Oregon Business Name Search
Data verified July 22, 2026 · Official database: Oregon Secretary of State
LLC filing fee
Name reservation fee
Reservation hold nonrenewable
Quick answer: Oregon runs one Business Name Search for everything. The Corporation Division keeps corporations, LLCs, and assumed business names in a single registry, so a single query covers all three, and a new LLC name has to be distinguishable from the active ones and end in “LLC.” That is a fuller first read than states that split entities and DBAs into separate indexes. The Corporation Division makes the call when it reviews your Articles of Organization.
How to check a name in Oregon
The checker at the top of this page is your fast first pass. The four screens below follow the Corporation Division’s own tool, which is worth knowing because it does something most states do not: it searches companies and assumed business names in one place, so you rarely have to look twice. A clear result is a good sign, not a decision.
Step 1: Open Find a Business
Open Find a Business on the Oregon Secretary of State, Corporation Division site. The Business Name Search box asks you to “Enter a Business Name or Business Registry Number to search.” An Advanced Business Name Search link sits below the Search button, and it is worth a look: it lets you control how the words are matched rather than accepting the default. For a first pass, the plain box is enough.
Step 2: Enter the distinctive words
Type the distinctive words of your proposed name and select Search. Leave the “LLC” ending off, since the designator does no work in Oregon’s comparison. One term is usually enough to surface the near matches, and the advanced page can widen or narrow the match if the plain search returns too much or too little. Oregon reads the words, not the ending, so search the part that makes your name yours.
Step 3: Read the type and status codes
Results arrive as a table with Entity Type, Entity Status, Registry Number, and Name Status columns, run for “Exact Words in Any Word Order” across active and inactive businesses. The codes carry the meaning: FBC is a foreign business corporation, FLLC a foreign LLC, and ABN an assumed business name, while ACT and INA mark active and inactive status. This search returned eight rows, including an ABN for “MICROSOFT PARTNERS,” which is the point worth seeing: assumed names sit right beside companies here. Only active records block a new name, so read that status column closely.
Step 4: Open the Business Entity Data record
Selecting a registry number opens Business Entity Data: Registry Nbr, Entity Type, Entity Status, Jurisdiction, Registry Date, and the Next Renewal Date. Below it, Associated Names lists the principal place of business, the registered agent, and officers such as president and secretary. The status and jurisdiction lines are your answer, and they tell you whether a same-named record is an active Oregon filing or an inactive or out-of-state one. Reading this is preliminary: the Corporation Division decides the name at filing.
Oregon LLC naming rules
Oregon’s LLC name rules sit in ORS 63.094:
- Required ending: “limited liability company,” or the abbreviation “L.L.C.” or “LLC.”
- Distinguishable on the records, assumed names included: the name must differ from every active LLC, corporation, cooperative, limited partnership, business trust, reserved name, registered corporate name, and assumed business name on the Corporation Division’s records. Few states fold DBAs into the entity comparison like this, and only records of active status count.
- English alphabet only: the name has to be written in the alphabet used for English. It may include Arabic and Roman numerals and incidental punctuation, but not characters outside that set.
- No restricted-word list in the naming statute: regulated terms such as bank, trust, and cooperative are governed by their own licensing laws, which decide who may use them.
Because the registry is unified, an Oregon search clears more ground in one pass than a search in a state that keeps assumed names somewhere else.
Reserving a name in Oregon
An Oregon reservation is $100 and holds an entity name for 120 days. That is one of the steepest reservation fees in our set, and the statute gives it no renewal, so the hold runs once. It can be transferred to another person by notice, and assumed business names cannot be reserved at all. Against a $100 filing fee for the Articles of Organization, a reservation only earns its keep when a real gap separates choosing the name from filing.
Forming the LLC is $100 for the Articles of Organization, and the annual renewal is another $100, due on the anniversary of your registration. With the reservation and the filing priced the same, many founders skip the hold and simply file when the name reads clear.
Assumed business names in Oregon
If you trade under a name other than your real or registered one, Oregon requires you to register it as an assumed business name, sometimes called a DBA. It is a state-level filing with the Secretary of State, $50 to register and $50 to renew every two years, with the renewal due in the 30 days before each second anniversary. There is no county filing and no newspaper publication.
What makes Oregon distinctive is where the record lands. The assumed name goes into the same registry as corporations and LLCs, so it appears in the ordinary Business Name Search, and it becomes part of the ORS 63.094 distinguishability test. An active assumed business name can therefore block a later company name, and a company name can block a later assumed name. Registration does not hand you an exclusive right you can enforce against an imitator, but while it stays current it does keep the state from registering anything too close to it.
If your Oregon name is taken
- Change the words, not the ending. “LLC” against “Inc.” makes no difference in Oregon’s comparison. Add or swap a word that carries meaning.
- Check the status first. An INA record is inactive and does not block you, and the detail page shows when a filing lapsed. The Corporation Division confirms it at filing.
- Remember assumed names count. A company name can be clear of other companies yet collide with an active assumed business name, since both live in the same registry.
- Weigh the $100 hold carefully. With the reservation priced the same as the filing and unable to renew, filing promptly is often the better move.
If your name reads clear across the registry, you can start your Oregon LLC with that name while the records still show it open.
Official Oregon sources
- Find a Business: the Corporation Division’s business name search
- ORS 63.094: the LLC name and distinguishability rule
- ORS 63.097: the 120-day reservation
- ORS 648.007: when an assumed business name must be registered
- ORS 648.017: the two-year renewal
- Business Registry fee schedule: the $100 filing and reservation, $50 assumed name fees
An open Oregon name is only yours once you file
Forming an LLC under your name is the only way to lock it in. Northwest handles the Oregon filing, registered-agent service, and paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check business name availability in Oregon?
Open the Corporation Division's Find a Business page, type your name into the Business Name Search, and read the Entity Status column on every match. Oregon keeps companies and assumed business names in one registry, so a single search covers both. Only active records block a new name, and the Corporation Division makes the final decision when it reviews your Articles of Organization.
Does an Oregon LLC name have to include "LLC"?
Yes. The name must contain "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC." Oregon also requires the name to be written in the alphabet used for English, and it may include Arabic and Roman numerals and incidental punctuation.
How much does it cost to reserve a business name in Oregon?
Oregon charges $100 to reserve an entity name for 120 days, one of the most expensive holds among the states we cover. The statute provides no renewal, though the reservation can be transferred to another person. Assumed business names cannot be reserved. Forming the LLC is a separate $100 for the Articles of Organization.
Do I need to register a DBA in Oregon?
If you do business under a name other than your real or registered name, Oregon requires you to register that assumed business name with the Secretary of State for $50. It is a state-level filing, renewable every two years for another $50, and it sits in the same registry that your company search already reads.
Do assumed business names show up in the Oregon business search?
Yes. Unlike states that keep DBAs in a separate index, Oregon lists assumed business names in the same registry as corporations and LLCs, marked as ABN rows. They are also part of the distinguishability test, so an active assumed business name can block a later company name and the other way around.