Nailing down a great name for your Wyoming LLC can be challenging.
You want the name to be unique and easy to remember while 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.
Wyoming LLC Entity Search
The most important consideration when choosing an LLC name in Wyoming 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 Wyoming
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 Wyoming.
2. Check Wyoming’s LLC name regulations
In Wyoming, 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 Wyoming LLC with any 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 approval from state authorities.
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 Wyoming LLC Name Reservation
To reserve an LLC name in Wyoming, start by visiting the Secretary of State website, then head to the Forms & Publications page. To download the Name Reservation form, expand the LLC menu and click on the Reservation of Name link.
Once the form is downloaded, fill in all the required information and mail a copy to the Secretary of State’s office along with the $60 fee.
In Wyoming, there is no option to file a name reservation online; you must submit a paper form. Once your application is processed, your LLC name will be reserved for 120 days.
Doing Business As (DBA)
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” and you want to expand and offer “JJ’s Muffins,” 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 Wyoming, a DBA is known as a trade name. To register a trade name in Wyoming, go to the Secretary of State website and download the Application for Registration of Trade Name.
Once you complete the form, you’ll mail it to the Secretary of State’s office. The filing fee is $100.
In Closing
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 nailing it down.
You don’t want to run into an issue later that could impact the success of your business.