Search for a Business with the New York Secretary of State

Before creating a New York LLC, all companies should do a New York Business Name Search.

In this New York Secretary of State Business Search tutorial, we’ll teach you how to verify LLC name availability.

Go Ahead:

Adhere to the New York Naming Guidelines.
Perform a New York Business Name Search

Look for Available Domain Names
Reserve the Name of Your New York Business Entity

New York Entity Search

1. Adhere to the New York Naming Guidelines

Before finishing your business name search, we suggest double-checking that your company name complies with the standards.

The first and most critical step in establishing your New York LLC is selecting a business name. Make sure your name conforms with New York naming regulations and is readily searched by prospective customers.

Please adhere to the following naming guidelines:

The word “limited liability corporation” or one of its acronyms must be in your name (LLC or L.L.C.).
Your name cannot include terms that may cause confusion between your New York LLC and a government body (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).
Restricted terms (e.g., bank, attorney, university) may need extra documentation and the participation of a licensed professional, such as a doctor or lawyer, in your LLC.

2. Conduct a business name search in New York.

Before submitting your name reservation request, you may verify the availability of your selected name using the New York Secretary of State Business Entity Search. To do the most effective entity search, provide the desired name, omitting identifiers such as “LLC.” This will return any entities with names that are the same or similar. If your company name consists of many words, you may limit your search to the first two words to guarantee that you find all potential comparable names.

To prevent rejection, undertake a comprehensive search before submitting your papers.

3. Look for Available Domain Names

Another crucial factor to consider when choosing a company name is if the desired web domain name is available. It is critical to have a URL that properly reflects your company name. This apparently little activity may have a significant impact on how potential clients locate your company.

4. Reserve the Name of Your New York Business Entity

All LLC name questions and requests are handled by New York’s Secretary of State Division of Corporations, State Records, and UCC. Business names may be booked for a period of 60 days. If a corporate organization has not yet been created under the reserved name when the name reservation expires, an applicant who seeks for an extension may be allowed two extensions of 60 days each.

To reserve a company name, you must submit an application exclusively by mail. You must pay a filing fee while reserving your name. Checks should be made payable to the “Department of State.” You may also pay with a credit card or debit card by completing a Credit Card/Debit Card Authorization Form.

Other Factors to Consider

While reserving the name for your New York LLC is simple, there are a few more factors to consider while deciding on the right name for your company. You should do a Trademark and Social Media search for your name to determine its availability for usage on the internet. This will assist guarantee that you have complete and unlimited usage of your company name.

Search for a Trademark

Before registering your company entity name and related slogans or logos, do a trademark search to avoid potential expensive lawsuits. The discovery that another entity has trademarked your company name does not immediately exclude you from utilizing it.

However, it is critical to understand who is using the name, what sector they are in, and where they are situated in order to avoid unwittingly infringing on anyone’s intellectual property rights.

To finish this step:

Contact the New York State Library to discover whether your company entity name or related slogans, logos, or others are already in use by another firm in your state.
To locate any federally registered trademarks linked with your company name, search the computerized records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Search on Social Media

Finding a domain name that matches your company is just as vital, if not more important, than ensuring that your business entity name is accessible for usage across social networking sites. To do so, enter your company’s name into each major search engine or use a service like Namecheckr to search across all platforms at once.

In conclusion

Choosing a name for your company is a vital first step in forming a successful LLC, and it is a simple process. After you’ve discovered your ideal name using New York’s Business Entity Search, you’ll want to obtain your domain name so that your clients can find you online. Using an Application for Reservation of Name to reserve your name can help you stand out from the crowd. After you’ve obtained your name, you’ll be ready to take the following steps to create your LLC.