North Dakota LLC Name Search [2023]

Do you wish to launch a company in North Dakota? Before forming your LLC, you must first choose a name for your business that complies with the North Dakota Naming Guidelines. Make sure your business name stands out from those of other North Dakota-registered businesses.

In our post today, we go over other important factors to take into account when founding a limited liability company, including the procedures you can take to check the availability of a name.

Why Is Performing a North Dakota Business Entity Search Important?

One of the best ways for business owners to confirm that the chosen name is not already taken by another organisation is to conduct a North Dakota corporate entity search.

Entrepreneurs can utilise the North Dakota business search to see if another company has already registered their desired business name in the state. Before submitting your application, research North Dakota companies to greatly reduce the chance that it will be denied.

North Dakota Naming Guidelines

According to the guidelines outlined in the section above, each owner of a business organisation must choose a company name that complies with the naming standards established by the state of North Dakota. When selecting a name for your North Dakota LLC, take into account the following factors:

• Business name must include the phrase “limited liability company” or one of its abbreviations (LLC or L.L.C.)
• Business name cannot include words that would confuse your LLC with a government agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc)
• Restricted words such as Bank, Attorney, and University may require additional paperwork and a licensed individual such as a doctor or a lawyer to be part of your LLC.

Using Comma in LLC Name

Corporations may register their company names in North Dakota with or without commas. If you want to name your North Dakota LLC “Summer’s Pet,” for example, you can register it under either of the following names:

Summer’s Pet LLC
Summer’s Pet, LLC

North Dakota LLC Name Must Be Distinguishable

A corporate organisation must always choose a name that can be easily found in the records maintained by the North Dakota Secretary of State. This implies that the name of your corporation may not be used by another North Dakota-registered business. You can check the availability of the proposed business name you chose for your company using a North Dakota business entity search.

North Dakota LLC Name Search

The North Dakota Secretary of State’s corporate entity registration records are open to the public. Therefore, you can use the North Dakota Business Name Search function to see if the business name you select is available before you incorporate your LLC. Use the following search criteria to find North Dakota corporations and limited liability companies:

• Business Entities Name
• Business ID Number
• Registration Number

Business Name

The Business Name search option is the one that is most typically used when looking for a North Dakota business entities online. This approach is also quite easy to use; all you have to do is type the name of the company you want to work for into the search bar and click “Search” to have a list of names that are close to what you wrote appear.

The website will automatically extract the names for all entity kinds (aside from sole proprietorships and partnerships) included in its database, so you don’t need to include words like LLC, Corp, or other naming distinctions when conducting a search. Follow the steps listed below to conduct an entity name search:

1. Enter the proposed business entity name of the desired company name in the search bar.
2. Click on “Search.”

North Dakota website also offers additional filter options that allow the public to search by Active vs Inactive businesses.

Business ID Number / Registration Number

Another approach to look up a North Dakota company is by the account number. Simply enter the business entity account number in the search window and click “Search.”

North Dakota Business Status Search

Every day, new business entities are registered in North Dakota. So it is completely understandable if you find it challenging to choose a name for your business organisation that might also set it apart from competitors in the sector. You can find names that have already expired that you can use for your company by browsing the North Dakota Business Entity Database or asking around.

If you type the term “flower” into the search box and want to build a flower store, the website will, for instance, show a list of businesses having the keyword “flower” in them, along with their status. After that, you can perform a name search to find a corporate company that is currently doing business in North Dakota.

For your North Dakota business entity, even an already-expired name may be the best option. Before incorporating your limited liability corporation, we strongly suggest you to call the North Dakota Secretary of State’s office to double-check the availability of any potential business names.

Trademark Search

Another vital action to perform is to run a trademark search on the company name you intend to utilise. This is because it’s possible that your planned company name is already the target of a trademark despite being registered in the North Dakota corporation database. You can save money by avoiding potentially expensive legal complications by conducting a trademark search for the name of your selected business entity.

However, you are not required to discontinue using your selected North Dakota company name because another business entity has filed it as a trademark. In order to prevent unintentionally breaching someone else’s intellectual property rights, take into account who is using the LLC name, what kind of business they are in, and where they are located.

Here are a few steps involved in performing a trademark search:

• To search state trademark information, use the North Dakota Business Entity. Use a search by entity type to see if the limited liability business name, slogan, etc. you have chosen is already being used by another firm in your state.
• By completing a search of the computerised records maintained by the US Patent and Trademark Office, you can verify that the company name, slogan, and other choices you make are unrelated to any federally registered trademarks.

Reserving North Dakota Entity Name

After checking to see if the name is still available using the North Dakota Business Database and Trademark Database, the next step is to reserve the name to prevent it from being stolen before you register your LLC.

The Secretary of State Operations Division in North Dakota responds to all questions and requests regarding LLC names, including reservations for LLC names. Your chosen LLC name will be retained for 120 days if you email them a reservation form for an LLC. The good news is that extensions are possible for North Dakota LLC name reservations.

LLC name reservations must be filed online.

Fee: $10

Other Considerations – What To Do Next

After reserving your desired business name, you are ready to proceed with other considerations before officially registering your North Dakota LLC:

Check Domain Name Availability

Many business owners are starting to realise how crucial it is for companies to have an online presence. As a result, more companies are building their own websites. Most customers would actually assume that a business would have a website.

Given the variety of businesses accessible and the fact that domain names with six characters or less are frequently already taken, creativity will be required to come up with a distinctive website name that people can readily search for.

Owners of corporate entities can rely on companies like Namechkr or GoDaddy to assist them in finding available domain names. These programmes also provide alternatives if the desired name is already taken.

It’s crucial to be aware that there are other possibilities despite the fact that.com is the most popular domain extension. As more companies adopt these ends, other domain extensions like.co,.net, and.io are gradually gaining prominence. If the.com domain extension for your preferred name is already used, you can also think about utilising one of these domains.

Check Social Media Name Availability

Businesses should think about creating a social media presence for their brand in addition to having a website for their firm. Many customers may immediately look up a business on Yelp or Google Reviews to see what other customers are saying about it. Due to this, it is essential for companies to keep a strong online social media presence.

Here are a few tips to maintain a good North Dakota business social media:

• Regardless of how little you believe your company to be, you still need to create an account and keep up a robust social media presence. Businesses may enhance their organic website traffic, draw in new clients, and even raise brand awareness by maintaining a strong social media presence.
• A social media account needs a distinctive social media handle to be found online. It is advised that you check a handle’s availability on several websites, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest, before choosing one to ensure that you may use it across a range of networks. It may be ideal for you to open an account straight away if your preferred social network username is still available to stop someone else from claiming it.
• You may either verify your preferred social network name on each major website one at a time, or you can use the Namechkr tool to search across all platforms at once to save time.

Register Your North Dakota Entity

You can proceed with registering your firm entity with the state after your trademark, domain, social media handle, and entry in the North Dakota business entity database have been verified.

You can create an LLC on your own, but you must be ready to complete a sizable amount of paperwork. Many organisations resort to businesses like ZenBusiness, Incfile, and Northwest Registered Agent for all the paperwork required to incorporate an LLC.

Register Company Tax ID/EIN with the IRS

After establishing your business organisation, the following step is to register your company’s tax ID with the IRS for tax-related purposes. Similar to a company’s social security number is the business tax ID, sometimes known as the EIN. It has nine digits. By going online, you may finish the quick EIN registration process independently.

Designing a Company Logo

A company logo is necessary for every business. A well-designed logo attracts attention, creates a favourable first impression, increases brand recognition, distinguishes you from rivals, and even fosters brand loyalty.

Given that a distinctive logo may effectively represent your company’s values and give people the impression you want them to have of you, it should go without saying how important it is to create one. Naturally, not everyone will possess the originality or imagination necessary to come up with their own design.

Online marketplaces like Fiverr, fortunately, come in handy in this scenario because they enable business owners to get in touch with freelance designers and have a logo made within 24 hours.

Open a Business Bank Account

The next step after creating your business organisation is to register your company’s tax ID with the IRS for use in connection with taxes. The corporate tax ID, also referred to as the EIN, is comparable to a company’s social security number. There are nine digits. You can complete the simple EIN registration process on your own by visiting online.

Setup an Email Account

Email accounts are typically required for business communication. To sign up for a social networking site, you also need a valid email address. Because of this, setting up a corporate email account is crucial for businesses. Fortunately, Google Workspace makes it simple to set up a @yourcompany email address for as little as $6 per month.

Bottom Line

The selection of an appropriate company name is one of the initial steps in forming an LLC. Once you’ve settled on a name, you may use North Dakota’s Business Entity Search to determine if it’s already been used.

In order for people to locate you online, you might also want to review and secure your domain name and social media usernames. You can now move on to the following procedures to properly form your LLC after registering your company name.