New York LLC Name Search

Nailing down a great name for your New York LLC can be challenging. 

You want the name to be unique and easy to remember while being legally acceptable and conveying what your business does. You also want it to be SEO-friendly so that it can easily be found on Google. That’s a lot of boxes to check. 

And even if you’ve already seen the perfect business name, you need to make sure it’s available. That takes several steps, as detailed in this handy guide.

New York LLC Entity Search 

The most important consideration when choosing an LLC name in New York is to make sure it’s available and legally acceptable. Here’s how to confirm you can use your preferred business name. 

1. Check for availability in New York

Go to the Department of State website and enter your business name. 

You should also search for similar business names, as you don’t want a name that can be easily confused with other businesses in New York. 

2. Check New York’s LLC name regulations

In New York, Limited Liability Company Law requires that the name of the limited liability company contain the words: “Limited Liability Company” or one of the following abbreviations, “LLC” or “L.L.C.”.

Limited Liability Company Law prohibits or restricts the use of certain words and phrases in the name of the limited liability company.

3. Check Trademarks

Check with the US Patent and Trademark Office to ensure the name has not been trademarked and is thus available nationally. 

4. Check domain name availability

You’ll want to make sure the domain name is available. You can check at a site like GoDaddy.com and use .com or .org, as those give your business more credibility.

5. Google it

Do a Google search to ensure the name is not being used in the U.S. or internationally. This is particularly important if you plan to have a strong online presence for your business.  

Once you’ve confirmed these, it’s a good idea to reserve the name with the state. 

How to file a New York LLC Name Reservation

To reserve an LLC name in New York, start by visiting the Department of State’s website and downloading the form. Unfortunately, you cannot file online, only by mail. 

You’ll mail the form to:

NYS Department of State
Division of Corporations
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12231

Doing Business As (DBA)

Even after all this work, at some point, you may want to do business under a name other than your LLC name. You’ll need to register a “doing business as” or DBA name. There are two main reasons you might want to use a DBA.

• Suppose you want to add new product lines. For example, if your business name is “JJ’s Waffles,” you want to expand and offer “JJ’s Muffins.” Then, you can have multiple DBAs under the umbrella of your one LLC. 
• When you have a DBA, you can have a business bank account under that name. So if you add “JJ’s Muffins,”  customers can pay “JJ’s Muffins,” and you can deposit those payments into the bank account with that name.

In New York, a DBA is known as an assumed name. To register an assumed name in New York, go to the Department of State’s website to download the form.

The fee to register is $25 for LLCs. Depending on the county or counties where the corporation conducts business or plans to conduct business, an extra county filing fee is charged.

You’ll mail the form to:

New York Department of State
Division of Corporations
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12231.  

In Closing

Choosing a business name is crucial to entrepreneurial success, so if you’ve found a good one, don’t let somebody else get it. Instead, just take the steps detailed above to ensure it’s available and legally acceptable before nailing it down. 

You don’t want to run into an issue later that could impact the success of your business.