Business Name Search In Georgia (Updated: Mar. 2026)

You can reserve your desired name in advance if you’ve chosen one but are NOT ready to file your Georgia Articles of Organization.

• List up to three names in one request.
• Your first available name will be approved.
• You must submit a new application and fee if none are accepted.

It costs $35 to make a Georgia name reservation, with your filing processed in approximately 7 business days when filed online. Your name is then reserved for 30 days. You’ll need to submit a new request with an additional fee if you want an extension.

Read the Georgia Secretary of State’s guidance on reserving a business name if you want further instructions.

These statuses show that your desired name is legally taken or protected:

• Active/Compliance: The business maintains good standing and officially owns the name.
• Nonpayment/Noncompliance: The business exists but is delinquent. The name is unavailable while the issues are unresolved.
• Admin/Dissolved: The business is administratively dissolved, meaning that the state will reserve the name for five years to allow for business reinstatement. You can NOT use the name during this period.
• Name reservation – Active: The name is currently reserved, meaning it can’t be used.
• Name reservation – Rejected: The Secretary of State denied the name reservation request. You most likely can’t use it, as it was probably rejected for being too similar to another business name.
• Name reservation – Redeemed: The name was reserved and used to form a business. Therefore, it can NOT be used.

The statuses below indicate that the original name holder has released the name. However, you should still confirm name availability with the Georgia Corporations Division.

• Withdrawn/Terminated: The business either voluntarily or formally ended. The name is released and often available.
• Revoked: A foreign business lost state operating authority. The name may be available, as there is no five-year name protection period.
• Name reservation – Expired: The name reservation wasn’t used. The name is back in the public name pool once expired.

Your desired LLC name must clearly be identified as a “Limited Liability Company.” Therefore, you must use one of these approved LLC designators:

• LLC.
• L.L.C.
• L.C.
• LC.
• Limited Liability Co.
• Limited Liability Company.

Note: Most businesses tend to use “LLC” or “L.L.C.”

Your desired LLC name can NOT suggest that it’s a Corporation or any other entity type. Furthermore, it can NOT include trade-name indicators.

The following words and designators can NOT be used anywhere in your LLC name:

• Inc.
• Incorporated.
• Corp.
• Corporation.
• Doing Business As.
• DBA.
• AKA.

Adding or removing “a,” “an,” or “the” does NOT make your LLC name distinguishable.

Example: Your desired name is “Magnolia Trading LLC.” It is not seen as distinguishable from:

• “The Magnolia Trading LLC”
• “A Magnolia Trading Company LLC”

In this case, you must add a new, meaningful word to change the commercial impression. Examples include industry terms and locations (Magnolia Coastal Trading LLC).

You can NOT make your LLC name distinguishable by switching between singular, plural, or possessive forms of the same word. These will be ignored when your names are compared by the state.

Example: Your desired LLC name is “Riverstone Bakery LLC.” It is not distinguishable from:

• “Riverstone Bakery’s LLC”
• “Riverstone Bakeries LLC”

Try adding a distinct descriptive element, such as a specialty or specific service. This changes the overall commercial impression of your name. In this case, “Riverstone Artisan Bakery LLC” will be accepted.

You can NOT create distinguishability by using a different spelling that sounds the same. The Secretary of State evaluates how the names are pronounced, not just how they are spelled.

Change the core word to resolve this issue.

For example, “Silverline Solutions LLC” is NOT distinguishable from:

• “Silver Lyne Solutions LLC”
• “Silvrline Solutions LLC”

The name “Silvercrest Solutions LLC” will be accepted as this version changes the core word.

The state does NOT allow conjunctions or disjunctions like “and,” “&,” and “or” to create meaningful differences.

Example: The name “Pinecrest Design Studio LLC” would not be seen as unique when compared to:

• “Pinecrest Design & Studio LLC”
• “Pinecrest Design and Studio LLC”
• “Pinecrest Design or Studio LLC“

Your desired LLC name is not unique and distinguishable if you use an abbreviation instead of the fully spelled word (Or vice versa).

Add a distinctive modifier to change the overall meaning instead.

You can NOT use the following names if your desired name is “Summit Financial Services LLC”:

• “Summit Fin Services LLC”
• “Summit Financial Servs LLC”
• “Summit Fin. Services LLC”

The revised name “Summit Financial Advisory LLC” would resolve this issue.

Your name is NOT made distinguishable by adding a suffix or using a slight variation or derivative of the same root word.

Try replacing the core word with a different concept rather than a derivative.

For example, your desired business name is “Evergreen Solutions LLC,” is not accepted if these exist:

• “Evergreen Solutionary LLC”
• “Evergreen Solving LLC”
• “Evergreen Solutions Group LLC”

“Evergreen Strategic Services LLC” would be more likely to be accepted.

Adding, removing, or rearranging symbols, punctuation, special characters, or spaces does NOT make your LLC name unique.

The proposed name “Brightline Consulting LLC” would be treated the same as:

• “Bright-Line Consulting LLC”
• “Brightline/Consulting LLC”
• “Bright Line Consulting, LLC”

In this case, your name must be substantially changed. For example, “Brightline Management Consulting LLC” would be distinguishable.

Replacing words like “and” with “&”, or “at” with “@”, does not create distinguishability. Symbols and their word equivalents are treated as identical in the state.

For example, the proposed LLC name “Hilltop and Co LLC” is NOT distinguishable from “Hilltop & Co LLC.”

Try removing the symbol-based term and adding a clear descriptive identifier. A name such as “Hilltop Advisory Co LLC” would resolve the conflict.

Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, and spelled-out numbers are treated as equivalent by the state of Georgia. This means that you can NOT write a number differently to create distinguishability.

If your desired LLC name is “Seven Oaks Properties LLC,” it would be seen the same as:

• “7 Oaks Properties LLC”
• “VII Oaks Properties LLC”

Switching formats will also NOT resolve your name issue. This is because the underlying number does NOT change. You must change the concept of the name, NOT the way the number appears, to fix the issue.

For example, the revised name “Oakridge Property Holdings LLC” avoids reliance on the number and would be seen as distinguishable.

The proposed name “Harborview Consulting Company LLC” would be treated as indistinguishable from:

• “Harborview Consulting Firm LLC”
• “Harborview Consulting Group LLC”

Words describing a business or organizational status are disregarded by the Georgia Secretary of State when determining name distinguishability.

A name such as “Harborview Compliance Consulting LLC” would be accepted. This is because it changes the substance of the name.