Business name guides
17 questions people ask while naming a company, each answered from the documents of the agency that sets the rule: the IRS, the USPTO, the SBA, ICANN, state filing offices and county clerks.
The list is alphabetical.
- Business name change with the IRSWhich IRS form box or letter covers a new business name, who signs it and when an EIN stays the same.
- Can two businesses have the same name?Entity names, DBAs and trademarks each answer this differently, with wording from five state statutes.
- Company domain nameWhat a domain is, who registers it, how renewal works and what the official pages say about email.
- Company name for a sole proprietorshipYour own name needs no filing. A trade name does, with county examples from Texas and California.
- Fictitious business name in San Diego CountyThe 40-day filing deadline, the $54 fee, four office locations and how to search San Diego County records.
- Fictitious business name, assumed name and trade nameWhich word each state uses for a DBA, who takes the filing and how long it lasts.
- Harris County DBA search and assumed name filingWhere a Harris County assumed name is filed and searched, what each office charges and how long the record lasts.
- How much to trademark a business nameUSPTO application, extra and upkeep fees per class, plus what Texas and Florida charge for a state mark.
- How to change an LLC nameAmendment forms, filing fees and what the IRS says, for California, Texas and Florida.
- How to find a business owner's nameWhere registered agents, registrants and owners appear in state and county records, and what FinCEN says.
- How to protect a business nameWhat an entity name, a trademark, a DBA and a domain each protect, and what each leaves open.
- How to register a company nameSteps from choosing a structure to filing, with Washington's and Delaware's own formation steps.
- Is an LLC a business licenseForming an LLC creates a legal entity. Licenses and permits come from other agencies.
- Is my business name taken?Where to search for a name and what each result does and does not tell you.
- LLC name examplesInvented names that meet, and miss, the ending rules in Delaware, Florida, Texas and California.
- Los Angeles County fictitious business nameLos Angeles County filing and renewal fees, how to file, where to search records and when publication is due.
- What does Ltd mean in a company name"Limited" and "ltd." in state name statutes, and why LLC statutes ask for different endings.
Ready to check a name? Start with the business entity search by state, then price the filing with the LLC cost calculator.