Georgia Secretary of State business entity search
A Georgia LLC name may not run past 80 characters, counting spaces and punctuation, under Secretary of State Rule 590-7-20-.01.
Check a name against Georgia's naming rules
Example: a check of "Blue Heron Bakery LLC" against Georgia's rules.
- Ends with "LLC", an ending Georgia lists for an LLC.
Get the matching domain name
Type a business name to check its .com, .net, .org and .us.
"Not registered" is the registry's answer at this moment. It is not a promise that the name can be bought at the standard price, since some unregistered names are reserved or sold at a premium. The buttons open Spaceship, a domain registrar, where the price is shown.
This checks the ending and the restricted words Georgia publishes. It does not tell you whether another company already holds the name. Only the state's own search can show that.
A private website, not a government site. Every state entry links to that state's official search.
Georgia Secretary of State's own search
- Run by
- Georgia Secretary of State
- Called
- Secretary of State's online business search
- Search by
- Business Name, Control Number, Registered Agent Name, Officer Name, Designated Agent Name
The state's search is the record that counts. State Business Entity Search is not a government site.
The Corporations Division of the Georgia Secretary of State keeps the register. Its online business search is for research and is not an official name availability check.
Georgia filing fees for a new business name
| Filing | State fee | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Form an LLC in Georgia | $100 | Articles of organization. Source: Georgia.gov, Register an LLC. |
| Form a corporation in Georgia | $100 | Articles of incorporation. |
| Reserve a name in Georgia | $25 | Held for 30 days. Source: Georgia.gov, Reserve a business name. |
| Annual registration for a Georgia LLC | $60 | Every year. Between January 1 and April 1. Source: Georgia.gov, Register an LLC. |
Name endings Georgia accepts
For an LLC (Secretary of State Rule 590-7-20-.01)
What the Georgia eCorp business search covers
The Secretary of State's online business search lets you look up a business name, a control number, or the name of a registered agent, an officer or a designated agent. Each name search can run as Starts With, Contains or Exact Match.
Georgia.gov tells filers to use the search to see whether a name is taken, and in the same breath calls it research only. Treat a clear result as a first look. The state decides on a name only when it reviews a reservation or a filing.
Georgia LLC names: Rule 590-7-20-.01
For an LLC, the endings are set out in a Secretary of State rule. Rule 590-7-20-.01 requires the words "limited liability company" or "limited company", or one of the abbreviations LLC, L.L.C., LC or L.C. It lets "limited" shrink to "Ltd." and "company" to "Co.". The name endings each state accepts lists them with the other states, and what Ltd means covers that abbreviation.
The same rule caps the name at 80 characters and bars words that belong to other entity types, such as "incorporated" and "limited liability partnership".
What makes a Georgia name distinguishable
Rule 590-7-2-.04 tells the Commissioner to deny a name that is identical to, or not distinguishable from, an existing entity or an active reservation. Changing only an article, a plural, a possessive, punctuation, spaces or an abbreviation does not make a new name. Neither does swapping "and" for "&", or digits for the same number spelled out.
The Secretary of State's how-to guide adds that a different entity type alone is not a difference. A place name added to otherwise identical names can set them apart under Rules .08 and .09.
Georgia words that need another agency's approval
Some words need written approval before the Secretary of State accepts them.
- "Insurance", "assurance", "surety", "fidelity", "reinsurance", "reassurance" and "indemnity" need the Office of Commissioner of Insurance.
- "Bank" and its variations, "trust" and "credit union" need the Department of Banking and Finance.
- "College" and "university" need the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission.
Rule 590-7-2-.12 also lets the Secretary of State restrict well-known trademarks, agency names and charity names.
Reserving a Georgia name
A reservation request lists three names in order of preference, and staff search them in that order. Georgia.gov puts the filing fee at $25 and calls it nonrefundable. The Secretary of State's own guide puts the fee at $35, a $25 filing fee plus a $10 service charge.
If a name is approved, it is held for 30 days, or until the filing is submitted if that comes sooner. Rule 590-7-2-.03 calls the 30 days nonrenewable, while georgia.gov says to reapply and pay another filing fee. Requests are generally processed in 5 to 7 business days.
Filing and keeping a Georgia LLC
For articles of organization, georgia.gov tells filers to pay the $100 filing fee, while the Secretary of State's own guide says to pay $110, the $100 filing fee plus a $10 service charge. For processing, georgia.gov says 7 business days online and the Secretary of State's fee page says 7 to 10 business days. The LLC cost calculator puts the formation fee next to the other states.
Every LLC needs a registered agent located in Georgia. A DBA is a separate matter: fictitious business names explains how it differs from the LLC's own name.
Checking and claiming a name in Georgia
- Search the name in eCorp with Contains, then with Exact Match.
- Check the ending and the 80-character limit against Rule 590-7-20-.01.
- Send a reservation request with up to three names, or file the articles of organization directly.
- File the annual registration between January 1 and April 1 each year.
Georgia name search questions
Is the Georgia business name search an official check that a name is free?
No. The state portal says the Secretary of State's online business search is for research purposes only. A name reservation request is different, because staff then run a full search of the names you list.
Where do I file a Georgia DBA or trade name?
With the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the business is located, not with the Secretary of State. Georgia also requires publishing the trade name registration in the local newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks.
Can I do a Georgia LLC lookup by registered agent or officer name?
Yes. The eCorp search page offers Business Name, Control Number, Registered Agent Name, Officer Name and Designated Agent Name as search fields.
What happens if a Georgia LLC misses its annual registration?
The business can face a civil suit, or the Secretary of State can administratively dissolve or revoke the LLC. The registration is due between January 1 and April 1 each year.
Can a Georgia LLC name include the word Corporation?
No. Rule 590-7-20-.01 lists words that must not appear in an LLC name, including corporation, incorporated and limited partnership, along with abbreviations of those words.
After the Georgia name check
- LLC cost calculatorGeorgia filing and report fees added up
- Business name rules by stateGeorgia's endings beside other states
- North Carolina business entity searchNorth Carolina Secretary of State
- Michigan business entity searchMichigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Missouri business entity searchMissouri Secretary of State
- Can two businesses have the same name?Entity names, DBAs and trademarks each answer this differently, with wording from five state statutes.
- Is my business name taken?Where to search for a name and what each result does and does not tell you.
11 official Georgia sources
- Georgia.gov, Reserve a business name, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia.gov, Register an LLC, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia.gov, Renew an LLC, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia.gov, File a DBA, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia Secretary of State, eCorp business search, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia Secretary of State, How to reserve a name, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia Secretary of State, How to file an annual registration, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia Secretary of State, Filing fees and expedited processing, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia Secretary of State Rule 590-7-20, Limited liability companies, from the Internet Archive's copy of October 13, 2026.
- Georgia Secretary of State Rule 590-7-2, Entity names, retrieved November 13, 2026.
- Georgia Secretary of State, form a corporation in Georgia, retrieved November 13, 2026.
Where a state page would not load, its stored copy at the Internet Archive was used and the copy's date is shown. Fees can change, so confirm the amount with the state before you pay.