Search for South Carolina Secretary of State Businesses

Before creating a South Carolina LLC, all firms should do a South Carolina Business Name Search.

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

Go Ahead:

Observe the South Carolina Naming Guidelines.
Conduct a South Carolina Business Name Search and Look for Available Domain Names
Make a Reservation for Your South Carolina Business Entity Name

Search for a South Carolina LLC Name Image Naming Your South Carolina LLC

1. Adhere to the South Carolina Naming Guidelines.

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

The first and most significant step in forming your LLC is deciding on a name. Choose a name that is compliant with South Carolina naming rules and that prospective customers can readily look for.

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 South Carolina LLC and a government organization (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 South Carolina LLC.

2. Conduct a business name search in South Carolina.

Before submitting your name reservation request, you may verify the availability of your selected business name using the South Carolina Business Entity Search. To conduct the most effective search, enter the entity name you want to utilize, eliminating identifiers such as “LLC,” and leave all other fields blank. 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.

When you reserve a name online, the website invites you to do a search first. 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 South Carolina business entity.

All LLC name inquiries and requests are handled by the South Carolina Secretary of State’s Division of Corporations. A company name may be reserved for a non-renewable period of 120 days.

You must make an application by mail to reserve a company name. You must pay a filing fee while reserving your name. Checks should be made payable to the “Secretary of State.”

Other Factors to Consider

While reserving the name for your South Carolina LLC is simple, there are a few additional 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 see if it is accessible 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 name and related slogans or emblems, 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:

Conduct a South Carolina trademark search to determine whether your company’s name or any related slogans, logos, or other identifiers are already in use by another company in your state.
Search the digitized records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office for any federally registered trademarks linked with your company name.

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 name is accessible for usage across social networking platforms. To do this, search your company’s name on each major website, using 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 selected your ideal name using the South Carolina Business Entity Search, you’ll want to obtain your domain name so that your clients can find you online.

Using a South Carolina LLC Name Reservation Form 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.