Guide to Name Availability
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office regulates business name availability to ensure that every business registered in the state has a distinct name – one that is “distinguishable upon the record.” If a proposed name is unique and distinguishable from existing names on record, it will be accepted. If a proposed name is too similar to an existing name, it will be rejected.
This guide explains how to determine whether a proposed business, trade, or fictitious name is acceptable for registration under Ohio law.
Types of Names
Business Names
To register a business name, it must be “distinguishable upon the record” from names already registered in Ohio by:
Corporations
Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)
Limited Partnerships (LPs)
Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs)
It must also be distinct from existing trade names or other reserved names. Business names do not need to be distinguishable from fictitious names, general partnerships, trademarks, or service marks. Note: A business name remains in “held” status for one year after cancellation. If a canceled corporation is not reinstated within one year, the name becomes available again.
Trade Names
A trade name is a distinctive name used to identify a business. Once registered, it grants exclusive rights to the use of a name. Trade names must be distinguishable from registered trademarks, service marks, and business names.
Fictitious Names
Fictitious names are not distinctive enough to qualify as trade names, so they are not required to be distinguishable. Multiple businesses may use the same fictitious name, and a new business can form using a fictitious name already on record.
General Partnership Names
General partnerships may file as a trade name, fictitious name, or they may file a Statement of Partnership Authority (treated as a fictitious name).
Trademarks and Service Marks
Trademarks, which identify the source of goods from a seller, and service marks, which identify the source of services, may be required to be distinguishable from other registered marks on record, depending on the class code and design.
Trademarks and service marks are not required to be distinguishable upon the record from business, fictitious, or general partnership names.
Consent for Use of Similar Name
If a name is already registered, an applicant must submit a Consent for Use of Similar Name form (Form 590) with their business filing for the office to accept the proposed name.
Name Availability Rules
Names That Are Not Distinguishable (Rejected)
Punctuation, symbols, contractions, or abbreviations do not make a name distinguishable.
P.L.A.Y.” is not distinguishable from “Play.”
“Hill’s Supermarket” is not distinguishable from “Hill Supermarket.”
“Knight & Day” is not distinguishable from “Knight and Day.”
“Mr. Coffee” is not distinguishable from “Mister Coffee.”
Articles (“A,” “An,” “The”) are not distinguishable.
“P.L.A.Y.” is not distinguishable from “Play.”
“Hill’s Supermarket” is not distinguishable from “Hill Supermarket.”
“Knight & Day” is not distinguishable from “Knight and Day.”
“Mr. Coffee” is not distinguishable from “Mister Coffee.”
Conjunctions (“and,” “or,” “but,” “for,” “nor”) are not distinguishable.
“Buttons and More” is not distinguishable from “Buttons or More.”
Entity type designations (Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd., LLC, LP, LLP) are not distinguishable.
“Barnstormers Ltd.” is not distinguishable from “Barnstormers Co.”
Singular vs. plural or different tenses are not distinguishable.
“Hometown Bakery” is not distinguishable from “Hometown Bakeries.”
“Play It Again Sports” is not distinguishable from “Played It Again Sports.”
Names That Are Distinguishable (Accepted)
Numbers written in different forms (Roman, Arabic, or spelled out) are distinguishable.
“Roman Investments II” is distinguishable from “Roman Investments 2” and “Roman Investments Two.”
Adding letters makes a name distinguishable.
“A Plumbing” is distinguishable from “AA Plumbing”
Different word order is distinguishable.
“Energy First” is distinguishable from “First Energy”
Phonetic or spelling variations are distinguishable.
“Quickie Mart” is distinguishable from “Kwikee Mart” and “Kwik-E-Mart”
Misspellings are distinguishable.
“800-OPERATOR” is distinguishable from “800-OPERATER”
Base word variations may be distinguishable.
“Busy Bee Cleaners” is distinguishable from “Busy Bee Cleaning”
A word in a foreign language is distinguishable from its English equivalent.
Example: “La Fleur” (French) is distinguishable from “The Flower” (English)
Government Affiliation Restrictions
The Ohio Revised Code prohibits the registration of a name that improperly implies that the business is or is affiliated with a government agency of the United States, a State agency of Ohio, or another state.
Restricted Words
Banks
Names containing “bank,” “banker,” “banking,” “trust,” or similar foreign-language terms require prior approval from the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
Request approval at: Bank and/or Trust Name Request.
Cooperatives
Only true cooperatives may use “cooperative,” “coop,” “co-operative,” or “co-op” in their names.
Benefit Corporations
Only benefit corporations may use “benefit” or “b-” as a prefix to a company identifier.
Trade Names
A trade name may not imply incorporation if the entity is not incorporated (e.g., Company, Corporation, Incorporated, Co., Corp., or Inc.).
Required Words
Cooperatives
Cooperatives must include one of the following words or abbreviations in the business name: cooperative, coop, co-operative, co-op, association, assn., company, co., incorporated, inc., corporation, or corp.
Legal Professional Associations
Legal professional associations and clinics (R.C. Chapter 1785) must follow Rule III of the Rules for Government of the Bar of Ohio. Their names must either end with “Co., LPA” or include the phrase “A Legal Professional Association” directly below the name.
Name Reservations and Transfers
A business name may be reserved for 180 days. Reserved names must be distinguishable upon the record. Consent to use a reserved name cannot be given but reserved names may be transferred between owners.
Allowable Characters in Business Names
Letters and Numbers
English alphabet letters (A–Z)
Arabic numbers (0–9)
Roman numerals (I, II, IV, V, X, C, etc.)
Symbols and Punctuation
English punctuation marks
Plus (+), minus (-), equals (=), greater (>) and less (<)
Brackets [ ], braces { }
Forward ( / ) and backslashes ( \ )
Number (#), dollar ($), percent (%), at (@)
Ampersand (&), asterisk (*), caret (^), pipe (|), tilde (~), underscore (_)