All LLCs are required to perform an Illinois Secretary of State business search in order to meet certain naming standards before incorporating an LLC.

The purpose of our guide is to teach you how to find your desired LLC name and make sure that it is available for you to use in your state. Along with adhering to the Illinois Secretary of State’s standards, it is important to guarantee that the entity name you choose is solely utilized by your firm.

Before completing your Illinois business name search, we suggest that you double-check that your LLC name follows the state’s guidelines.

The first and most vital step of forming your LLC is to come up with a unique business entity name. Make sure that you select a name that meets the requirements for naming a limited liability company in Illinois.

For more information, see the complete list of company naming requirements in Illinois here.

Before submitting your name reservation request, we suggest you perform an Illinois LLC name check using the Illinois LLC Name Search. 

To perform an effective Illinois LLC lookup, enter the desired name, omitting identifiers such as “LLC.” Thus, this will showcase all the local businesses holding similar names as the one you opt to use.

If your company name consists of more than one word, you may limit your search to the first two words to guarantee that you find all potential comparable names.

So you searched the Illinois Company Entity Records and the Illinois Secretary of State’s business database, and there it was: your fictitious name was already in use. So, what are you going to do now?

If you register your LLC in Illinois, your sole option is to develop new legal names. It is critical to remember that your name should not look to be too similar to the one you previously chose. After you’ve selected an LLC name that fits the Secretary of State’s requirements, reserve it as soon as possible.

For foreign business organizations, the procedure may become more challenging.

While your LLC may be already known by its name in other states, you may be unable to use it in Illinois due to name availability. As a result, you’ll need to come up with a “fictitious name,” or one that you can only use in the state.

Another aspect to take into account before forming an LLC is finding a domain name that matches your chosen business name. This is a small but critical step. You must guarantee that potential customers may quickly find your firm through a simple search.

You may also search the list of available domain names on popular domain registrars such as GoDaddy for a URL that compliments your chosen LLC name.

All LLC name questions and requests are handled by the Secretary of State of Illinois. An entity name can be reserved for up to 90 days.

You must make an application by mail to reserve a company name. To avoid rejection, perform a thorough search before submitting your application. You must pay a filing fee while reserving your name. Checks should be made out to Illinois’ Secretary of State.

While reserving an LLC name is simple, there are additional factors that should be taken into account while coming up with your company name. Our team suggests that you conduct a Trademark and Social Media search before finalizing your LLC name to determine whether it is accessible for usage online. Thus, this step will assist you in making sure that you are eligible to use your desired company name.

Before registering your business name and associated slogans or emblems, conduct a trademark search to avoid potentially costly lawsuits. Finding out that another entity has trademarked your desired company name does not immediately exclude you from using it.

However, it is critical to understand who is using the name, what sector they are in, and where they are situated in order to avoid unwittingly infringing on anyone’s intellectual property rights.

The steps are as follows:

1. Conduct an Illinois trademark search to determine whether your company’s name or any related slogans, logos, or other identifiers are already in use by another company in your state.
2. Search the electronic records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office for any federally registered trademarks linked with your business name.

While finding a web domain name that matches your business name is vital, it is equally important to ensure that it is available on all social media platforms. You may search for your company’s name on all major social networks and use a tool like Namecheckr to scan the name across all platforms simultaneously.

The first and most important step in forming an LLC in Illinois is deciding on a name. You may proceed as long as the name is acceptable and distinguishable from the other business entities in the state.

After conducting an Illinois Business Entity Search and deciding on an LLC name, you may want to choose a domain name that matches it to help your clients find your company online.

You may distinguish yourself from the competition by completing the Illinois LLC name reservation form. Securing your chosen business entity name might help you with the following stages in establishing your company in Illinois.