Alabama is becoming a hub for business due to multiple reasons out of which the most important one is the tax breakdown in the state. It encourages new start-ups and has the third-lowest property tax in the US. Although before you file for the Alabama LLC, you must know one thing. How to name your Alabama LLC? The Alabama secretary of state holds the record for every business in the state. Thus, to start with, you must decide on a name for your LLC. We will learn to perform the Alabama business entity search to make our process easier. You will read ahead how to name your LLC and what needs to be considered while naming your LLC.
Alabama Business Entity Search
A business entity search is simply accessing government data to find out whether a business name is registered or not. Alabama business entity search can help you identify registered LLC names. Choosing a name might sound easy but you should know the name must be unique. No two businesses can choose the same name. Ahead, we will discuss what are the necessary guidelines that you must follow to choose a name for your LLC. The Alabama SOS kept these guidelines in place. There are different methods to access the Alabama secretary of state, you can use it to discover other details of an LLC.
Alabama LLC Naming Guidelines
Every owner should be aware of these guidelines because, without them, your name won’t be valid with the Alabama SOS.
- Your desired LLC name should include LLC, L.L.C or Limited Liability Company.
- No words should be included in your LLC name that can imply your LLC to be a government agency.
- If your LLC is related to banking or insurance, you must have a letter from the Alabama Banking Commissioner’s Office and the Alabama Insurance Commissioner’s Office respectively.
- You must have a license to add a professional designation in your LLC name.
- The law has restricted the use of certain words that cannot be included in the LLC name.
- Your name must be unique from all other LLC. This can be checked on the Alabama secretary of state business search.
Alabama Business Entity Search Methods
Alabama SOS website allows you to perform Alabama business entity search in multiple ways. You must remember one of the following details to perform the search. We will discuss two of the popular methods of entity search. There is not much to understand, it is very easy to perform the search, although you must remember a few details in order to perform the name search on the secretary of state website. Starting with:
1. Entity Name
Alabama business entity search is not performed only to find out name availability. You can use the search tool also to find out others details about a business. You have to go to a particular page to perform the entity name search. To perform a particular search you must know a few details. Enter the name first and then followed by type, place of formation, principal city, and status. You can also choose to skip all and just enter the name.
2. Entity Number
If you are aware of the entity number or entity id, you can perform this search. You do not need any other details. Every business has a unique entity id. The entity number is assigned after you register your business. Use that to perform the Alabama business entity search.
There are other methods to do the Alabama SOS business search as well. That includes search by registered agent name or search by time which includes, date month, or year.
Alabama LLC Name Reservation
You can reserve your desired LLC name as well. Reserving a name means you can choose a name you desire and reserve it for $25. You can choose to mail your reservation form or fill it out online. Use Alabama secretary of state business search to find a unique LLC name. Any other business can not take your reserved name. If you choose to mail your reservation form, then it must be 2 weeks prior to your LLC filing. In the case of online, you can reserve it at any given time.
Alabama LLC Name Registration
Your Alabama LLC name can be registered online or through the mail. Once you have chosen your name using the Alabama SOS business search, you must start the process to file your Alabama LLC. No one can take up a registered name for their business. You can move forward with other processes like filing the certificate of formation.
Domain & Trademark
It is equally important to have a domain name for your business that is simple and easy to remember. Therefore, we would suggest that you must choose the same name for your domain as your business name. Another thing we would suggest is to trademark your business name. This gives your name protection and you would eligible to take legal actions on anyone who chooses to use your name. Trademark can prove to be very useful when you are thinking to expand your business to another state.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long does it take to get an LLC approved in Alabama?
It might take around 10 days to file your LLC in Alabama. To reduce it to 3 days, you can pay an additional $100.
2. How much does it cost to reserve Alabama LLC name?
It will take $28 to reserve your LLC name online and $10 to reserve it by mail.
3. Do I have to renew LLC every year in Alabama?
No. Although the state requires you to provide an annual report to them for tax purposes.
4. Can a company sue you for having a similar name?
Yes, they can if you are infringing their trademark. You must know to use a similar name and provide a similar service like them.
5. What is the tax rate in Alabama?
Alabama has the third lowest property tax with a flat rate of 6.5%.