Tips To Determining Your Corporate Name Nationwide (Part II)
Corporate, TipsThis is Part II of our two-part blog on Corporate Names. We posted Part I in last week’s blog that discussed Corporate Name Availability in more detail. Today we share some tips on Name Reservation vs. Name Registration.
Name Reservation. This is generally a document and filing fee submitted to a Secretary of State office, or just a fee paid. A Name Reservation can hold your name for a term that can vary from 30 to 180 days depending on the state. If your business plans experience a delay, most states will allow you to re-reserve the name upon expiration. Sometimes coordinating a continual re-reservation process is needed though it’s not the most effective use of time and cost management. If the name is still reserved when filing the Formation or Registration then a copy of the reservation should accompany the filing to prevent rejection.
Name Registration. This filing is basically a longer-term Name Reservation. In some regards a Name Registration is filed very similarly to the requirements of a qualification since a Certificate of Good Standing/Existence is generally required to accompany the form and fee when filed. The Certificate evidences that the entity is already incorporated in another state. Rather than continually re-reserving a business name upon expiration every 30 days, Name Registration will generally hold the name for a 12-month term, or for the balance of the calendar year. This can be effective cost and time savings by reducing the number of actions, filing fees, and calendaring needed to hold the name until your business is ready to qualify.
True availability is generally determined upon filing a Name Reservation, Name Registration, Incorporation/Formation, or Qualification/Registration form(s) with a Secretary of State office. Make sure to share your desired outcome(s) with your Service Consultant so that you can choose the option(s) that suit your circumstance.
Are you determining your corporate name nationwide? Contact our Legal Services Division for assistance and more information: 844.392.7588