Georgia Business Searches and Naming Your LLC

Your LLC Business Name Must Be Unique

The business name you have chosen cannot be used by any other LLC or corporation in the state of Georgia. This is why you should check business name availability using the Georgia SOS website or Incfile’s free Business Name Search tool.

Your LLC Business Name Must Not Be Confusable With Another Business Name

It’s not enough for your LLC name to be unique. It also cannot be similar to the name of a corporation or LLC in Georgia. For example, you cannot use the following factors to say your name is different from the name of another business:

• Suffixes, such as Corporation, Company, Incorporated, Incorporation, Limited, Corp., Co., Inc., Ltd., LLC, etc.
• Definite articles like “A,” “And,” “An,” “&,” “The,” etc.
• The singular, plural or possessive forms of a word
• Abbreviations, punctuation, symbols, fonts, typefaces, etc.

Your LLC Business Name Must Contain Certain Words

All LLCs must have the words “Limited Liability Company,” “L.L.C.” or “LLC” in their name. These words should normally come at the end of the name.

Your LLC Business Name May Have Other General Restrictions

Most states will not allow you to form LLCs with names that:

• Are very similar to the name of a federal or GA agency or organization (e.g., FBI, FDA, Georgia Department of Taxation and Finance, Georgia Police, Treasury, etc.)
• Suggest affiliation with a federal or state agency or organization
• Use the term “Olympic” or any terms that are trademarks of the Olympic organization
• Imply a purpose that it would be illegal for your business to carry out

Avoid Using Words That Are Restricted by the Georgia Secretary of State

• Use of the following terms in an entity name requires the written approval of the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner: “insurance,” “assurance,” “surety,” “fidelity,” “reinsurance,” “reassurance” or “indemnity”
• Use of the following terms or any variation of the word “bank” in an entity name requires the written approval of the Department of Banking and Finance: "bank," “banc,” “banque,” “banker,” “banking company,” “banking house,” “bancorp,” “bankruptcy,” “credit union,” “savings & loan,” “trust” or “trust company”
• Use of the following terms in an entity name requires the written approval of the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission: “college” or “university”