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 Maryland 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. Maryland has several requirements that you’ll need to follow as you pick a name.
Fortunately, this five-step guide will help you pick a name that is both perfect for your business and compliant with state laws. We’ll also cover how to reserve your name once you’ve picked it. Let’s get started.
NOTE: If you have found the perfect business name and would like to begin the process of registering your business with the state, there are a lot of good LLC services — like LegalZoom and Zen Business — that can do it for you.
1) Review Maryland Name Requirements
Maryland has three primary requirements for naming your business. First, your name must include a designation of the type of company you’re forming. For example, if you’re forming a Limited Liability Company, you’ll need to include “LLC,” “Limited Liability Company,” or an abbreviation of those terms. Corporations must include “Inc.,” “Incorporated,” “Corporation,” etc. Regardless of what kind of entity you make, your name should reflect your business type.
Second, your name must be distinguishable from other business entities in Maryland. If it’s too similar to another name, your filings could get mixed up with the paperwork for the wrong entity. And worse, a super-similar business name could confuse your customers.
For example, “Maryland Lawn Care Bros, LLC” and “Maryland Lawn Care Bros, Inc.” are too close. It’s not enough to simply change the entity identifier. You’ll need to create a name that both looks and sounds different.
Finally, Maryland does not permit certain wording in your business name. For example, the name cannot imply that your business is conducting activities which do not align with your state corporated purpose. You cannot include an entity identifier that does not match your entity type.
2) Create the Perfect Name for Your Maryland Business
Now that we’ve covered all the things you can’t do with your business name, let’s focus on what you can do. Here’s where you can let your creativity shine. As long as you meet Maryland’s requirements, you can pick just about anything you like.
However, to make your business name perfect, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Pick a name that represents your business: Your business name is the first impression you’ll send to potential customers; you want to make sure it’s the right impression. So, be sure to include important aspects of your business in your name. For example, if you’re starting a restaurant that specializes in vegan fare, you’ll want that to be clear by your business name.
- Write it down and say it aloud: Your business name appears everywhere—business cards, your website, company signage, and more. A good name will look good on paper. But you’ll also say your name a lot, too, so make sure it sounds as good as it looks.
- Choose a name that you’re proud of: Do you like the name you’ve come up with? You love your business, and you should love the name that goes with it. If you love the name, then you’re good to move on to step three.
3) Search Your Chosen Name with Maryland Business Express
Now it’s time to check that your business name is available in the state of Maryland. To do so, you’ll want to run a Business Entity Search.
Here’s how it works: input the business name you developed in Step 2. If the state’s search tool doesn’t find any results, then good news! Your name is available for you to use in Maryland. However, if it does find a match, you’ll want to start over or tweak your name a little to make sure it’s different from what’s currently in use in the state.
To make the most of the tool, you should perform two searches. First, type in your complete desired business name. This first search will uncover any exact matches to your name. If any exact matches exist, you’ll need to change your desired name. Then you can run a second search by typing in a keyword from your name. For example, if cupcakes are your business’s specialty, you can type in “Cupcakes” to find all businesses in Maryland which have “Cupcakes” in their title. Knowing these names will help you make sure your name truly stands out from the competition.
While this step may seem like a hassle, it can save you time in the long run. You’ll need to put your business name on your formation documents; if you put down a name that’s already in use, the state will send it back to you, request a change, and you’ll need to file all over again. This could potentially slow down your start-up process by several days or even weeks. Searching your name ahead of time prevents that slow-down.
4) Reserve Your Business Name with Maryland
You’ve done the legwork to make sure your business name is free to use in Maryland. Now, let’s ensure that none of that work goes to waste by reserving your business name with the state.
In Maryland, you can reserve a business name by filing a Corporate Name Reservation Application.You can file this form by mail, in person, or online with Maryland Business Express. This form includes some information about your business, including the name, address, and signature of the person filing, and, of course, your desired name.
Maryland requires a fee of $25 for this name reservation. Maryland also offers an expedited option for $20 if you need a quick turnaround. You can pay by check, cash, money order, or credit card.
Reserving your name will protect your business name for 30 days. While it’s unlikely that another person will come up with the exact name you’ve chosen, this process prevents anyone else from using your name. The 30-day-long reservation gives you plenty of time to get all your affairs in order and file your formation documents.
5) File Your Maryland Formation Documents
Even though filing a reservation gives you 30 days of exclusive rights to the name you’ve created, you’ll need to file your formation documents to make everything official. The document you need to use varies depending on the type of business you’re forming, but it’s often called the Articles of Incorporation or the Articles of Organization.
Maryland Business Express serves as a helpful starting point for forming your business. Here you’ll find the forms you need to start your business, including the Maryland Articles of Organization. You’ll also find easy access to forms such as name reservations, amendments, registered agent changes, and more.
Conclusion
Conducting a business name search is an important part of forming your business in Maryland. 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.