How to check if a business name is available

Updated October 30, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.

When people say a business name is “available,” they usually mean the state will accept it when they file. No search can promise that. A search shows you what is already on the state’s records; the filing office decides, under its own rules, whether your name is different enough when you submit your formation document or a name reservation.

That still makes a search the most useful first step. If the same name is on file, you’ll almost certainly be rejected, and you can avoid paying a filing fee for nothing.

A sensible order of checks

Search the state where you’ll form the business. Use our search or the state’s own. Look at close names too, not just exact ones.
Read the state’s comparison rule. Most states ask whether a name is “distinguishable upon the records,” and ignore things like “LLC” vs “Inc.” or the word “The.” A few, such as Colorado, treat those differences as enough. Each state page lists its rule.
Check trademarks. A registered or even unregistered trademark can stop you from using a name the state accepted. Search the USPTO trademark database and the web. More on trademarks.
Check assumed names (DBAs). In some states DBAs are filed with counties and won’t appear in a state entity search.
Check the domain and social handles you want, if they matter to you.
Reserve or file. Many states let you reserve a name for a fee. Otherwise, the name is yours in that state when your filing is accepted.

What each result on this site means

Taken: same name on file: A record matches your name once the state’s ignored differences are set aside. Expect a rejection unless the state allows the existing holder to consent and they agree.
Similar names on file: Nothing identical, but close names exist. We show why each one is similar (shared distinctive words, a one-letter difference, only a designator different). The state decides whether yours is distinguishable.
No matching records found: The search ran successfully and found nothing the same or similar in that source. A good sign, not an approval.
Too many results to review: The source returned more records than it allows us to see. Add a distinctive word and search again.
Partly completed, or data may be out of date: Part of the source didn’t respond, it doesn’t cover the full registry (as in Texas, where we search Comptroller data), or it hasn’t been updated on schedule. Treat it as unfinished.
Check not completed: The source failed, timed out, refused the request, or we don’t search that state. Nothing was found or ruled out.

We don’t give percentages or “conflict scores.” There’s no reliable way to turn a state examiner’s judgment into a number, so we tell you what matched and why instead.

Inactive, dissolved and revoked names

A dissolved or revoked company’s name isn’t automatically free. Many states protect it for a time so the company can reinstate. Idaho, for example, only frees the names of entities administratively dissolved for more than six months. Reserved names and names registered by out-of-state companies can also block yours. We show these records with their official status so you can judge, and we never treat an inactive match as a clear result.

Differences states usually ignore

Most states require a new name to be “distinguishable upon the records,” and many of their filing offices publish guidance treating names that differ only in these ways as not distinguishable:

Entity designators: LLC, L.L.C., Inc., Corp., Company, Ltd.
Articles and conjunctions: a, an, the, and, &
Punctuation, spacing, capitalization and special characters
Singular versus plural, and possessives

States vary, so check the rules for your state. When a state doesn’t publish which differences it ignores, our check counts only capitalization and punctuation as insignificant and marks other close names as similar rather than the same.

What a state name search doesn’t tell you

Whether you can use the name nationwide; registration is state by state.
Whether someone holds trademark rights to it.
Whether a licensing board will approve it for a regulated profession, or whether words like “bank” or “insurance” need agency approval (we flag these where the state lists them).
Whether the domain is free.