Corporations and LLCs need to ensure their legal business name complies with state naming rules in the states where they’ll be doing business – otherwise, a state might not accept the documents filed to form or qualify the company.
This all-states smart chart summarizes the many variations among the 50 states and D.C. in the legal business name selection and protection process for LLCs and corporations – including name reservation time frames, name transferability guidelines, and the required (or prohibited) words in the name of a corporation or LLC. With this overview, you’ll have a useful, quick-reference summary of how name reservation, renewal, and transferability laws differ by state.