Search Your Business Name with the Mississippi Secretary of State and Register Your LLC
We’re here to help you find the right business name for your Mississippi LLC. From searching for a business name with the Mississippi Secretary of State to understanding naming rules or creating a “Doing Business As” name to register your entity, you’re in the right place.
Mississippi Secretary of State LLC Business Search
You should start naming your business by completing a Mississippi business entity search” with the secretary of state. They have a helpful tool on their website that lets you search the register of Mississippi LLCs and corporations to see if someone already has your desired business name. Just visit the Business Search Tool on the Mississippi SOS website and enter the MS business name you want to search for.
If the business name is already used by an LLC or Corporation in Mississippi, that means it’s not available and you won’t be able to register it. Try searching for a different business name instead.
The Mississippi Secretary of State search tool lets you enter details and search for your MS LLC by the following fields:
- Business Name
- Business ID
- Officer Name
- Registered Agent
Mississippi Secretary of State Rules for Naming Your LLC
Once you’ve decided on a name for your LLC and checked business name availability, you’ll need to meet Mississippi Secretary of State naming rules. These do vary from state to state — we’ve got general naming rules below, as well as naming rules specific to LLC businesses formed in MS.
Standard LLC Naming Rules
These rules typically apply to all LLCs, no matter what state they are formed in. You will need to pay attention to these rules, as they will influence the name you choose for your Mississippi LLC.
The business name you have chosen cannot be used by any other LLC or corporation in the state of Mississippi. This is why you should check business name availability on the MS SOS website.
It’s not enough for your LLC name to be unique; it also cannot be similar to the name of another corporation or LLC in Mississippi. 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.
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.
Most states will not allow you to form LLCs with names that:
- Are very similar to the name of a federal or MS agency or organization (e.g. FBI, FDA, Mississippi Department of Revenue, Mississippi 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
Mississippi LLC Trade Names
You might choose to do business under a different name from your legal LLC name. In Mississippi, doing business under a different name is known as a “Trade Name.” You might choose to use a different name from your MS formal LLC name for a variety of reasons.
For example, your LLC might be called Mississippi Leisure and Tourism Holding Company LLC and you have a chain called Steamboat. You should file a Trade Name to let the Mississippi Secretary of State know. In Mississippi, you do that through a form, or you can have Incfile do it on your behalf through our Assumed Business Name service.
Incfile's Assumed Business Name ServiceRegister Your Mississippi LLC Business Entity
Once you’ve searched for your Mississippi business name, checked availability, followed the naming rules and decided whether you need a fictitious name, you can register your MS LLC name. There are a couple of ways to do this.
- If you don’t want to form your Mississippi LLC right now, you can reserve the business name
- If you’re ready to start your Mississippi LLC, you can register it through Incfile
Reserve Your LLC Name with the Mississippi Secretary of State
If you don’t want to form your business immediately, you can reserve a name with the Mississippi Secretary of State. You will need to complete an Application for Name Reservation with the Mississippi Secretary of State through their online filing system. You do not need to reserve a name if you are forming your business right away.
Register Your Mississippi LLC With Incfile
Now that you’ve chosen the perfect name, you can formally register your Mississippi business through Incfile. You will need to gather some more information, but we’ll guide you through the entire process. We make it fast and simple to start your Mississippi LLC.
Register Your Mississippi LLC NowFAQs on Naming Your Mississippi LLC
You might find the following answers useful.
Just go to the business name search tool and enter your proposed business name. You can search the register of the Mississippi Secretary of State, which will tell you if there are any Mississippi corporations or LLCs with that name.
Yes. Most LLCs will be bound by general rules (applicable to all LLCs) and specific rules (applicable in the state of Mississippi). We’ve detailed these rules above.
Yes. Known as “assumed names,” “fictitious names,” “doing business as names” or “trade names,” you can choose to conduct business under a different name. See our section on “Mississippi LLC Trade Names” above.
Yes. The Mississippi Secretary of State allows you to reserve a name if you don’t want to start your business immediately. If you are ready to start your business now, you do not need to reserve a name
Useful Resources for Naming Your Mississippi LLC
You might find these other resources helpful.
Trademarks and Service Marks
You must be careful that your Mississippi LLC name does not infringe on the trademark or service mark of another business. The easiest way to make sure your proposed business name does not infringe is to carry out a trademark search through Incfile. If it doesn’t infringe, you can even register it as a trademark yourself.
Incfile Trademark Search and Registration ServiceFind the Perfect Name for Your Mississippi LLC
The perfect business name can be elusive. We have a complete guide to choosing the right business name, but basically, you'll want to choose a name that will:
- Appeal to your customers
- Be memorable enough to stand out
- Best represent your product or services
- Not be used by another business
