Nailing down a great name for your Wyoming LLC can bechallenging. You want the name to be unique and easy to remember while conveying whatyour ...
Once your application is processed, your LLC name will be reserved for 120 days.
Written by: Carolyn Young
Carolyn Young has over 25 years of experience in business in various roles, including bank management, marketing management, and business education.
Reviewed by: Sarah Ruddle
For over 15 years, Sarah Ruddle has been a noteworthy leader in the business and nonprofit world.
Updated on July 16, 2024
Nailing down a great name for your Tennessee 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 found the perfect business name, you need to make sure it’s available. That takes several steps, as detailed in this handy guide.
The most important consideration when choosing an LLC name in Tennessee is to make sure it’s available and legally acceptable. Here’s how to confirm you can use your preferred business name.
Go to the Secretary of State’s 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 Tennessee.
In Tennessee, your LLC name must include the phrase “limited liability company” or one of its abbreviations (LLC or L.L.C.). In addition, it cannot have words that could confuse your LLC with a government agency.
Additionally, your business name must be distinguishable from all other business names in the state and cannot include words like bank, insurance, or university without state approval or imply involvement in unlawful activity.
Lastly, your LLC name cannot falsely imply that your LLC is organized as, affiliated with, or sponsored by any fraternal, veterans, service, religious, charitable, or professional organization.
Check with the US Patent and Trademark Office to ensure the name has not been trademarked and is thus available nationally.
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.
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.
To reserve an LLC name in Tennessee, start by visiting the Secretary of State’s website and downloading the form. Unfortunately, you cannot file your reservation online, in person, or by mail.
With the $20 fee, mail the form to or visit the office at:
Tennessee Secretary of State
ATTN: Corporate Filing
312 Rosa L. Parks Ave FL 6
Nashville TN 37243
Once your application is processed, your LLC name will be reserved for 120 days.
Even after all this work, you may want to do business under a name other than your LLC. First, you’ll need to register a “doing business as” or DBA name. There are two main reasons you might want to use a DBA.
In Tennessee, a DBA is known as an assumed name. To register in Tennessee, go to the Secretary of State’s website to fill out the form. In addition, you’ll need the control number assigned when you formed your LLC. The fee is $20.
Choosing a business name is a crucial step to entrepreneurial success, so if you’ve found a good one, don’t let somebody else get it! Just take the steps detailed above to ensure it’s available and legally acceptable before making the name yours.
You don’t want to run into an issue later that could impact the success of your business.
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