US business entity search, state by state
There is no national register of company names. Every state keeps its own and writes its own naming law. Pick your state to check a name against that state's actual statute, then search the official register.
States with a name checker
| State | Filing agency | Governing statute | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Arizona Corporation Commission | A.R.S. § 29-3112 | 2026-08-10 |
| California | California Secretary of State | Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.08 | 2026-08-10 |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Secretary of the State | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-243k | 2026-08-10 |
| Delaware | Delaware Department of State | 6 Del. C. § 18-102 | 2026-08-10 |
| Florida | Florida Department of State | Fla. Stat. § 605.0112 | 2026-08-10 |
| Iowa | Iowa Secretary of State | Iowa Code § 489.112 | 2026-08-10 |
| Kansas | Kansas Secretary of State | K.S.A. § 17-7920 | 2026-08-10 |
| Maine | Maine Secretary of State | 31 M.R.S. § 1508 | 2026-08-10 |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Secretary of State | Minn. Stat. § 322C.0108 | 2026-08-10 |
| New York | New York Department of State | N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law § 204 | 2026-08-10 |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Secretary of State | S.C. Code § 33-44-105 | 2026-08-10 |
| Texas | Texas Secretary of State | Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code §§ 5.052, 5.053 and 5.056 | 2026-08-10 |
| Utah | Utah Department of Commerce | Utah Code § 48-3a-108 | 2026-08-10 |
| Vermont | Vermont Secretary of State | 11 V.S.A. § 4005 | 2026-08-10 |
| Virginia | Virginia State Corporation Commission | Va. Code § 13.1-1012 | 2026-08-10 |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Secretary of State | Wyo. Stat. § 17-29-108 | 2026-08-08 |
Not yet covered
Each state's rules are read from its own statute and filing office before it goes up here, so the list grows slowly on purpose. In the meantime, form in any state with us and we handle the name check as part of formation.
Alabama , Alaska , Arkansas , Colorado , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , North Carolina , North Dakota , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Dakota , Tennessee , Washington , West Virginia , Wisconsin
What a name search does not tell you
Whether the name is legal
A name can be entirely unused and still refused, for missing a required ending, using a banned word, or using one that needs a banking or education regulator's consent.
Whether yours is too close
Searching for your exact name finds an exact match. It does not tell you that the state treats punctuation, spacing, plurals or the entity suffix as no difference at all.
Whether it is yours
Registering a name is public notice, not ownership. Trademarks are a separate system and a separate risk.
Common questions
Is there one nationwide business name search?
No. There is no federal register of company names. Each state keeps its own, and a name free in one state can be taken in another. Search the state you intend to form in, and search again in any state you later register to do business in.
Does a state name search cover trademarks?
No. State registers and trademarks are separate systems. A name can clear the state register and still infringe a federal or common law trademark, which is the more expensive problem of the two.
Why do the naming rules differ so much between states?
Because each one writes its own. California bans bank and trust in an LLC name outright, while Wyoming allows them with the banking regulator’s approval. Wyoming treats "XYZ 3", "XYZ III" and "XYZ Three" as three different names, and Texas treats "One World" and "1 World" as the same one. There is no safe general rule, which is why each page here is built from that state’s own statute.
Does searching reserve the name?
No. A search is a snapshot of the register. Most states offer a separate paid reservation, and even that is not an approval. Availability is finally determined when your formation document is reviewed.