Virginia Business Entity Search

Check your name against Virginia law before you file. The state's search tells you whether a name exists. It does not tell you whether yours is legal, or whether it is too close to one already on the register. This does both.

Form this LLC for $399

What this does not check

  • • Whether the name is already taken. That needs the state’s live register, which we link below.
  • • Trademarks. A name can be free on the state register and still infringe a federal or common law mark.
  • • Domain and social handle availability.
  • • Whether the name is available in any other state you later register in.

Virginia LLC naming rules

Va. Code § 13.1-1012 and Va. Code § 13.1-1012(C), (F)

Your name must include one of

  • Limited Company
  • Limited Liability Company
  • L.C.
  • LC
  • L.L.C.
  • LLC

Your name must not

  • • Any word, abbreviation or combination of characters stating or implying the company is a corporation, a limited partnership, a registered limited liability partnership, or a protected series of a series LLC
  • • Any word or phrase whose use is prohibited by law for such a company

When is a name too close to one already registered?

This is what catches most filings. Virginia compares your name against what is already on the register, and a difference that looks obvious to you may not count.

These do not make a name different

  • • Any word, phrase, abbreviation or designation that this section or the related entity statutes require or permit a business entity to carry in its name, which the Commission does not consider at all when comparing names

These do

  • • The name must be distinguishable on the Commission’s records from every domestic and foreign LLC, corporation, business trust and limited partnership registered in Virginia, from every reserved or registered name, and from the designated name any foreign entity adopted because its real name was unavailable

Names Virginia will accept with the other company's consent

  • • You may apply to use a name that is not distinguishable. The Commission will authorise it if the other entity consents in writing and submits an undertaking, in a form satisfactory to the Commission, to change its own name to one that is distinguishable

Our comparison cannot judge: Repeated or dropped letters. Texas treats "Texxas Strong" as the same name as "Texas Strong". Words that sound alike. Texas treats "Xpress Auto" as the same as "Express Auto". Words that mean the same thing in another language, where the state translates them. Anything the filing officer decides at their own discretion, which every state reserves.

Searching the official register

  • • Virginia LLCs file with the State Corporation Commission rather than the Secretary of the Commonwealth
  • • We have not published a direct link to the Commission’s entity search because their site would not serve us when we checked, and we only publish a link once we have loaded it ourselves

Exceptions worth knowing

  • • Assumed and fictitious names are governed separately under Title 59.1 and are not affected by these rules, so clearing one does not clear the other

Virginia State Corporation Commission

Entity search
Run the search from the Virginia State Corporation Commission website. We only publish a direct link once we have loaded it ourselves.

Virginia business name questions

How do I search Virginia business entity names?

Virginia State Corporation Commission runs the official register. Search there for the exact name you want. Before you do, use the checker above to confirm the name satisfies Va. Code § 13.1-1012, because a name can be unused and still be refused for breaking the naming rules.

What must a Virginia LLC name contain?

Under Va. Code § 13.1-1012, the name must include one of: Limited Company, Limited Liability Company, L.C., LC, L.L.C., LLC.

What words are not allowed in a Virginia LLC name?

Virginia does not allow: Any word, abbreviation or combination of characters stating or implying the company is a corporation, a limited partnership, a registered limited liability partnership, or a protected series of a series LLC; Any word or phrase whose use is prohibited by law for such a company.

What makes two Virginia business names too similar?

Virginia does not treat these as differences: Any word, phrase, abbreviation or designation that this section or the related entity statutes require or permit a business entity to carry in its name, which the Commission does not consider at all when comparing names. Two names that differ only in those ways are the same name to the filing office.

Can I use a name that is already taken in Virginia?

Sometimes. You may apply to use a name that is not distinguishable. The Commission will authorise it if the other entity consents in writing and submits an undertaking, in a form satisfactory to the Commission, to change its own name to one that is distinguishable The consent has to be filed with your formation document.

Does a name search reserve or protect my Virginia name?

No. A search tells you what is on the register at that moment. It is not an approval, and it gives you no rights in the name. Availability is finally determined only when your formation document is reviewed.

Can StartGlobal form my Virginia LLC?

Yes. Formation is $399 one time with all state and government fees included, and it works from anywhere in the world with no SSN and no US address required.

More for Virginia

Check a name in another state

Sources for Virginia

  1. Va. Code § 13.1-1012, Name — Virginia Law Portal, Virginia General Assembly (checked Aug 10, 2026)