Wisconsin Secretary of State Commercial Search

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

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

Go Ahead:

Wisconsin Naming Guidelines should be followed.
Perform a Wisconsin Business Name Lookup
Lookup Available Domain Names
Reserve the Name of Your Wisconsin Business Entity

Your Wisconsin LLC’s Name

1. Wisconsin Naming Guidelines should be followed.

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 certain that the name you chose conforms with Wisconsin naming rules and that prospective customers may search for.

Please adhere to the following naming guidelines:

The word “limited liability corporation” or one of its acronyms must be in your entity name (LLC or L.L.C.).
Your entity name cannot include terms that might be confused with a government agency (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 Wisconsin LLC.
Any Wisconsin company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership must have a distinct name from yours.
Sample Business LLC, Sample Business LLP, Sample Business LP, and Sample Business Inc., for example, are all identical.

2. Perform a Wisconsin Business Name Lookup

Before submitting your name reservation request, you may verify the availability of your selected name using Wisconsin’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 several words, you can limit your search to the first two words to ensure that you find all possible similar names. Wisconsin also provides a Name Availability Search.

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

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 Wisconsin Business Entity

All LLC name inquiries and requests are handled by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions’ Division of Corporate and Consumer Services. Business names may be reserved for a 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 organization name. Checks should be made payable to the “Department of Financial Institutions,” and expedited services are offered for a charge.

Other Factors to Consider

While reserving an entity name for your Wisconsin LLC is simple, there are a few additional factors to consider while deciding on the appropriate name for your company. You should do a Trademark and Social Media search for your organization name to see if it is accessible for usage online. 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 assist 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:

Perform a Wisconsin 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. You must first open an account with the Department of Financial Institutions.
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 online social networking platforms. To do this, search for your company’s name on all major websites, 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 determined your desired entity name using Wisconsin’s Business Entity Search, you’ll want to obtain your domain name so that your customers can find you online.

Using a Name Reservation Application Form to reserve your organization name will 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 Wisconsin LLC.