When you meet someone new, what’s the first thing you want to know about them? Their name. Your name is unique—it’s how people remember you.
The same goes for your California business: choosing your name is the most important step of forming your company. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just picking the name you like best from a list. That works for babies, but not businesses. California has several requirements that you’ll need to follow as you pick a name.
After brainstorming a business name either on your own or through a business naming tool, you’ll want to make sure it is available in your state. That’s where this guide comes in. We’ll walk you through how to use the tool, and we’ll dig into a few ways you can make your name a complete success. Let’s get started.
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How to Use the California Business Name Search Tool
You’ve picked a name. You’re pretty sure it’s the one. But before you seal the deal, you’ll need to ensure that it’s available for you to use. To do so, you’ll need to use California’s search tool. California keeps it simple with a single tool, the Business Search.
But we’ll be honest. The tool isn’t exactly the most intuitive. You might be thinking, What’s next? If you don’t know what to do, this name search can be downright overwhelming. But with a few simple pointers, it can be a cinch.
1) Type in the name you’re hoping to use
Technically speaking, your entity type identifier (LLC, Co., L.L.C., etc.) will be part of your full legal name. But for purposes of this search, you can leave those off. For example, if you’re going to call your business Carla’s Cupcakes, LLC, you’d just type in Carla’s Cupcakes. Basically, type in the words that people would say when talking about your business.
2) Make sure the tool’s settings are correct
To get the most value out of your search, you’ll want to put the right settings on the Business Search tool. For instance, you’ll want to leave the tool at “Keyword” under the “filter” section. And you’ll notice that there are options for both “Corporation Name” and “LP/LLC Name. But you’ll only need to use the filter for LPs and LLCs. You can disregard the corporation one.
3) Examine the search results
Now it’s time to look through the results. Do any exact matches appear? What about similar ones? And are there results for active entities or businesses that have been dissolved?
California updated their naming rules recently; in fact, they just became effective on January 1, 2021. Per those new statutes, all business names must be “distinguishable in the records.” Similarly, names cannot be so similar that they would be “likely to mislead the public.” So in layman’s terms, your name cannot be the exact same as the name of another entity. But interestingly, that only applies to the names of other LLCs. LLC name availability isn’t checked against corporate records.
Additionally, if your name is so close to another business’s name that someone might confuse your business with someone else’s, then it’s too similar. You’d need to make it more unique.
To make sure your name isn’t too similar to other business names, we also recommend conducting a second keyword search. For example, going back to our “Carla’s Cupcakes” example, you might conduct a keyword search for “cupcakes.” The tool pulls up all business names including the word “cupcakes.” That gives you a chance to see what other cupcake shops are naming their businesses. After seeing those results, you may decide to tweak your name accordingly. This second search isn’t a legal necessity, but we recommend it.
Next Steps for Your California Business Name
The steps we’ve listed above are just the legal requirements for an California LLC name. But this is your business name we’re talking about. You don’t want to just “get by.” You want to go the extra mile and make sure your name is as great as your business concept. You want to protect it, too.
Let’s talk about what you can do to protect (and thrive with) the name you’ve chosen.
1) Double-check that your name meets state requirements
California’s search tool will only rule out whether or not your name is available to begin with. It won’t, however, tell you if your name complies with state laws for your entity type. Here are some rules to name by:
- Your name cannot mislead the public in any way. This applies to being distinct from other business names (as mentioned earlier). But it also means your name cannot make it seem like you’re a textile business when you’re baking cupcakes, vice versa, or any other sort of confusion.
- Your name must include an abbreviation or wording that designates your entity type. For example, you must follow “Carla’s Cupcakes” with “L.L.C.,” “Limited Liability Company,” or some other label that shows you’re an LLC. Other business types will need to include an appropriate designation.
2) Make sure that your name stands out
The search tool will help you ensure that your name is available in California. It won’t tell you if there are similar names, though. It also won’t search names in other states. The search tool simply isn’t designed to do that.
We recommend that you also browse through local phone books and do a Google search with your name. Internet search engines pull up results that are close matches to the terms you enter. That includes similar names and businesses in other states. For example, going back to our “Carla’s Cupcakes” example, Google pulls up a hit for a cupcake shop in Virginia.
If that happened to you, it wouldn’t be a make-or-break issue right away. After all, you’re just focused on California results right now. That said, if you ever wanted to expand into other states later on, then you might encounter problems. Plus, having a truly unique name is a great selling point.
3) Make sure you like the name you’ve chosen
This might seem like an obvious one, but you don’t want to overlook it. You should like your business’s name. You should be proud to say it out loud, glad to write it down, excited when you hear someone say it…you get the idea.
Yes, you’re eager to start your business. But don’t get so excited that you settle on a lackluster name that makes you think, “meh.” If you don’t like the name, odds are your customers won’t, either.
A lot of guides will tell you to make sure your name is easy to say, easy to spell, memorable, and gives your customers a clear picture of what they can expect from your business. And those are all true tidbits of advice. Follow them. But at the end of the day, we think it’s important to pick a name that you like.
4) Protect your chosen name
By now, you’ve put in a lot of work to craft the perfect name for your business. Let’s make sure that work doesn’t go to waste. California has two different methods to protect your name, and you can pick one or the other—not both.
For starters, you could file a Name Reservation Request Form. There’s a $10 fee for this filing, but it gives you 60 days of exclusive use of your name without actually commencing your business. This is the perfect option if you’ve come up with an ideal name but you’re not quite ready to form your business yet.
But if you are all set to form your business, then you should go ahead and file the Articles of Organization. This one has a $70 filing fee, but it actually creates your business. And once your business is created, your name is protected, too.
5) Get a DBA or Trade Name (Optional)
The most important name for your business is your legal name; it’s the name you’ll fill in on your Articles of Organization. But many businesses choose to have a second name, often called a DBA or fictitious name. For instance, you might want to offer a second product line without renaming your entire business, or you just found a new nickname you like.
If you want to do that, you’ll need to register a DBA. But this registration doesn’t happen on the state level. Instead, you’ll register with your local county clerk. As a result, the different fees and procedures vary from one county to the next. Plus, you’ll have to continue that process for all counties where your business will operate.
Want more info? Get the full scoop on registering a DBA here.
Next Steps – Getting Started
We’ve gone into a lot of detail about searching for a California business name in this guide, but here’s the deal: choosing an LLC name is just one step in the much bigger process of starting a business.
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that goes into it, don’t panic. We’re here to help. You can catch the full guide to set up a California LLC, but here’s the fly-by version:
Choose a business name
Every business in California needs a name that’s both catchy and gives potential clients a good idea what the business does. The name also needs to be unique—both for legal reasons and so your business stands out from the competition.
Appoint your registered agent
Whether you elect to use a private California registered agent, serve as your own, or you hire a service like the one we’ve listed here, you can’t skip this step. Without a registered agent, you won’t become a legitimate, registered entity.
File your formation documents
If you’re forming an LLC, you’ll need to file the Articles of Organization; corporations file the Articles of Incorporation. Once you fill it out and file it, this document is what officially forms your business in the state. There is a $100 fee for corporations, and LLCs will pay $70. If you need help with this step, there are plenty of good California LLC services online.
Beyond that, there are plenty of ongoing costs and maintenance requirements. We won’t go into a ton of detail here, though. Your registered agent (or online registered agent service) will help you keep tabs.
Conclusion
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Conducting a business name search is an important part of forming your business in California. The search saves you time and helps you set up a name that makes your business stand out. We hope this guide made it simple to name your business.