Business name rules by state
Updated . General information, not legal or tax advice.
Every state requires an LLC name to include a designator such as “LLC” and to be different from names already on its records. The details differ more than most people expect. Colorado treats “ABC LLC” and “ABC Inc.” as different names; most states don’t. Kentucky and Minnesota accept fewer forms of the designator than their neighbors. This table summarizes each state; open the state page for sources and the full rule.
“Disregarded” lists what the state says it ignores when comparing names. A dash means the state doesn’t publish a list.
| State | LLC designators allowed | Disregarded when comparing | Consent of existing holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Limited Liability Company, L.L.C., LLC | entity endings such as Inc. or LLC | — |
| Alaska | Limited Liability Company, L.L.C., LLC | — | — |
| Arizona | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., L.C., LLC, LC | words or abbreviations showing the entity type (Corporation, Incorporated, Limited, LLC and similar) | Allowed. The business holding the name must consent in writing and agree to change its own name to something… |
| Arkansas | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | the entity-type ending (LLC, Inc., Corp., LP, Ltd. and similar); "a", "an" or "the"; "and" versus "&"; singular, plural or possessive forms; punctuation and… | Allowed. The business already using the name must consent in writing and agree to change its own name to something… |
| California | Limited Liability Company, LLC, L.L.C., ('Limited' may be 'Ltd.', 'Company' may be 'Co.') | entity-type endings such as LLC or Inc.; capital or lowercase letters, superscript and subscript; typeface or lettering style; punctuation; symbols; spaces,… | Not available as a way around the rules. The Secretary of State doesn't consider whether you could get a consent letter… |
| Colorado | limited liability company, ltd. liability company, limited liability co., ltd. liability co., limited, l.l.c. | periods; commas; underscores; apostrophes and inverted apostrophes; capital versus lowercase letters | — |
| Connecticut | Limited Liability Company, LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Co., Ltd. Liability Company, Ltd. Liability Co. | corporation, corp., incorporated, Inc.; professional corporation, P.C., PC; limited, Ltd.; limited partnership; professional limited liability company,… | Allowed. The business holding the similar name can consent in writing and promise to change its own name (C.G.S.… |
| Delaware | Limited Liability Company, L.L.C., LLC | — | Allowed: an LLC can use a name that isn't distinguishable from another business's name if that business gives written… |
| District of Columbia | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | entity-type words and abbreviations such as Inc., LLC, LLP, LP, Ltd., PC and PA | Allowed if the business holding the similar name consents in writing and changes its own name (D.C. Code 29-103.01(b)).… |
| Florida | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC | the entity ending (LLC, Inc. and so on); "a", "an" or "the"; "and" versus "&"; singular, plural or possessive forms; punctuation marks and symbols | Allowed for LLCs: an LLC can use a name that isn't otherwise distinguishable if the other business's written consent is… |
| Georgia | limited liability company, limited company, LLC, L.L.C., LC, L.C. | articles (a, an, the); plural and possessive forms; phonetic spellings (Boyz vs Boys); conjunctions (and, &, or); abbreviations; suffixes and word derivatives;… | Only in limited cases. You can use a name close to another registered entity's with its written consent only if the… |
| Hawaii | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC, Ltd. (for 'limited'), Co. (for 'company') | — | Yes. The director may allow a substantially identical name if the owner of the existing name consents in writing and… |
| Idaho | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | entity-type words and abbreviations (corporation, corp., Inc., LLC, L.L.C., LP, LLP, Ltd., PC, PA and similar) | Yes. The existing entity can consent and agree to change its own name (Idaho Code 30-21-301(b)). If the two names… |
| Illinois | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC, L3C (low-profit LLCs only) | the words limited, liability and company and their abbreviations; articles (a, an, the); conjunctions (and, or); contractions; abbreviations; different tenses… | Illinois's LLC law has no consent option. The only way to use a name that isn't distinguishable is to file a certified… |
| Indiana | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC | entity-type words and abbreviations such as Corporation, Inc., Company, Co., Limited, Ltd., LP, LLP, PC, PSC and LLC | Yes. An existing entity can give written consent to your use of its name, but no one can consent to the use of a… |
| Iowa | limited liability company, limited company, L. L. C., LLC, L. C., LC | entity-type words and abbreviations (corporation, corp., incorporated, inc., limited, ltd., limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC, L.P., LLP, cooperative) | Yes. The holder of the existing name can consent in a signed record and must agree to change its own name to something… |
| Kansas | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., L.C., LLC, LC | — | Yes. You can use a similar name if the other business gives written consent on the Secretary of State's "Consent to Use… |
| Kentucky | limited liability company, limited company, LLC, LC | — | — |
| Louisiana | limited liability company, L.L.C., L.C. | — | Yes. Under La. R.S. 12:1306 you can take a name that conflicts with an existing registrant if that registrant consents… |
| Maine | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | — | Yes. File an Application for the Use of an Indistinguishable Name (form MLLC-15, $20). It is approved if the business… |
| Maryland | Limited Liability Company, LLC, L.L.C., LC, L.C. | — | — |
| Massachusetts | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., L.C., LLC, LC | — | Yes, for LLCs. You can use a similar name if the existing entity's written consent is filed with the Secretary of the… |
| Michigan | limited liability company, L.L.C., L.C., LLC, LC, low-profit limited liability company | — | — |
| Minnesota | limited liability company, LLC | — | Yes. You can file an indistinguishable name with the written consent of the business that holds it, with a court… |
| Mississippi | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC | — | Yes. The Secretary of State will allow a name that isn't distinguishable if the other business consents in writing and… |
| Missouri | limited liability company, limited company, LLC, LC, L.L.C., L.C. | — | Only if the business that holds the name consents in writing and files to change its own name to one that is… |
| Montana | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., L.C., LLC, LC | — | — |
| Nebraska | Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | — | Yes. The current holder's signed consent, or a court judgment, lets an LLC use a deceptively similar name (21-108(c));… |
| Nevada | Limited-Liability Company, Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, Limited, Ltd., L.L.C. | distinctive lettering; a distinctive mark; trademark or trade name elements | Yes. The state can accept the articles if they come with the written, acknowledged consent of the business holding the… |
| New Hampshire | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC, a similar abbreviation | an article (a, an, the); plural forms of the same word; a phonetic spelling of the same word; an abbreviation instead of the full word; a prefix, suffix or… | Yes. You can use a name that isn't distinguishable with the holder's written consent (adding words if the names are… |
| New Jersey | Limited Liability Company, Limited Liability Co., LTD Liability Company, LTD Liability Co., L.L.C., LLC | capitalization; spaces; punctuation (. , ' - &); a leading A, An or The; a trailing 's'; the words And, Or and Of; entity designators | — |
| New Mexico | Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | — | For corporations, yes: with the other holder's written consent plus one or more added words that make the name… |
| New York | Limited Liability Company, LLC, L.L.C. | — | — |
| North Carolina | Limited Liability Company, L.L.C., LLC, Ltd. Liability Co., Limited Liability Co., Ltd. Liability Company | entity designators at the end of the name; articles (a, an, the); conjunctions (and, or); prepositions; punctuation; spaces; a numeral used in place of a word | Yes. You can use a name that isn't distinguishable if the business holding it consents in writing and agrees, in a form… |
| North Dakota | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC | — | Yes. You can use a name that isn't distinguishable if you file the written consent of the business holding it, or a… |
| Ohio | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC, limited, ltd., ltd | — | Yes. You can use a name that isn't distinguishable from an existing one if the other business, or the owner of the… |
| Oklahoma | limited liability company, limited company, LLC, LC, L.L.C., L.C. | — | — |
| Oregon | limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC | — | Oregon law has no consent option. A name that isn't distinguishable is allowed only if you file a certified court… |
| Pennsylvania | company, limited, limited liability company, or an accepted abbreviation / words of like import | designators such as Inc., Incorporated, LLC, Limited or Company | Yes. The business that already holds the name can give consent by filing a Consent to Appropriation of Name (form… |
| Rhode Island | limited liability company, l.l.c. (upper or lower case, with or without punctuation), low-profit, limited liability company / L3C (for L3Cs) | a, an, the; plurals; designators such as LLC; punctuation; special characters; capitalization; spacing; numerals vs. Roman numerals vs. words; abbreviations… | Rhode Island law allows a name that isn't distinguishable only with a court decree showing a prior right to it, or when… |
| South Carolina | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | — | Yes. You can use a name that isn't distinguishable if the business currently using it consents in writing and agrees to… |
| South Dakota | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | — | Yes. You can use a name that isn't distinguishable if the business currently using or holding it consents in writing… |
| Tennessee | limited liability company, LLC, L.L.C. | — | Yes. If the business already using a similar name agrees, it can sign a Written Consent for Use of Indistinguishable… |
| Texas | Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, LLC, L.L.C., LC, L.C. | business-type endings such as LLC or Inc.; articles such as “the” and “a”; punctuation; spacing | Yes. The business with the similar name can sign Form 509, Consent to Use of Similar Name, which must be notarized.… |
| Utah | Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, L.L.C., L.C., LLC, LC | — | — |
| Vermont | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | — | Yes. The business that already holds the name can give written, signed consent and agree to change its own name to one… |
| Virginia | limited company, limited liability company, L.C., LC, L.L.C., LLC | business-type endings such as LLC, Inc. or LP | Yes, for Virginia LLCs. The business with the similar name must agree in writing and promise to change its own name to… |
| Washington | limited liability company, limited liability co., L.L.C., LLC | words or abbreviations that show the business type (Corporation, Corp., Incorporated, Inc., Company, Co., Social Purpose Corporation, SPC and similar); plural… | Yes. The business that already holds the name can consent in writing and agree to change its own name to one that is… |
| West Virginia | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC | — | Yes. The business that holds the name can consent in writing and agree to change its own name to one that is… |
| Wisconsin | limited liability company, limited company, LLC, LC, Ltd. (for limited), Co. (for company) | differences in capitalization or punctuation of the business-type abbreviation (such as LLC vs. L.L.C.) | Yes. The holder of the name can consent in writing and agree to change its name or cancel its registration or… |
| Wyoming | Limited Liability Company, LLC, L.L.C., Limited Company, LC, L.C. | — | Yes. Wyoming will allow a name that is not distinguishable if the holder of the existing name consents in writing and… |
Restricted words
Most states restrict words that suggest a regulated business or government connection, such as “bank,” “trust,” “insurance,” “university” or “federal.” Using them usually requires approval from a state regulator first. Our name check flags the restricted words each state publishes, and each state page lists them with sources.
Professional LLCs
Licensed professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants often must form a professional LLC (PLLC) or professional corporation, with its own designator and sometimes approval from a licensing board. Rules are on each state page where the state publishes them.