People starting an LLC often ask questions like “Does my LLC name have to match my business name or website name?” or “Do you have to put LLC in your business name?” These questions come up because the term “business name” has many meanings. To help, we’ve compiled some top insights from attorneys and startup experts to answer your LLC name questions.
The short answer? Your LLC name does not have to be your business name or match your website name for marketing purposes. But for the legal and financial aspects of doing business, you should use the exact LLC name registered with your state.
Here’s how it works.
The term “business name” is not a legal designation. It’s a generic term that’s used to refer to a variety of names that are associated with businesses. An LLC or corporate name is a business name. Brand names, trade names, DBAs, assumed names, fictitious names, trademarks, or service marks are all commonly referred to as business names, too.
You don’t have to put your LLC in your business’s tradename, brand name, DBA, fictitious name, or any other type of business name you use for marketing. And the LLC name doesn’t have to match your website name. In fact, it’s common for businesses to use one or more names that are different than their official name.
In the end, a legal business name must comply with state requirements and be distinguishable from other registered names, which is crucial for brand identity and legal protection.
Your LLC’s legal name is your company’s name listed on its state business registration. You’ll need to include the designation “LLC” or a similar designator (these vary by state) in your business name on your state business registration application. And, you’ll need to use the LLC name exactly as it’s registered with your state for signing contracts, opening a bank account, and other legal and financial dealings.
Read on to learn more about when your LLC name needs to be used, when and how to use a trade name, what the legal requirements for LLC names are, and if you should add your LLC name to your business cards or website.
Every U.S. state has slightly different rules regarding names for limited liability companies; however, these legal regulations and rules are common to the majority of states.
State differences tend to be minor, such as allowing different abbreviations for LLC, such as “L.L.C.” or “L.C.” However, most states require an LLC designator to be included in the name of a business structure that is legally registered as an LLC. It’s also important to avoid prohibited or restricted words to help ensure compliance with state laws.
For example, some states list more disallowed professional terms if they’re unrelated to your type of service, including Underwriters, Surety, Trust, Insurance, Realtor, and Attorney. Some states also restrict you from using profanity or offensive words in your name. Ultimately, you’ll need to check your state guidelines for a full list of rules.
The following rules apply to most states:
When do you have to use your LLC name, and when can you use your business name instead? Whenever it’s required, it’s important for businesses registered as LLCs to highlight their limited liability company status to maintain legal protections and establish brand relevance.
This table shows where a company registered as “ABC Associates, LLC” would have to use its LLC name and when it could choose to use the desired business name “Alex and Cindy Caterers” instead. The word “YES” indicates situations in which you must use the official LLC name. The word “Optional” indicates where you can choose whether to use the LLC name, the business trade name, or both.
As noted above, you’ll need to use the LLC name for legal, financial, and regulatory matters. So, how do things work when the business name you’re known by is different from the LLC name? How can you cash a check that a client makes out to the tradename when the bank needs your LLC name to open a bank account? What about signing contracts and other business matters?
There are two ways to conduct business under a name that’s different from your official LLC name. Register the alternative name as a “doing business as” name with your state or local officials. Alternatively, you can form a separate LLC or corporation for the alternate business name.
Let’s talk through the merits and drawbacks of both options.
The easiest and least expensive solution for a business owner is to register the alternative name as a “doing business as” (DBA) name with state or local officials. In some locations, a DBA is called a fictitious name, a trade name, or an assumed name, but all these titles refer to the same idea.
Registering the alternative name as a DBA does not make it a separate business entity. Instead, it’s a legal acknowledgment that your registered LLC business and the DBA are the same company with the same ownership. It’s a bit like a permission slip from the state, giving you the go-ahead to operate under a business nickname.
Once you officially register your DBA, you can provide your bank with whatever documentation it needs to let you cash checks made out to the DBA. If you want to use the assumed name when you sign a contract, you will sign it with the business’s official name plus the words “doing business as” and the DBA name.
Suppose you’re a programmer and start a business building websites. You form an LLC and the company Smith Websites LLC and open a bank account in the LLC name. You acquire a lot of customers and discover there’s a need for other IT services you could provide. So, you set up and operate a website at SmithITandWebServices.com. You use the name, Smith IT and Web Services, on your business cards, sales literature, and other marketing. There’s usually no problem doing those things.
But that’s not the official name of your business. So, in most locations, you won’t be able to cash checks made out to Smith It and Web Services. And you won’t be able to conduct any other legal or financial transactions under that name.
To solve the problem, you register Smith It and Web Services as a DBA. Once the DBA registration is approved, you’ll be able to deposit checks made out to Smith IT and Web Services in your business bank account.
If you need to use the DBA on a legal document or anywhere else, you’d include the business’s official name and the DBA. For instance, you might sign a document as John Smith, President, Smith Websites LLC, DBA Smith IT and Web Services. If clients ask for a W-9 form, you put the official name of the LLC on line 1 and enter the DBA name on line two, labeled “Business name/disregarded entity name, if different from above.”
The fees for registering a DBA range from under $10 to about $150, depending on where your business is located. However, in most localities, the fees are under $100. Depending on your location, getting the DBA approved may take several months, so register the name as soon as you suspect you’ll be using it.
Find out what it costs to get a DBA in your state.
In some circumstances, you might want to set up the alternative business name as a completely separate LLC. Doing so would allow you to operate it as a totally separate business from the original name.
Setting up the alternative business name as its own LLC or corporation is a more expensive option than registering the name as a DBA. However, doing so is sometimes desirable.
Examples of when a separate LLC might be advisable for the alternative name include:
If your business makes a number of products, you may have created marketing names for each of them, just like cereal manufacturers have names for different types of cereals they sell. In this case, the name of your product would be a trademark (or a service mark, if it’s a service). You wouldn’t sign contracts with the trademark name and couldn’t cash a check made out to the trademark name (unless you had also filed a DBA for it). You would include a disclosure on packaging, sales literature, your website, and other places indicating that the product is a trademark of your LLC.
Learn more about trademarks
As you learned above, one of the legal requirements and rules for LLC names is that they must be unique and not taken by another business registered in your state.
Here’s how you can search: Use your state’s business registration database to search for your LLC name availability. It’s usually available on the Secretary of State’s website. Below are links to pages describing how to conduct a name search in all states:
Know that there are complex legal rules that differ by state. These types of slight word variations listed below do not qualify as creating a distinguishable name. So these terms won’t make your LLC name unique enough because they’d qualify as “deceptively similar”:
In most states, it’s not legally required to include your LLC designation on your business cards; however, it could be an advantage to add LLC onto your business cards.
Including your full business name with your LLC communicates professionalism to clients. It also notifies them that they are engaging in business with a legal entity — your LLC — and that if they choose to sue your company, they will not be able to get your personal assets. Having a proper legal business name that adheres to state requirements is crucial for establishing your company’s identity and differentiating it from other businesses.
Most brand name companies do not elect to include LLC on their business cards because they want customers to focus on their branding message.
No and yes.No, you do not have to include LLC in your company name on your graphic banner headers on your website pages. Here is where you focus on your brand name.Yes, you should include LLC in your company name on your legal pages, such as terms of use, disclaimers, and privacy policy.
✔ If you want to change the domain name on an existing website – it is possible. Learn how to do it →
In most cases, you should not include an LLC in your logo. Logos are visual representations of your branding messages and do not need to contain extra legal abbreviations to get in the way.Some professions and states require including LLC in logos for attorneys, bankers, and insurance agents. Check with your business lawyer.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.
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