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 Oklahoma 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. Oklahoma 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 business formation services — like LegalZoom and Zen Business — that can do it for you.
1) Review Oklahoma Name Requirements
Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma. 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, “Oklahoma Lawn Care Bros, LLC” and “Oklahoma Lawn Care Bros, Inc” are too close. Simply changing the entity type identifier is not enough to make your name distinct. Oklahoma’s law states that “The name [of an entity] shall not so nearly resemble the name of another association or federal association as to be likely to deceive the public.” Your name must be distinct enough that no one will confuse you with another business.
Finally, some entities, such as cooperatives, electric service providers, financial institutions, and others will need to include words which designate their identities in their names. For example, banks must have “Bank” or “Trust” or a similar word in their name. Other entities that are not a part of these groups cannot use these words.
For more information on legal naming requirements, you can consult the Corporations Chapter of the Oklahoma Statutes.
2) Create the Perfect Name for Your Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma’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 Oklahoma Secretary of State
Now it’s time to check that your business name is available in the state of Oklahoma. 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 Oklahoma. 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.
When on the search page, you should use the Advanced Search option and apply the “Name Availability” filter. Then you can type in the name you’d like to use. If you receive the message “No results found for criteria,” then it’s likely your name is available. That said, the Business Filings Division will make the final decision about whether or not a name is available.
You can also run a second search by typing just a keyword from your name. For example, a bakery named “Sarah’s Cupcakes” could type in just “Cupcakes.” With just one word to compare against, the tool will pull up all business names which contain the keyword “Cupcakes.” A keyword search will let you make your business name stand out.
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 Oklahoma
You’ve done the legwork to make sure your business name is free to use in Oklahoma. Now, let’s ensure that none of that work goes to waste by reserving your business name with the state.
In Oklahoma, you can reserve a business name by filing an Application for Reservation of Name. You can file this form by mail or online with the Secretary of State. This form includes some information about your business, such as your entity type, the name and address of the applicant, a signature, and of course, the name you wish to reserve.
Oklahoma requires a fee of $10 for this name reservation. You can pay by check or credit card.
Reserving your name will protect your business name for 60 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 60-day-long reservation gives you plenty of time to get all your affairs in order and file your formation documents.
5) File Your Oklahoma 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 Filing Department of the Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Certificate 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 Oklahoma. 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.