Naming Your Michigan Limited Liability Company

You need the right name for your Michigan LLC. Choosing the right name is vital because it tells your suppliers, customers and employees what your business does. Michigan has several rules and regulations about what you can call your new business. Let’s explore what they are.

General Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Rules on Naming Your LLC

• The name needs to be unique and not used by another LLC or business operating in Michigan
• The name of your Michigan business must end with “Limited Liability Company,” “L.L.C.,” “LLC,” “LC” or “L.C.”

Don't Confuse Your Michigan Business Name With Another Business Name

• It should not be possible to confuse the name of your business with the name of another Michigan business
• When deciding if names are substantially similar, you cannot claim a different type face, font, accents, subscript/superscript characters, punctuation or words like “the,” “and,” “of” etc. to claim your business name is different
• The following words can’t be used to say your business name is different to another business name: Corporation, Company, Incorporated, Incorporation, Limited, Corp, Co, Inc, Ltd, PC, Professional Corporation, Limited Partnership, LP, L.P., Limited Liability Limited Partnership, LLLP or L.L.L.P.
• For example, you can’t claim that Blue Widget Co., Blue Widget LLC, Blue Widget Incorporated, Blue-Widget-Company or Blue Widget are different to each other

Rules on Words You Can’t Use in Your Business Name

• The Department of Licensing and Regulatory affairs has a large list of words that are prohibited or restricted from being used in a business name
• You can review Michigan's list of prohibited and restricted words here

Michigan Information on Naming an LLC

• You can reserve an LLC name by filling in a form and paying a fee of $25
• This will reserve your LLC name for up to six months
• A name can be used to form any type of business entity, not just an LLC
• Filing a name registration doesn’t guarantee you will be granted the name. You should wait until your LLC is legally formed before using the name for anything else
• You can also be a Michigan LLC with a different “doing business as” name. In Michigan these are registered with the county, and you can find your county clerk here

Rules on Infringing on Service Marks or Trademarks Inside or Outside Michigan

In addition to the rules above, it’s also vital to see if your Michigan LLC name might infringe on the trademark or service mark of another business. For example, it might not be a good idea to call yourself “Google Search Optimization Services,” since Google is a trademark.

The easiest way to see if your proposed business name infringes is to carry out a trademark search. You can do that via the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or Incfile can help you protect your business with our new trademark search and registration service. You should also bear in mind that your Michigan business entity name cannot be substantially similar to an existing trademark or service mark.

How to Search for Your Michigan Business Entity Name

Search the database of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for your proposed business name to see if it's unique.

What Should You Call Your Michigan LLC?

Finding the perfect name can be tough. You want a business name that:

• Describes what your Michigan business does
• Appeals to your planned audience
• Makes your business easy to find
• Is relatively unique
• Doesn’t limit you to a particular location or type of product or service

Fortunately, we’ve got some good advice on seeking out the perfect business name for your Michigan LLC. Check out our guidance on naming your LLC and get inspired.

You’ve Found the Perfect Name, What Next?

Once you’ve found the right name for your business, it’s time to make it a reality. Check out our packages for starting your Michigan LLC and form your LLC today.