Secretary of State of North Dakota Business Search

Before founding a North Dakota LLC, all firms should do a North Dakota company name search.

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

Go Ahead:

Use the North Dakota Naming Guidelines.
Perform a North Dakota Business Name Lookup
Lookup Available Domain Names
Reserve the Name of Your North Dakota Business Entity

Choosing a Name for Your North Dakota LLC

1. Use the North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 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 LLC.

2. Perform a North Dakota Business Name Lookup

Before submitting your name reservation request, you may verify the availability of your selected name using North Dakota’s Business Entity Search. To do the most effective search, enter the desired name, avoiding identifiers such as “LLC.” This will return any organizations with the same or similar names. 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 thorough search before submitting your application.

3. Lookup 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 North Dakota Business Entity

All LLC name questions and requests are handled by North Dakota’s Secretary of State. Business names may be reserved for one year and then renewed for another year.

North Dakota’s online business services are available on the website of the North Dakota Secretary of State. To reserve a company name, you must submit an online application. To see and download the application, you must first establish an online account. You must pay a filing fee while reserving your name. Checks should be made payable to the “Secretary of State,” and credit card payments may be made by completing the credit card authorization form attached to the application.

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 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:

Search North Dakota’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.
Look across the United States. To locate any federally registered trademarks linked with your company name, search the computerized records of the 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 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 ideal name utilizing North Dakota’s Business Entity Search, you’ll want to obtain your domain name so that your clients can find you online. Using a Reserved Name Application 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.