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FREE Business Name Search
FREE Corporate Name Search
What is the purpose of the Check Name Availability Search?
The Check Name Availability search helps the user determine if a business entity legal name may be available for use. It is only a preliminary search, meaning the name cannot be guaranteed as available until the final processing is completed at the time of filing.
This search is different from the Business Entity Name Search in that the search results will include all names which are not available for use, including:
• Active and legal entities (for domestic entities)
• Active and fictitious entities (for foreign entities)
• Active and reserved names of entities (domestic)
• Active and registered names of entities (foreign)
• Administratively dissolved and legal entities (for 120 days after dissolution, for domestic entities)
• Administratively revoked and legal entities (for 120 days after revocation, for foreign entities)
• Administratively revoked and fictitious entities (for 120 days after revocation, for foreign entities)
Check Name Availability Search Tips
When performing searches, use the partial word search function. This will return a greater number of variations and will allow you to compare your proposed name to names which are already in our database.
Use only the singular forms of your proposed name when performing your search. This would have the effect of returning plurals if the partial word search is used. This effect is desired because singulars are indistinguishable from plurals and possessives for Indiana Sectretary of State registrations purposes.
And...
When you are searching for information on a company which has "and" or "&" as a part of its name, you may need to perform your search using both cases in order to produce satisfactory results.
Secretary of State Name Availability Guidelines
Under Indiana law, IC 23-1-23-1 (b), IC 23-18-2-9, and IC 23-16-2-1 (a), the Secretary of State is charged with keeping business entity names distinguishable on our records. Following are the guidelines our office uses when checking for name availability at the time of processing a filing:
A name is distinguishable if:
a. it contains different letters, numerals or words.
b. it has a different sequence of letters or numerals from other names on the Secretary of State's records.
c. if the roots of the words are the same but the words are in a different order.
The following are not distinguishing characteristics:
a. the choice of the word indicating corporateness, e.g. corporation, inc., etc.
b. the use of articles such as "the", "an" or "a"
c. differences in punctuation
d. differences in capitalization
e. plurals or possessives
f. hyphenation or combining words
g. the words "and" and "&" are interchangeable upon the records of the Secretary of State
h. numbers in arabic, roman or as a word are treated the same.
**Please note that incorporation under a particular name is not authorization from the Secretary of State to use a particular name; Incorporation under a particular name means that the name is available for registration pursuant to the name availability standard listed above.
Choosing a Business Name FAQ
Search by Corporate Name
Answers to commonly asked questions about choosing and registering a successful business name.
What issues should I keep in mind when picking a name for my business?
How do I find out if the business name I want is available?
What is a trademark?
What is the "legal name" of my business?
What is a fictitious business name?
Do I have to register my business name?
Can I change my business name to include "Inc." or "LLC"?
What's the best type of name for my business?
There's no one-size-fits-all formula for picking a great business name. The best name depends on a host of considerations -- some as obvious as the kind of business you do, others as unique as your own tastes and style. There are, however, a few guidelines that will steer you in the right direction. A good business name should:
• be distinctive
• be memorable
• be easily spelled and pronounced
• suggest the products or services you offer, and
• distinguish you from your competitors.
How do I find out if the business name I want is available?
You'll have to conduct a name and trademark search to make sure no one else is using the name you want to use (or a very similar name) to market similar products or services. You should also check with your county clerk's office to see whether your proposed name is already on the list of fictitious or assumed business names in your county. If you find that your chosen name (or a very similar one) is registered as a trademark, or is listed on a fictitious or assumed name register, you shouldn't use it.
If you're organizing your business as a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, you must also make sure your business name isn't the same as that of an existing corporation, LLC, or limited partnership in your state. If a name that is identical or very similar to your proposed business name turns up in your state's database, you'll have to choose another.
Read Make Sure Your Proposed Business Name Is Available for instructions on how to do a thorough name and trademark search.
What issues should I keep in mind when picking a name for my business?
No doubt you'll spend hours brainstorming for a business name that represents your products or services -- a name that's both marketable and infused with personality. To help the creative process along, you might surf the Web, browse the dictionary, read trade magazines, and bounce ideas off of friends and colleagues. But as you hunt for the perfect name, keep three main questions in mind:
Choose a business name that will identify your company's products and services.
There's a lot of room for personal and professional creativity when choosing a business name, but there are three main considerations to keep in mind:
• Will your business name receive trademark protection?
• Is your proposed business name available?
• If your business will have a website, is a similar domain name available?
Will Your Business Name Receive Trademark Protection?
Trademark law will prevent another business from using a name or logo that is likely to be confused with your business name if your business name is entitled to trademark protection. If your business is anything but a small, local, service, or retail business, such as a dry cleaners or a fabric store, you'll probably want to take advantage of this.
Trademarks Help Companies Market Products and Services
Allowing businesses to have exclusive use of their names helps consumers identify and recognize goods in the marketplace. For instance, when you buy Racafrax brand of wood glue, you'll know that it will be similar in quality to the Racafrax glue you bought last time. By contrast, if any company were allowed to call their glue "Racafrax Glue," you would never know what you were getting. By allowing just one company to use a name like Racafrax, trademark law helps that company to build customer trust and goodwill.
Choosing and Registering a Domain Name
How to pick, register, and protect your website's unique address.
To do business on the Web, you'll need at least one domain name -- the .com or .net identifier that has become so familiar (and sometimes annoying) in commercials and print advertising. You may want to take the name you use for your business as your domain name, with .com or .net tacked on at the end -- or you might pick a new domain name that you think will draw people to your website.
To help your website, and business, flourish, pick a domain name that:
• is easy for Web users to remember and find
• suggests the nature of your product or service
• serves as a strong trademark so competitors won't be able to use a business name or domain name similar to it, and
• is free of legal conflicts with trademarks belonging to other businesses.
Choosing a Domain Name
The best domain names are often the simple ones -- short, memorable, clever, and easy to spell and pronounce. Nevertheless, you must weigh the sometimes competing concerns of a Web-friendly name with the importance of obtaining trademark protection for the name you choose.
Can You Get Trademark Protection?
Straightforward domain names that describe a business's product or service are more difficult to protect as trademarks than distinctive and clever domain names. Many good domain names -- for instance, coffee.com, drugs.com, and business.com -- are not eligible for much trademark protection because they aren't unique; they identify whole categories of products or services. Likewise, domain names that use geographic identifiers or surnames are less likely to receive trademark protection -- unless your name happens to be Dr. Koop or something equally famous.
What is the "legal name" of my business?
The legal name of a business is the official name of the person or entity that owns a business. If you are the only owner of your business, then its legal name is simply your full name.
If your business is a general partnership, and you have a written partnership agreement that gives a name to the partnership, then that name is the legal name of the business. Otherwise, the legal name of a general partnership consists of the last names of the owners.
For limited partnerships, LLCs, and corporations, the legal name of the business is the name registered with the state filing office.
Your business's legal name will be required on all government forms and applications, and is particularly important to use on your application for a federal employer identification number.
Do I have to register my business name?
If you're starting a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, your official business name will be automatically registered when you file your articles of incorporation, articles of organization, or statement of limited partnership with your state filing office. However, if you will sell products or services under a different name, you must also file a fictitious name statement (sometimes called an "assumed" name statement) with the state or county where your business is headquartered. For more information on how to register a fictitious name, see Registering Your Business Name.
Other types of businesses may also have to comply with fictitious or assumed business name requirements. Generally, any business that doesn't use its legal name as part of its business name must file a fictitious name statement with a government agency, usually the county clerk's office. For more information on how to register a fictitious name, see Registering Your Business Name.
You may also want to take advantage of the extra protection that registering your name as a trademark can give you. While it's not required, registering your name as a trademark at the state and/or federal level can prevent other businesses from using a name that's likely to be confused with your business name. For more information, see How Federal Trademark Registration Works.
Can I change my business name to include "Inc." or "LLC"?
Some people confuse choosing a business name with choosing a type of ownership structure, such as a corporation or limited liability company (LLC). But you can't just tack "Inc." or "LLC" onto the end of your business name and start calling yourself a corporation or LLC.
First you must form a corporation or LLC, and to do so you've got to follow certain filing procedures to register the new type of company with your state. For more information on the various types of businesses, see Types of Ownership Structures.
REAL TIME CORPORATE/LLC INFORMATION SEARCH
You may search the Corporate/LLC database by file number or name.
By searching the Corporate/LLC Database, you can now receive a preliminary check of corporate/LLC name availability. In order to search the database, please type the proposed corporate/LLC name in the space indicated.
The database is updated in Real Time.
By checking our database, we can tell you if the name appears to be used by another company registered to do business in Illinois. The proposed corporate/LLC name must be distinguishable from any other corporate/LLC name on file with this office. If the requested name appears not to be currently registered, the search will result in no records being found. Therefore, the requested corporate name would appear to be available. Please be advised that this database check is a preliminary check and final determination of corporate name availability will be determined by the Secretary of State and in compliance with Illinois Statutes.
Corporate Records Application
General Name Search - Free Search
It allows a search of entities by name or by number (This is assigned by Bureau Staff when entity is accepted)
• Searching by name provides a list of entities whose name starts with the search name entered
• Users can click on any entity in the list displayed to get more detailed information about the selected entity
• Searching by entity number will provide details on the single entity number entered
• Corporation records searched may not indicate filings filed within the previous one to two business days
Old Name Search - Free Search
It allows search of an entity by its old name (old names are the changed names of the entity)
• This search provides a list of entities whose old name starts with the search name entered
• More details (including the current name of the entity)can be viewed by clicking on the entity number in the display
• Corporation records searched may not indicate filings filed within the previous one to two business days
Orphan Name Search - Free Search
It allows a name search on nonprofit corporations whose records were registered at the county level and have been transferred to the Department of State
• Users can click on the name of the entity to get more detailed information regarding that particular nonprofit corporation
• Corporation records searched may not indicate filings filed within the previous one to two business days
Business Lists
• The Corporation Bureau provides a monthly listing of newly formed corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, fictitious names, etc. To find out how to order and get an estimate on the cost of a printed list, please contact the bureau at (717) 787-1057.
Nevada Secretary of State Corporation search by Corporation Name.
The following search and filing services are now available online, with a credit card payment or subscription.
Corporate Name Search and Related Services (Free/Fee)
• Free services
o Search by name or charter number
o View information summary for an entity and verify status
o View list of filings
o Authentication Service: Verify the authenticity of a certified document.
o Document Copy Retrieval Service for Credit Card orders: Retrieve a copy of a document previously downloaded within the last 15 days.
• Subscriber only services
o Download Certificates of Existence
o Download copies of corporate filings
o Document Copy Retrieval Service for Subscriber Orders: Retrieve a copy of a document previously downloaded within the last 15 days
• Bulk Data
o Bulk Data
Clerk or Registered Agent Search (Subscriber Only)
Annual Reports Online (Fee)
• File a single Annual Report
• Manage and File Multiple Annual Reports (subscriber only)
Paper Annual Report Forms: Create a preprinted Annual Report for your entity to file on paper with our office. (Free)
Late Filing Penalties Online Pay your late filing penalty. (Fee)
Service of Trustee Process (Free/Fee)
• Free services
o Obtain the designated officer for a financial institution or credit union for service of trustee process
• Subscriber only services
o Financial institutions or credit unions may file an initial or renewed designation for service of trustee process
More Information
Related Services
• Subscriber Account Management The Account Management Feature provides up-to-the-minute reporting on subscriber account activity for services such as Interactive Corporate Services and the Total UCC Solution.
• Corporate Forms Online: Forms are in a “fillable” format to complete online, print and mail to our office together with the applicable filing fee. (Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher is required)
Type in the full Corporation Number including the 2 letter type identifier and the 6 digit number.
For example: 'DB123456' or 'FB654321'. The full number is required for this type of search.
Type in the Corporation name or a portion of the name. The search will find all records begining with your search words. If you want to find your search words in the middle of a corporate name, place a percent sign "%" before your search word or words. Do not include corporate indicator or punctuation.
The information available on these pages is not to be used for name availability.
This data is updated Sunday thru Thursday after 11:00 PM.
Corporation/LLC Search to check Name Availability
Instructions:
• NOTE: Use of words such as "The," "Inc," or "&" will increase the search time required. Use of common words like "Indiana," "Association," and "Midwest" will increase search time as well.
• When you enter a Business Name and click on the submit button, you will receive results that match your search criteria; included will be name type, entity type and the city/state. Select an entity from the resulting list (which will include existing Entities as well as Reserved and Registered names) to view additional information. If an existing Entity is selected, information will include Entity full address, control number, status, entity creation date, entity expiration date, entity inactive date and any other names for the entity. If a Reserved or Registered Name is selected from the first results list, information displayed will include reservation status, type, control number, dated filed, date effective, date to expire, inactive date and owner of the name. The third screen for existing Entities will contain more detail information, including registered agent, principals, transactions made with the Secretary of State's office, and corporate report information.
o There is no fee for the information displayed on the first two results screens. A $1.00 enhanced access fee will occur when you advance to the third screen containing registered agent and other information. There is no additional fee to print the screen.
o You will also have the option to print an official Certificate of Existence for any entity that is active and current under the law. Each Certificate of Existence is $20.00 (a $15.00 statutory fee and a $5.00 enchanced access fee).
o If the name you are checking does not appear, or if a Corporation's status indicates that the name may be available, you may download the form for Exclusive Use of Corporation Name and mail to the Secretary of State's Business Services Division to reserve the name. The Name Availability Search does not guarantee that the name is available; it is a preliminary step.
How should I pick a name for my business?
Answer: There’s no set formula. The best possible name depends on a few considerations. Some are as obvious as the kind of business you will operate and others
Are individual to your own styles and tastes. A few basic rules to apply when considering
What to name your new business?
Be distinctive
Be memorable
Be easily spelled and pronounced
Is the domain available for internet use
Allude to the products or services you offer, and
Set yourself apart from your competitors.
I have a couple names in mind – What’s next.
Answer: Conducting a business name search is the next step before forming your business.
Simply going to the Secretary of States business database and typing in the exact name you whish to have will not be very accurate and may set yourself up for additional time and expense. In forming your new business there are many additional considerations in avoiding a conflict when your articles are forwarded to the state for filing. Each Secretary of State has their own set of rules that govern the approval of new business names. A proposed business name that has one or more words that are similar to an existing business name will often times be rejected by the state when you file your articles of incorporation. A corporate name is distinguishable first, when not substantially the same as a name on record, and second, when containing a significant difference from other names on the record which the corporate name distinguish ability is plainly recognizable by the Secretary of State and his/her designee by means of sight or sound. Additional words or phrases may also be objectionable by the respective Act or other law.
Our corporation specialists are very highly trained in all 50 states. We perform 1,000’s of name searches each year and are very professional in determining weather your business name will be available in the state you are choosing to form your business.
FREE Corporate Name Search
We provide the FREE service of searching to see if the company name you want to use is currently available in your state. There is absolutely no obligation and you will have your results within minutes.
If the company name is available you can use it to form a Corporation or LLC.
Disclaimer:
HUBCO makes no representation or guarantee as to the correctness, completeness or suitability of the information. All
critical information should be verified directly with the Secretary of State, Corporation Division, County clerk or governmental
agency. HUBCO, its employees, contractors, subcontractors or their employees do not make any warranty, expressed or implied, or
assume any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed
or represent that its use would not infringe on privately-owned rights (trademarks, service marks). The information and/or
services provided may change at any time without notice. You should not conduct any business; enter into any contract or
any financial obligations with this name until you have received a file stamped copy of your business formation documents
(articles of incorporation, organization, business certificate or like type business filing documents or licenses) with
the governmental agency that has jurisdiction over the type of business or license. Many states require additional approvals
(banking, insurance, health, education) for your name to be valid for use either pre or post filing of your business formation
documents. These approvals are solely your responsibility to obtain and maintain for use of your business name. You assume all
risk with using a business name based on this preliminary name search.