The Ultimate Guide to Naming your Florida LLC

The Ultimate Guide to Naming your Florida LLC

November 9, 2024
10
 Min Read

If you are thinking of structuring your business legally and formally with a Florida LLC to protect yourself from personal liability, you are on the right track.

The next step, of course, is to name your Florida LLC.

The first step to success is to give your Florida LLC a name that is catchy and memorable.

We have put together one of the most comprehensive guide on the web on how to name your Florida LLC. Read on to learn the ins and outs of correctly naming your Florida LLC.

Note: If you want to register your LLC in Wyoming or Delaware, do not read this article and instead read here

General LLC Naming Guidelines

Below are some important points to keep in mind in general.

  • Your US LLC name must have a suffix (also called an identifier) indicating that you are a limited liability company. Make sure your business name includes the designation "Limited Liability Company". Alternative abbreviations such as "LLC." or "L.L.C." are also acceptable.
  • You cannot use suffixes such as "Incorporated" and "Inc." as these designations are reserved for corporations.
  • You may not give your US LLC a name that is identical or similar to the name of a business already registered in your preferred state.
  • You may not name your US LLC in a manner that could mislead the public. The name of your LLC should be consistent with the purpose set forth in the Articles of Organization.
  • Do not use names or abbreviations that make your LLC indistinguishable from state and federal organizations. For example, words such as department, agency, office, and commission should be avoided.

Florida LLC Naming Requirements

In addition to the general naming rules mentioned above, there are some special naming rules for Florida that we cover here.

To find out if your desired name is already registered, you will need to do a name search on the Florida Division of Corporations website.

More on this later, as there are some nuances and subtleties that should be considered when naming a Florida LLC

Suffixes for Florida LLC

As a freelancer or business owner, you can use the following suffixes for your Florida business:

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

Suffixes with different variations, such as "Limited Liability Company" or "LLC", are essentially the same; therefore, there is no difference between "Nimila Research, Limited Liability Company" and "Nimila Research, LLC".

The same applies to other suffixes for corporate structures such as "Inc.", "Corporation", "Corp.", etc. You also cannot register the name if "Nimila Research Corporation" is already registered in Florida.

Grammatical Considerations When Naming Your Florida LLC

  • Definite and Indefinite Articles in the name
    Definite articles (e.g., "the") and indefinite articles (e.g., "a," "an") make no difference and are not considered distinguishable by the Florida Division of Corporations. If someone else has registered "The Moby LLC", you cannot register "Moby LLC".
  • The Word "And" and the Symbol "&" in the name
    The same is true for words like "and" and its symbol "&". So if a business owner has registered "Nimila and Friends" and it is an active Florida LLC, you cannot register "Nimila & Friends" because there is no difference between "and" and "&" and it is therefore not available.
  • The Singular, Plural, and Possessive Forms of a Word in the name
    Imagine you want to register "Nimila's Technology" but there is already a company named "Nimila Technologies"; that will not be possible. According to the Florida Department of State, there is no difference between the two names. Consequently, the singular, plural and possessive forms of a word are irrelevant.
  • Abbreviation of a Word in the name
    Florida is a word that the state does not consider; therefore, abbreviations of Florida, "Fla." and "FL." and the word "Florida" itself are not considered as part of your LLC name when it is checked. If a company of "Fla. Nimila Business" already exists, you cannot register "Florida Nimila Business" or "FL. Nimila Business" because "FL." and "Fla." stand for Florida, so there is no difference between them.

How to Conduct a Florida LLC search

The question is how to ensure that the name you want is available. First, you need a Florida corporate search tool. The Florida Division of Corporations offers an online search tool that allows you to perform a name search on their corporate database.

  1. Make sure you are on the Entity Name page,
  2. Type your desired name in the Entity Name textbox field,

Then click on Search Now.

Congratulations, you have just done a business search in Florida and what you will see is a list of business listings very similar to the one you are looking for. So let us try a name, “Nimila”, and see how it works.

The Status column is important because it tells you the current status of an entity and whether or not you can use the name. Let's dive in.

As you can see in the Status column, there are words like INACT, INACT /UA, InActive and Active; what do they mean?

  • Active: This entity is an active entity in Florida, and you cannot use its name.
  • INACT: This status means that the entity has been formally dissolved. So you can register the name INACT.
  • INACT/UA: The business is inactive, but its name is not yet available. This status can occur because the business owner has not filed their annual report. There is a small chance that the name will become available if the owner does not file their annual report within the required 120-day time frame.
  • InActive: The business owner(s) have voluntarily dissolved their business with the Florida Department of State; therefore, you may use InActive names if you wish.
  • INACT/CV: It means the business became inactive due to an entity conversion. In this case, the name is available for registration

How to Reserve a Company Name In Florida?

You have searched and the company name you want is available. You do not want to register your LLC now but are concerned that someone else may take it.

If this is the case, you can send a letter to the Florida Division of Corporations (or do so online) requesting that the business name be reserved under your name and address for 120 days. To secure the name, you must pay a small fee. The name reservation fees are as follows:

  • Limited Liability Company: $25.00
  • Corporation: $35.00
  • Limited Partnership: $52.50

Learn how to reserve a business name in Florida:

1. Click on this link first: FL Fictitious Name Registration

2. Read the Disclaimer, check the box, and click “Begin Fictitious Name Registration.”

3. Under "Fictitious Name to be Registered", enter your desired name and other required information such as your email address and your company's mailing address.

4. Under "Owner's Name and Address", you only need to fill in one of these fields:

  • If you want to register the name as an individual, then fill out the box (1) and leave the box (2) blank.
  • If you want to register the name as a business entity such as an LLC or a Corporation, fill box (2) and leave the box (1) blank.

5. Scroll to the bottom of the page, type your name before "Owner Signature" and click "Next".

6. You will be redirected to a payment page where you will need to make a payment to reserve the name for your LLC.

Make sure your LLC Name does not infringe on registered-Trademarks.

Trademarks protect businesses from being confused by consumers by preventing others from using similar words to describe their products or services. If someone else uses your trademarked name, they may be infringing on your rights, and you can take them to court.

In the same vein, you should make sure that your name does not infringe on the rights of other trademark owners.

If you want to be sure that the trademark you choose does not infringe on another company's trademark, you should check the United States Federal Trademark Database on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.

Can I have Multiple Names for my LLC?

What if you want to do business under a name other than your LLC name? There is a way to use a different name without registering another LLC or Corporation.

We call this Doing Business As (DBA), "trade name" or "fictitious name." After forming your LLC, you may want to operate under a DBA or trade name for a variety of reasons.

For example, it may be appropriate to use a different name if you feel that your official LLC name is difficult for customers to remember, or if you believe that an alternative name better conveys your goods or services.

If you want to use a DBA, you can do so for any reason.

Getting one is typically straightforward, requiring only a search of existing organizations to ensure that the desired trade name is not already in use, filing an application with the appropriate government agency, and paying a small filing fee.

Getting a DBA for your LLC is typically straightforward. just search for existing organizations to make sure the trade name you want is not already in use, file an application with the appropriate authority, and pay a small filing fee.

If you are interested to know more about the benefits of DBA and how to use it effectively in conjunction with your LLC name, you can read our Guide to DBA and Trade Names

Five tips for your LLC naming process

  1. Avoid names that are difficult to spell.
    Is your company name difficult to spell or pronounce? A company name that is difficult to pronounce probably will not come to mind detrimental to brand awareness.

    You want your customers to remember your name so they can recommend it to their families and friends.
  2. Domain and social media handle availability.
    You will eventually need a website for your business to promote your product or service because your website is the first place you advertise. Therefore, be sure to check the availability of the name for the domain you want.

    Nowadays, social media also plays an important role in digital marketing, so check the availability of the handler if you want to register.
  3. Look at the names of your competitors.
    A special and unique name sometimes brings twice the result for half the effort. Therefore, we recommend that you make a list of your competitors' names during brainstorming so that you can draw some inspiration from them.
  4. Make sure you like the name you choose.
    Although it's important to consider the meaning and relatability of the name you choose, what matters most is how you feel about it. Do you feel comfortable with your name? Would you feel proud mentioning your company name to someone? Say it out loud, and if so, go ahead, that's it.
  5. Your company name could be different from the brand name
    Sometimes entrepreneurs are too caught up with the company naming process and forget that a company name is not necessarily the same as a brand name.

    You can use a more generic company name and have different brand names for different products or brands you want to bring to market. Examples of brands would be Pampers or Gilette (under the Proctor & Gamble Company).

Conclusion

We hope we have given you everything you need to properly name your Florida LLC. In short, if you want to use a specific name for your LLC, you need to make sure it does not violate the trademark rights of others and complies with the State of Florida's business naming regulations.

You should also think about whether or not the name of your business is appropriate for your particular field of expertise. Finally, you need to make sure that customers can easily remember the name of your business.

If you need help checking your Florida LLC, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at hello@startfleet.io

Need Help Setting up your US Company?  

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