Maryland LLC Name Search: Get That Perfect Name

Reasons to Perform an LLC Name Search

Checking for Maryland LLC name availability is the most common reason to perform a search, but it’s far from the only one. Here are a few other reasons you might search for a name:

1) Finding Similar Names

You don’t want potential customers confusing you with another company, especially if that company is a competitor. Your proposed name might be available, but there could also be multiple businesses out there with deceivingly similar ones. If you don’t want your LLC getting mixed up with other businesses, this might prompt you to find a new name.

2) Checking Your Business Status

Once you’ve filed the Articles of Organization and started your Maryland LLC, you can periodically check its status by searching for your existing name. This will confirm your business’ good standing with the state and allow you to keep your business information updated and current.

3) Resident Agent and Office Information

At some point, you might need to send a business service of process. Or, more positively, you might want to partner with them. In either case, you’ll need their Maryland resident agent name and office address, readily available through a name search.

4) Maintaining Current Business Information

When modifying your LLC’s information – like changing your resident agent or principal address to a member or a resident agent service – you will want to confirm the information that the Department of Assessment and Taxation already has on file. A name search will take care of this for you.

How to Perform a Maryland LLC Name Search

When you’re ready to search for a name, head over to the Maryland Business Express website. There, you’ll find the Business Entity Search, which is quick and easy to use whether you’re seeking name availability or a specific business.

To see if your desired name is already in use, simply enter it in the search bar and hit “Search.” Either it will return results or it won’t. If it does, someone has already reserved or registered that name and you’ll need to come up with a different one. If it doesn’t, congratulations! The name is free and you can reserve it or use it on your Articles of Organization.

But maybe you’re searching for a specific piece of information about a particular business. If so, enter its full or partial name in the search bar. When presented with a list of results, click on the correct one and you’ll find the following information:

• Department ID Number
• Business Name
• Principal Office
• Resident Agent
• Status
• Business Type
• Business Code
• Date of Formation
• State of Formation
• Stock Status
• Close Status

You don’t necessarily need this information if you’re just looking into name availability, but it’s incredibly helpful if you’re trying to contact the members or managers of another business or checking up on your own.

What if My Name Is Unavailable?

So, you went to the Business Entity Search, plugged in your desired name, hit search, and there it was: your precious name, already in use. What now?

If your LLC is domestic (formed in Maryland), your only option is to start brainstorming ideas for a different one. Just don’t use one that’s too similar. Then, when you’ve found an acceptable, available name, go ahead and either form your LLC or reserve the name for future use.

If you’re coming to Maryland from out of state, the process is a little trickier. If the name that you’ve established in other states isn’t available in Maryland, you’ll need to use an alternate one. The process for registering an alternate name is easy – all you need to do is provide it in the designated space on your Limited Liability Company Registration form when you foreign qualify.

How to Make a Maryland LLC Name Distinguishable

Don’t forget that, when you’re reserving or registering any LLC name in Maryland, whether actual or alternate, it must adhere to the state’s name requirements, so it must:

• Contain a signifier that confirms its status and an LLC, like “limited liability company,” “limited company,” “L.L.C.,” “LLC,” “L.C.,” or “LC”
• Be available and easily distinguishable in the state’s records

But in the case that your name is unavailable, how you do distinguish it? The Department of Assessment and Taxation doesn’t provide specific directions, but typically changing the following things won’t cut it:

• Business type indicators like LLC, Ltd., Inc., or LP (New Company LLC, New Company Ltd., New Company Inc., and New Company LP are all considered identical)
• The articles “a,” “an,” or “the”
• Conjunctions like “and” and “or”
• Punctuation
• Capitalization

Essentially, to create a fully distinguishable name, you must change the name itself, not just the syntax. If you need to distinguish your name but don’t want to come up with an entirely new one, try using unique spellings, rearranging words, adding prefixes or suffixes, or adding/removing words. This way, you can keep s similar name to your original one.

What’s Next?

What you do next depends entirely on what your goal is. If you’re checking for name availability and your name is free in Maryland, you can proceed to reserve it or use it on your Articles of Organization.

Reserving a business name costs $25 and gives you exclusive rights to use that name for 30 days. But you don’t necessarily need to reserve a name. You can automatically register your name by using it on the Articles of Organization when you start your LLC.