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A name reservation holds a company name on the state register for a fixed time. During that time the state will not accept another company's filing under the same or a confusingly close name. When you file your articles of organization, you use the reserved name and the hold turns into a real filing.
When a reservation is worth it
Most new owners can skip it. If the name is free and you are ready, filing the articles right away gives you the name and the company at once. A reservation earns its fee when there is a delay, for example:
- you are waiting for a lease, a licence or a partner to sign before you form
- you need a restricted word approved by a banking or insurance regulator first
- you plan to register an existing company in a new state later and want the name held
- you are working on a brand launch and do not want the name taken in the meantime
How to reserve a name
- Search the name first. A reservation is only accepted if the name is available. Use our LLC name search to open the state's register with the core of the name.
- Check the name rules. The reserved name must meet the same rules as a filed name. See LLC name rules.
- File the application. Most states call it an application for reservation of name. Many take it online, others by mail. Each state sets its own fee.
- Save the confirmation. It shows the reserved name, the holder and the date it expires.
- Form before it expires. Put the name exactly as reserved in your articles. Some states ask you to mention the reservation on the form.
The link to each state's form and fee is on that state's guide.
What changes from state to state
The pattern is the same in most places, but the details are set by each state's law:
- Length of the hold. Each state fixes its own period.
- Renewal. Some states allow one or more renewals, some do not, and some make you wait before reserving the same name again.
- Who can reserve. Usually anyone, including a person who has not formed a company yet.
- Transfers. Some states allow the holder to pass the reservation to another person by notice.
What a reservation does not do
It does not create a company, and you cannot sign contracts or open a bank account as the LLC until you form it. It only covers the register of the state where you filed. It does not give trademark rights, and it does not stop someone in another state from using the name. An attorney can tell you whether a federal trademark search makes sense for your brand.
If you want to trade under a second name after you form, that is an assumed name, not a reservation. Our DBA search guide covers how those are filed and searched.
Reserving is part of the formation steps in each state guide, for example Texas.