Books from Hamilton

Choosing a Corporate Name

• It is a very good idea to check your corporate name by requesting a free name check from Hamilton.

• The Secretary of State checks your choices based on whether they are confusingly similar to names already on file. Be sure to submit three distinctly, different corporate names. 

• A designator such as "Corporation," "Incorporated," "Limited," or an abbreviation ("Corp.," "Inc.," or "Ltd.") is legally required only when a personal name is used as your corporate name. 

• You may wish to include a designation whether or not you use a personal name in order to inform others that your business is incorporated. 

• Remember, the name chosen here for a corporation is only for the purpose of naming the corporation. 

Links that will help you learn whether you can use your corporate name for other business purposes

• use the corporate name as the business name, 

• name the products or services that the business provides, and/or 

• register a domain name to use the corporate name on the Internet as a URL.

Explore the following links to corporate name information on the California Secretary of State web site: 

California Secretary of State Corporate Name Availability

Checking the availability of a corporate name

Reserving a corporate name

General name availability information

• Check with the city and/or county clerk and/or recorder in the counties where you will be doing business to assure that your name has not already been registered by another person or business as a fictitious business name . 
  

  • You may prefer to use a personal name such as John Doodles Doe, Inc. as the corporate name and then file for fictitious business names for the companies owned by the corporation.
    

• Verify whether you can use your corporate name to name your product or service by performing a trademark search. 

• Search for a domain name at networksolutions.com or register.com to learn whether your corporate name can be registered for use as an Internet URL