Last updated: 10 August 2026
Check a name before you spend money on it
New York will reject a formation filing if the name you want is not distinguishable from a name already on the register. That rejection costs you the filing fee and the time, and it is entirely avoidable — the register is public, and you can search it before you file.
Type the name above. The tool searches New York’s official record of registered entities and shows you anything close enough to be a problem.
What “distinguishable” actually means
This is the part that surprises people. Two names can look different to you and still be treated as the same name by the State. As a working rule, these do not make a name distinguishable on their own:
- ✓ The entity suffix. “Empire Trucking LLC” and “Empire Trucking Inc” are not distinguishable from each other just because one is an LLC.
- ✓ Punctuation and spacing. Commas, apostrophes, hyphens and extra spaces are generally ignored.
- ✓ Singular versus plural. Adding an “s” is rarely enough.
- ✓ The word “the”, “a” or “and” versus an ampersand. Treated as noise.
- ✓ Capitalisation. Case is never a difference.
What does make a name distinguishable is a genuinely different word. Add a place, a family name, a descriptor — something a person reading both names would treat as two separate businesses.
Words New York restricts
Separately from availability, some words need consent or a licence before the State will accept them. The usual ones:
- ✓ Bank, trust, insurance, and their relatives. These require approval from the relevant regulator.
- ✓ Professional titles. Engineer, architect, attorney, doctor and similar generally require a licensed professional entity — a PLLC or PC rather than an ordinary LLC.
- ✓ Academy, school, university, education. Usually need Department of Education consent.
- ✓ Words implying a government body. Anything suggesting you are a state or federal agency.
If your name touches one of these, expect an extra consent step rather than an outright refusal.
Available is not the same as safe
Clearing the New York register only clears New York. It says nothing about trademarks. Somebody can hold a federal trademark on a name that has never been registered as a New York entity — and a trademark beats a state filing every time.
Before you commit to signage, a domain and a brand, run the name through a federal trademark check as well. Two searches, ten minutes, and you avoid the worst outcome in small business naming: building a brand you are later forced to abandon.
Reserving a name
If you have the name but are not ready to file, New York lets you reserve it for a limited period by filing an Application for Reservation of Name with the Department of State. It is a small fee and it holds the name while you get your paperwork together. Most people skip it and simply file — but if there is a gap of weeks between choosing a name and forming the company, a reservation removes the risk of someone taking it in the meantime.
A note on how fresh this data is
The search above queries New York’s official open publication of the active entity register. Very recent formations take a short while to appear, so a name registered in the last few days may not show yet. For anything borderline, the Department of State makes the final determination at the moment you file — this tool tells you whether you are likely to sail through or hit a wall.