J.S.A. 42:2C-8, part of the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act:
- Required ending: “limited liability company” or the abbreviation “L.L.C.” or “LLC,” with “Ltd.” and “Co.” accepted as short forms.
- Distinguishable in the records: the name must differ from every person other than an individual that is incorporated, organized, or authorized to transact business in New Jersey, and from every reserved name.
- Exactness is the local trap: the state compares closely, so “Garden State Labs” and “GardenState Labs” are different questions. Check each variation you would accept rather than assuming one verdict covers them all.
- No restricted-word list in the LLC act: industry regulators police their own vocabulary separately; the naming statute itself stays quiet.
Reserving a name in New Jersey
A New Jersey reservation is $50 for 120 days, filed online or on Form UNRR-1 with the Division. Two things make it unusually flexible. The reservation is renewable, which most states refuse, and it can be transferred to another person; the fee schedule prices the renewal and the transfer at $50 each, the same as the original filing. A long runway to formation is therefore easier to hold here than in a non-renewable state, at the cost of paying $50 per stretch.
Forming the LLC itself is a $100 Certificate of Formation, and the annual report that keeps it active is $75, due by the end of the anniversary month each year. If the name matters and the filing is weeks away, the reservation earns its fee; if you are filing this week, the formation itself claims the name.
Alternate names in New Jersey
New Jersey splits its DBA world by owner type, with its own vocabulary. An LLC or corporation that trades under something other than its legal name registers an alternate name with the Division on Form C-150G: $50, effective five years, renewable in the three months before it expires. Sole proprietors and partnerships do not come to the state at all; they record a trade name with the county clerk where the business sits, at county-set fees.
The registration authorizes the trading name and links it publicly to the entity; it does not grant exclusive rights in the wording. And the state’s guidance is particular about language: for domestic entities New Jersey does not call any of this a “dba,” a word it reserves for foreign businesses in a different situation.
If your New Jersey name is taken
- Change the substance, then re-run the verdict. The tool compares exactly, so a meaningful word swap is testable in seconds. Punctuation alone may flip the tool’s answer but rarely survives the Division’s review at filing.
- Use the similar-names list as a map. The Not Available notice shows you what blocked you, which tells you how far your wording needs to move.
- Hold what you find. Because New Jersey reservations renew, a clear name can be held for $50 and extended if your timeline slips.
If the verdict comes back clean on the wording you want, you can start your New Jersey LLC with that name while it still reads that way.
Official New Jersey sources
- Business Name Search: the free availability verdict
- N.J.S.A. 42:2C-8 and 42:2C-10: the naming and reservation statutes in P.L.2012, c.50
- Business Name Availability guidance: the be-exact warning and reservation basics
- Form UNRR-1: the $50 reservation application
- Alternate name registration: Form C-150G and the county trade name path
- Registry fee schedules: reservation, renewal, transfer, and formation fees
An open New Jersey name is only yours once you file
Forming an LLC under your name is the only way to lock it in. Northwest handles the New Jersey filing, registered-agent service, and paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check LLC name availability in New Jersey?
Run the name through the state's Business Name Availability search, which is unusual: instead of showing you a records list to interpret, it answers directly, and on a conflict it returns a Not Available notice with the similar businesses it found. Check close variations too, because the tool compares exactly, and spacing and punctuation change the result.
Does a New Jersey LLC name have to include "LLC"?
Yes. The statute requires "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC," and accepts "Ltd." for limited and "Co." for company. The name also has to be distinguishable in the filing office's records from every organized or authorized entity and every reserved name.
Is a New Jersey name reservation renewable?
Yes, and that is rare. The $50 reservation holds the name for 120 days, and the fee schedule prices a renewal and a transfer at $50 each, so a hold can be extended or handed to another person. Most states run their reservation clock once and refuse renewals.
Why can I not browse New Jersey business records for free?
Because New Jersey separates the two services. The free public tool answers whether a name is available; reading the full records behind it is the Division's paid Business Records Service. For a pre-filing name check the free verdict plus the similar-names list covers what you need.
Does New Jersey use DBAs?
Not by that word for entities. A domestic LLC or corporation that trades under another name registers an alternate name with the Division on Form C-150G for $50, effective five years. Sole proprietors and partnerships register a trade name with their county clerk instead. The state's own guidance reserves "dba" for a different, foreign-entity situation.