What should I do in picking an LLC name?

When you are picking your company’s name, the most important thing to do is to make sure that you have the right to use the name you want. This means you should conduct a trademark search to make sure that someone else is not using the name as a trademark. Similarly, you should search state records (via the secretary of state) of currently registered businesses, where available, to make sure that nobody else has registered the name for their own business. Once your searches come out clean, you can then go ahead with using the name you have chosen. If you are worried that someone else may try to get a hold of that name before you get all of your LLC paperwork done, most states will allow you to reserve an LLC name by filing a reservation application with the secretary of state.

You should also be aware that most states have certain mandatory requirements for LLC names. For example, you generally have to include the term “limited liability company,” “limited company” or some abbreviation of one of these in the LLC name. Also, state law often defines certain words that cannot be in your company name, such as “bank,” “trust,” or “federal.”