Why do you need to do a business entity search?

To register an LLC in Texas, you must choose a unique name that no other entity has registered with the Texas Secretary of State, including foreign businesses operating under a fictitious name.

If you don’t do a business entity search and file your LLC Articles of Organization using a name already in use, the state could refuse your LLC formation application, which has a $300 non-refundable fee.

Then you’ll be back at square one, having to come up with a new business name and paying another $300. 

Texas state naming guidelines

Another reason the Texas Secretary of State might reject your name application is not complying with the Texas naming guidelines, and those include:

Texas’s LLC naming guidelines include:

• Mandatory inclusions: Your name must include the terms limited liability company or limited company or an abbreviation like LLC, L.L.C., and LC.
• Restricted terminologies: You cannot include words that associate your business with a government department, such as the Treasury, State Department, DEA, FBI, etc.
• Mandatory exclusions: You can only include words related to a bank, insurance, or medical institution if that is what you are, and you must gain prior approval from the designated department.
  Other exclusions include: “Olympic,” “Olympiad,” or “Citius Altius Fortius,” “College,” “University,” “School of Medicine,” “Medical School,” “Health Science Center,” “School of Law,” “Law Center,” or “Law School,” “Veteran,” “Legion,” “Foreign,” “Spanish,” “Disabled,” “War,” or “World War.”
• Uniqueness: Your name must be distinguishable from any registered name or differ by at least one key phrase or word. For example, “Houston housing renovations” is distinguishable from “Housing renovations Houston.”

Conducting a business name search in Texas: Step-by-step guide with tips

You must file your LLC with the Texas Secretary of State, who lists all registered entity names and whether they are active or dissolved.

You check that list to ensure your chosen name is available in Texas by running a business name search.

Here’s how:

Perform a Texas entity search

You can conduct an online Texas business entity search in 2 ways:

• Use the Texas Secretary of State website SOSDirect business name check tool. But first, you must create an account and pay $1 for each search.
• Visit the Texas Comptroller website, which enables you to search for Texas taxable entities.

For our example, we’ll use the Texas Comptroller:

Texas Comptroller’s taxable entity search tool website

First, visit the Comptroller’s website, which will bring you to the page below, where you’ll see an entity name search box. 

Type your chosen LLC name into that box (I’ll use Texas Car Wash as an example) and click search:

Reviewing the results

The taxable entity search results page shows any registered entities that match your search query along with the business name, Taxpayer ID number, and Zip code.

Next, click the entity name you’d like to review for further information, including the entity’s current status (active or inactive), mailing address, state of formation, Texas SOS file number (a number given to a registered entity by the Texas Secretary of State), and registered agent contact details.

The Comptrollers’ site shows the company’s current status as “whether it has the right to transact business in Texas.”

Pro tip:

You can call the Secretary of State at (512) 463-5555 to request their preliminary decision on your name’s availability. However, the SOS office can only make their final decision after processing your application. 

DBA/assumed name

A DBA (Doing Business As), an assumed name in Texas, is a name other than your registered LLC name you can use to promote your business.  

To use a DBA in Texas, you must first ensure it’s available (like you did an LLC name).

To register a DBA for an LLC (or LLP, corporation), you complete Form 503-Texas Assumed Name Certificate and send it by mail to:

The Secretary of State

Secretary of State

P.O. Box 13697

Austin, Texas 78711-3697

Also, you need to include a payment of $25 by cheque. 

What can you do once you have an available business name?

Now that you have an available Texas LLC name, you can check its online availability and ensure another company has not trademarked it. 

You can also reserve your new LLC name in Texas to ensure no one else registers it. 

Consider name reservation

You can reserve your new business name online for 120 days using the Texas SOSDirect Name Reservation tool or by mail by completing the Application for Reservation of an Entity Name (Form 501).

Texas registration fees:

• Reserve a business name: $40.
• Register a Texas LLC: $200 per member.
• File a DBA: $25.

Include all fees in your business financial plan to control your LLC start-up costs. 

Consider trademarking your name

Once you confirm your name’s availability and reserve it, you can apply for a trademark to secure it nationwide.  

To avoid trademark infringement, begin by running a name search using the federal trademark database to confirm another business (or person) hasn’t already “marked” your new LLC name.

Register your trademark with the United States Patent Trademark Office or the Texas Secretary of State by applying for a Texas Trade or Service Mark Application. 

Consider domain registration

Most new businesses (including physical ones) need an online presence that often includes a Google My Business listing, social media platforms, and a website.

Here’s where choosing an LLC business name available as a domain and on your social platforms can help establish an effective branding strategy. 

Confirm your name’s availability as a domain using a domain site like GoDaddy and perform a name search on your chosen social media platforms. 

If your name isn’t available as a domain and unavailable on social media, consider changing it before registering your LLC with the Texas Secretary of State office. 

Conclusion

Registering a name with the Texas Secretary of State is easy once you comply with the state’s naming requirements and confirm availability.

Remember, if you’re not ready to form your LLC, you can reserve your name using the Texas SOSDirect Name Reservation tool for 120 days. 

FAQ