Secretary Of State For Business Search In Florida

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

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

Stick to the Florida Naming Guidelines.
Perform a Florida Business Name Search and Look for Available Domain Names
Reserve the Name of Your Florida Business Entity

Florida Entity Search 1. Adhere to the Florida 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. Make sure your name conforms with Florida 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 LLC’s name cannot include terms that may be confused with a government organisation (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).
Restricted terms (e.g., bank, attorney, university) may need extra documentation and the participation of a licenced professional, such as a doctor or lawyer, in your LLC.

2. Conduct a Florida Business Name Lookup

You may utilise Florida’s Business Entity Search to confirm the availability of your selected name before submitting your fake name request. To conduct the most effective search, enter 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.

When you register a name online, the website invites you to do a search first. To prevent rejection, undertake a comprehensive search before submitting your papers. After you have registered your company name, Florida requires you to promote it in a newspaper. (Related Reading: Lookup a Florida LLC)

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 Florida business entity.

All LLC name inquiries and requests are handled by the Florida Department of State. Business names may be reserved for a period of 120 days.

The Department of State does not offer a form for reserving an LLC name. Rather, candidates must send a letter to the state outlining their preferred name and contact details.

Other Factors to Consider

While reserving the name for your 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 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 utilising 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:

Search Florida’s trademark records 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 digitised 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. You may do this by simply Googling your company name on each major website, or by using a service like Namecheckr to scan 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 desired name using Florida’s Business Entity Search, you’ll want to obtain your domain name so that your customers can locate you online. Using an Application for Registration of Fictitious Name to register 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.