Ohio Business Name Reservation Service

What is an Ohio name reservation?

An Ohio name reservation is a short filing with the Ohio Secretary of State that holds a business name for a company you have not formed yet. Once the state approves it, you have the exclusive right to use that name for 180 days. Nobody else can form an LLC or corporation under it during that window.

The rule is written into the entity statutes themselves. For LLCs it is Ohio Revised Code 1706.07(E). For corporations it is ORC 1701.05(E). Both say the same thing: if the name is available, the person who files gets the exclusive right to it for 180 days, and the filing date counts as day one. The state form is Form 534B, which also handles transfers and cancellations of a reservation.

Who can file? Anyone planning a new LLC or corporation, and any existing company that plans to change its name. Under ORC 1706.07(E), an out-of-state LLC whose own name is not available in Ohio can also reserve an assumed name to register under here.

A reservation is optional. Plenty of owners skip it and file their articles the same week they pick a name. It earns its fee when there is a gap between choosing the name and filing, and you would be upset to lose the name in that gap.

How do you run an Ohio business name search?

Start with the Secretary of State's online business search. It lists every LLC, corporation, partnership, and registered trade name on the Ohio record. Search the core words of your name, not the full name with its ending. If you plan to be "Medina Valley Roofing LLC", search "Medina Valley Roofing" and also "Medina Valley".

A clean search is a good sign, not a promise. The Secretary of State makes the final call when the filing comes in. What you are looking for is anything that would read as the same name on the state record once small differences are stripped away.

What to check besides the state record

• The domain name and social handles you want, since those are not tied to the state record at all
• Federal trademark filings, which are a separate system from the Ohio business record
• Local competitors using the name without any filing, which a state search will not show
• How the name reads on a bank account, invoice, and yard sign, because you will be living with it

Try a few spellings, too. If your name uses a number, search it both as a numeral and spelled out. If it uses an ampersand, search "and" as well. Small differences like these often do not make a name distinguishable, so a near match under a different spelling is still a conflict worth knowing about before you pay a filing fee.

We run the Ohio Business Central check as part of the order and tell you before we file if we see a conflict. Trademark questions go to your attorney.

What makes a business name available in Ohio?

Ohio's test is whether the name is "distinguishable upon the records" of the Secretary of State. ORC 1706.07(B) applies it to LLCs and ORC 1701.05 applies it to corporations. Your name has to be distinguishable from existing LLCs, corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and trade names registered with an exclusive right.

ORC 1701.05(B) spells out what does not count as a difference. A name is not distinguishable just because it changes "company" to "limited", adds or drops "the" or "a", changes punctuation or an abbreviation, or switches singular to plural or the tense of a verb. "Erhart Hauling Co." and "The Erhart Hauling Company" are the same name on the state's books.

Required endings

Corporations also cannot use language suggesting a connection to a government agency, under ORC 1701.05(A)(4). If the name you want is taken, both statutes let you use it anyway with the existing holder's written consent, filed on the state's consent form. That is rare in practice, but it exists.

How long does an Ohio name reservation last, and what does it cost?

The reservation lasts 180 days, counted from the filing date as day one. The state fee is $39, set by ORC 111.16(S)(1). Transferring or cancelling a reservation is a separate $25 state filing under ORC 111.16(S)(4).

The 180-day clock is the part to plan around. Put the expiration date on your calendar the day the reservation is approved. If you are waiting on a partner, a lease, or a lender, back into the date you need to file your articles and make sure it lands well inside the window.

If the reservation runs out before you form, the name goes back into the general pool. Anyone can file it, including you, as long as it is still available on the day you file.

Should you reserve a business name in Ohio or just form the company?

If you are ready, forming the company is usually the better move. A filed LLC or corporation holds its name for as long as the entity exists, not for 180 days. Ohio formation costs $99 in state fees, against $39 for the reservation, so the reservation makes sense when there is a real reason to wait.

Good reasons to reserve first

• Co-owners are still working out the operating agreement or who owns what
• You are waiting on financing, a lease, or a license before you want the entity to exist
• An existing company has decided to rename and wants to hold the new name while the owners approve the change
• An out-of-state LLC needs an assumed name in Ohio because its own name is taken here

When a reservation adds little

• You plan to file your articles within a few days anyway
• The name search came back with nothing remotely close
• You have not settled on one name yet; a reservation holds one name, not a shortlist

One more point on cost. The reservation fee does not count toward your formation filing. If you reserve now and form in three months, you pay both state fees, $39 and then $99 for an LLC's articles. That is a small price for a name you care about, but it is a reason not to reserve out of habit.

None of this is a legal judgment about your situation. If timing matters because of a contract or a deal, your attorney is the right person to say when the entity should exist.

Can you transfer or cancel an Ohio name reservation?

Yes. Both ORC 1706.07(E) and ORC 1701.05(E) let the holder transfer the reservation by filing a written transfer with the Secretary of State that names the new holder and gives their address. The same Form 534B is used, and the state fee is $25.

Transfers come up more than you would expect. A founder reserves the name personally, then a partner or an attorney ends up filing the articles. Or one person reserves the name while the owners are still deciding who will act as organizer. The person or company forming the entity should be the one holding the reservation when the articles are filed, so the state sees a match.

Cancelling releases the name before the 180 days are up. Most people never bother, since an unused reservation simply expires. It is useful when you have changed your mind and someone else has asked to use the name.

Reserving a new name for an existing Ohio company

Name reservations are not only for startups. An existing LLC or corporation that plans to rename itself can reserve the new name under the same statutes, ORC 1706.07(E) and ORC 1701.05(E). That matters when the change has to go through owners first.

A corporation's shareholders usually have to approve an amendment that changes the name, and an LLC's operating agreement often requires a member vote. Those approvals take time. A reservation keeps the new name off the market while the vote happens, and then the company files a certificate of amendment to make the change official.

• Reserve the new name in the company's own name, so the company is the holder when it files the amendment
• Get the approval your articles and governing documents require
• File the certificate of amendment before the 180 days run out
• Update the bank, the IRS, your licenses, and your vendors once the state records the new name

We file amendments too. If you reserve the name with us now, the amendment order later starts from a name we have already checked.

How our Ohio name reservation service works

You send the exact name, with the ending you plan to use, and the name and address of the person reserving it. We search the Secretary of State's business search, check the name against the distinguishability rules and the required endings, and tell you what we see. If it looks clear, we email a secure card link for our $50 fee plus the $39 state fee. Nothing is filed until you pay.

We file the reservation online with the Secretary of State and upload the filed copy to your portal. Questions before you order? Call (877) 908-6122, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET.

When you are ready to form, we can file your articles through our formation service, or you can file them yourself. Either way, every Ohio LLC and corporation has to name a statutory agent at an Ohio street address in its articles. Our Ohio statutory agent service is $49 a year, and our Litchfield office address goes on the public record instead of your home address.

What an Ohio name reservation does not do

A reservation holds a name on the state record. It does not form a company, and it does not give you the liability protection, bank account, or EIN that come with a filed entity. You cannot sign contracts as "Medina Valley Roofing LLC" on the strength of a reservation, because that LLC does not exist yet.

• It is not a trademark. Federal and state trademark rights work differently, and your attorney can tell you whether you need one.
• It is not a trade name registration. If you want to do business under a brand name that differs from your legal name, that is a separate filing.
• It does not reserve the name in other states. Each state keeps its own record.
• It does not hold variations. Reserving one name does not stop someone from filing a different name that is distinguishable from yours.

We do not give legal advice on name conflicts or brand rights. We check the Ohio record, file the reservation, and keep the filed copy where you can find it.