Business Entity Names

California law requires the Secretary of State to determine that a proposed business entity name (for corporation, limited liability company and limited partnership entity types) is not the same as or too similar to a reserved name or to the name of an existing business entity of record (of the same entity type) with the Secretary of State; and that the name is not misleading to the public. In the case of a limited partnership subject to the Uniform Limited Partnership Act of 2008, the Secretary of State is required to determine that the proposed name is distinguishable on the record.

The Secretary of State's office adopted regulations on May 14, 2009 that (1) provide guidelines to assist the public in selecting a business entity name prior to reserving the name or filing documents with the Secretary of State; (2) provide the public with more certainty that a proposed business entity name will meet statutory standards; and (3) assist Secretary of State staff in determining if a proposed business entity name is acceptable, ensuring more consistency in the application of the statutory standards.

Please refer to the Final Regulations to view to the text of the adopted regulations. The document is provided in PDF file format and can be viewed and printed from your computer using the most current version of the Adobe Reader (available for free from Adobe's Website).

Note: If you experience difficulty downloading or viewing the above document, you may refer to our Technical Help webpage for suggestions that may assist you in resolving the problem. Requests for copies to be mailed to you can be directed to Todd Vlaanderen, Senior Staff Counsel - Supervisor, Secretary of State, 1500 11th Street, Third Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814, or call (916) 653-6244.