California Business Name Search
Search the state's records, check your name against the rules, and generate alternatives when it is already taken.
Searching for a Business Name in California
California's Secretary of State publishes every registered corporation, LLC and limited partnership through bizfile Online. The search is free and open to anyone, and it is the record that matters — the Secretary of State is the office that will accept or reject your Articles of Organization.
California also carries a restriction most states do not: an LLC name may not contain certain words at all, regardless of whether anyone else has used them. That list, and the state's distinguishability standard, decide whether a name that looks free actually is.
bizfile Online, free
The Secretary of State's own search. No account, no fee, and more current than any third-party mirror.
Words a California LLC cannot use
Bank, trust, trustee, incorporated, inc., corporation and corp. are off-limits in an LLC name regardless of availability.
Statewide, not county
Registering with the Secretary of State is separate from a county fictitious business name filing. Many businesses need both.
How to Search the California Business Name Database
Open bizfile Online
The Secretary of State's business search at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov covers corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships on file in California. Use it rather than a mirror, which may not reflect recent filings.
Search the distinctive words only
Leave off "LLC" and search the part of the name that does the identifying. A search including the suffix will miss a corporation using the same distinctive words, which is exactly the conflict that gets filings rejected.
Run the variants
Singular and plural, numbers written both ways, and common respellings. California will not treat a name as distinguishable just because it differs in punctuation, spacing or entity type.
Reserve for 60 days, or file
A Name Reservation Request holds an available name for 60 days. It is optional — filing the Articles of Organization claims the name directly — and useful mainly when there is a gap between deciding and filing.
Pro tip: Check the restricted-word list before anything else. A name containing "trust" or "inc." will fail no matter how clear the search comes back, and that is a wasted filing fee.
Search the California Database
The Secretary of State's own free search. We keep no copy of these records and make no availability claim — only the state can tell you whether a name will clear.
Nametastic is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. We hold no registry records and cannot tell you whether a name is available — only the state can. Naming rules change; confirm the current requirements with the office linked above before you file.
California LLC Naming Rules
What the Secretary of State requires. Rules change occasionally — confirm the current version with the office linked above before you file.
| Do | Not this | |
|---|---|---|
| Entity suffix | End with "Limited Liability Company", "LLC" or "L.L.C." | Omit the suffix, or end an LLC name with a corporate suffix |
| Forbidden words | Keep bank, trust, trustee, incorporated, inc., corporation and corp. out of the name entirely | Use a forbidden word because the search returned nothing |
| Distinguishability | Make the distinctive words genuinely different from names already on file | Change only punctuation, spacing, capitalisation or the suffix |
| Misleading the public | Choose a name consistent with what the business actually does | Imply a licensed profession or government affiliation you do not have |
| Fictitious business name | File a county FBN statement as well if you will trade under a different name | Assume the state registration covers a DBA — it does not |
Clearing a California Name Without a Rejection
- 1
Read the forbidden-word list first
It is the fastest rejection in California and the easiest to avoid. If your name contains bank, trust, trustee, incorporated, inc., corporation or corp., stop there and pick something else.
- 2
State registration and a DBA are different filings
Forming the LLC with the Secretary of State does not register a trading name. If you will operate under anything other than the registered name, you also need a county fictitious business name statement.
- 3
Bring alternatives
Distinguishability is decided by an examiner, not by the search box. Two or three names you would actually be happy with turns a possible rejection into a same-cycle approval.
- 4
Check the domain in the same sitting
California will happily register a name whose domain was taken years ago. Check both at once — the generator above shows live domain availability with each suggestion.
- 5
A reservation buys time, not rights
Sixty days of reservation stops another filer taking the name. It does not form the company, and it gives you no trademark protection against a business in another state.