Ohio Business Name Search

Checking a name in Ohio

Three steps cover the Ohio process end to end:

1. Query the state’s business search. At businesssearch.ohiosos.gov, search the meaningful words of your name and review active entities, reserved names, and trade name registrations together.
2. Discount the designators. Ohio explicitly treats “Co.,” “Corp.,” “Inc.,” “Ltd.,” “LLC,” “LP,” and “LLP” as noise when comparing names — two records differing only in those tokens conflict.
3. Decide between distinguishing and consent. If you hit a conflict, Ohio uniquely lets you proceed with the existing holder’s signed consent (Form 590) instead of renaming — a real option when the other company is related or friendly.

The Secretary of State’s Guide to Name Availability documents how examiners read these comparisons.

Ohio LLC naming rules

Ohio Rev. Code § 1706.07 sets the framework:

• Flexible endings: “limited liability company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.” — or simply “limited,” “ltd.,” or “ltd.” No other pilot state accepts a bare “limited” for an LLC.
• Distinguishable upon the records: measured against every registered entity and reservation. Entity-type designators alone never create distinguishability.
• Consent exception: a name that fails the test can still be registered with the current holder’s written consent via Form 590 (Consent for Use of Similar Name).

Terms requiring regulator approval

Term	Approving authority
bank, banker, banking, trust (and foreign-language equivalents)	Ohio Superintendent of Financial Institutions

Approval must be obtained before filing; the Secretary of State will not hold a filing while you seek it.

Reserving a name in Ohio

Ohio gives you the longest runway of our five pilot states: Form 534B, filed with a $39 fee, reserves a name for 180 days. The same form handles transferring a reservation to someone else or cancelling it early — see the filing forms and fee schedule.

Half a year is usually enough to prepare a launch without re-filing, which makes Ohio’s reservation genuinely useful rather than a formality. Forming the LLC itself — articles of organization — costs $99, and Ohio imposes no annual report on LLCs at all, one of the lightest maintenance burdens in the country.

One timing note: a reservation protects the name only against other Secretary of State filings. It does nothing about trade name registrations, trademarks, or domain names, so founders sitting on a 180-day hold should still line up the matching web domain and run a federal trademark screen before the launch date arrives.

If the Ohio name you want is taken

• Try the consent route first if there’s any relationship. Form 590 turns a blocking conflict into a signature problem — common in franchise, family-business, and spin-off situations.
• Add a substantive word. Since designators don’t count, distinguish with geography (“Scioto”), specialty (“Analytics”), or an invented term.
• Register a trade name instead. Ohio trade names (registered with the same office) let an LLC with a compliant legal name do business under a different mark.

And when your search comes back clear, starting your Ohio LLC locks the name in permanently — a reservation only rents it.

Official Ohio sources

• Ohio Secretary of State business search — authoritative records
• Ohio Rev. Code § 1706.07 — LLC naming statute
• Guide to Name Availability — examiner practice
• Filing forms & fee schedule — Form 534B and Form 590

Found an open Ohio name? Claim it.

Forming an LLC under your name is the only way to lock it in. Northwest handles the Ohio filing, registered-agent service, and paperwork.

Start your Ohio LLC with Northwest →

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Questions

Frequently asked questions

Can an Ohio LLC use "Ltd" instead of "LLC"?

Yes — Ohio is one of the few states where "limited," "ltd.," or "ltd" alone satisfies the ending requirement of Revised Code § 1706.07, alongside the usual "limited liability company," "LLC," and "L.L.C." options.

What if my Ohio name conflicts with an existing company?

Ohio offers a path most states don't: the existing entity can sign a Consent for Use of Similar Name (Form 590), which lets the Secretary of State accept your otherwise-conflicting filing. Without consent, you'll need to make the name distinguishable.

How long does an Ohio name reservation last?

180 days — the longest hold among the states we cover, filed on Form 534B for $39. The same form is also used to transfer or cancel an existing reservation.

Which words need approval in an Ohio business name?

Names containing "bank," "banker," "banking," "trust," or equivalent foreign-language terms require prior written approval from the Ohio Superintendent of Financial Institutions before the Secretary of State will accept them.