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 Missouri 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. Missouri 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 online LLC services — like LegalZoom and Zen Business — that can do it for you.
1) Review Missouri Name Requirements
Missouri has two 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 Missouri. 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, “Missouri Lawn Care Bros, LLC” and “Missouri Lawn Care Bros, Inc” are too close. Usually, a difference in entity type identifier is not enough to make a name distinguishable. If your name is an exact match to another entity’s, Missouri requires you to add at least one word to yours to make it distinguishable. This is a slightly stricter policy than some states, but it’s in your best interest to make your name different so your business can shine.
Please note that this requirement for “distinguishable” does not apply to Fictitious Name registrations; Missouri does not protect Fictitious Names. For a full listing of Missouri’s business name requirements, you can consult the Corporations, Associations, and Partnerships Act.
2) Create the Perfect Name for Your Missouri 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 Missouri’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 the Missouri Secretary of State
Now it’s time to check that your business name is available in the state of Missouri. 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 Missouri. 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.
Missouri’s tool offers several options for your search. If you use the “Name Availability” option, you can type in your desired name. And if no exact matches emerge, it’s likely that your name is available. This is a preliminary designation of availability, though. The state will ultimately determine availability. After this search, you can run a keyword search with the “Business Name” and “All Words” option. For example, if you want to learn what Cupcake shops exist in Missouri, you can type in “Cupcakes,” and all entities with “Cupcakes” in the name will pop up. By running a keyword search, you can 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 Missouri
You’ve done the legwork to make sure your business name is free to use in Missouri. Now, let’s ensure that none of that work goes to waste by reserving your business name with the state.
In Missouri, you can reserve a business name by filing an Application for Reservation of Name.You can file this form by mail, in person, or online with the Secretary of State. This form requires the name and address of the person filing the form as well as your desired name.
Missouri requires a fee of $25 for this name reservation. You can pay by check or credit card.
Reserving your name will protect your business name for 60 days. You can also renew another two times for a total of 180 days if necessary. 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 60-day reservation gives you plenty of time to get all your affairs in order and file your formation documents.
5) File Your Missouri Formation Documents
Even though filing a reservation gives you 60 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.
The Business Services Division of the Missouri Secretary of State serves as a helpful starting point for forming your business. Here you’ll find the forms you need to start your business, including the Missouri Articles of Incorporation. 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 Missouri. 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.