How to Name Your Louisiana LLC
Learn the naming rules for a Louisiana LLC — required designators, name availability search, DBA registration, and name reservation. Everything you need before you file.
Bizee Editorial Staff
Editorial Team
Louisiana LLC naming requirements at a glance
Filing fee: $100 (online); $75 (by mail)
Processing time: 3–5 business days (online)
State agency: Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division
Annual report due: No separate annual report; annual registration fee due each year
State tax rate: No state income tax on pass-through LLC income; Louisiana corporate income tax applies if taxed as a corporation
Louisiana LLC naming requirements
To name your Louisiana LLC, your name must include a required designator, be distinguishable from existing businesses on file with the Louisiana Secretary of State, and avoid restricted words tied to regulated industries. You'll also want to check availability, consider a name reservation, and confirm there are no trademark conflicts before you file.
General rules for Louisiana LLC names
Every Louisiana LLC name must include one of the following designators: the full phrase "limited liability company," or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "L.C." This designator must appear as part of the official legal name on your Articles of Organization filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
Beyond the designator, your name must be distinguishable from every other business already on record with the Secretary of State. Louisiana treats names that differ only in minor ways — like swapping an "s" for a "z" — as not distinguishable. Your name also can't suggest a connection to a government agency or imply the business is a nonprofit or charitable organization when it isn't.
Certain words tied to regulated industries — things like "bank," "insurance," or "trust" — are restricted. Using them requires either proper authorization or additional documentation. If your name includes a professional designation, you may need approval from the relevant licensing board before the Secretary of State will accept your filing.
How to search for a Louisiana business name
Check name availability through the Louisiana Secretary of State's free online business filings database before you file anything. The search is free and takes only a few minutes.
To run the search, go to the commercial search tool, select "Search by Entity Name," enter your proposed name, complete the CAPTCHA, and click "Search." Results show entity name, type, city, and status. Click "Details" on any result to see the full record — including registered agent, officers, and prior names — so you can confirm whether a similar name is already in use.
A name that doesn't appear in the database isn't automatically yours. You still need to check for trademark conflicts separately — the Secretary of State's database only shows registered business entities, not federally or state-registered trademarks.
How to reserve a business name in Louisiana
Louisiana lets you reserve an LLC name before you're ready to file your Articles of Organization. Reservation is optional — you can go straight to filing — but it holds the name while you prepare your formation documents.
To reserve a name, file an Application for Reservation of a Limited Liability Company Name with the Louisiana Secretary of State. The state fee is $25. A reservation is valid for 120 days from the filing date. The Secretary of State's Commercial Division in Baton Rouge accepts filings in person during posted business hours.
Trademarks and service marks
A clear name in the Secretary of State's database doesn't mean the name is free of trademark conflicts. Those are two separate checks, and skipping the trademark search is one of the mistakes that comes up often when entrepreneurs name their LLC.
Search the Louisiana Secretary of State's trademark and service mark database for state-registered marks. Then search the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) for federally registered or pending marks. Federal trademarks have broader protection than Louisiana state marks — a business with a federal registration can challenge your use of a confusingly similar name even if you registered your LLC first.
Even unregistered marks can create problems. If another business has been using a name in commerce before you, they may have rights that let them challenge your use. If you're building a brand, talk to a legal professional about trademark protection before you commit to a name.
Louisiana DBA (trade name) registration
If you want to run your business under a name that's different from your LLC's legal name, you can register a trade name — also called a DBA (doing business as) — in Louisiana. This lets you use a customer-facing name without forming a separate legal entity.
Trade name registration is filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State. The trade name must still meet the state's naming rules — it can't be deceptively similar to an existing registered name, and it can't include restricted words without proper authorization. A DBA doesn't create a new legal entity or provide trademark protection on its own.
FAQ
Use the Louisiana Secretary of State's free commercial search database at coraweb.sos.la.gov. Select "Search by Entity Name," enter your proposed name, complete the CAPTCHA, and click "Search." Results show entity name, type, city, and status. Click "Details" on any result to see the full record and confirm whether a similar name is already registered.
Yes, there are several. Your LLC name must include "limited liability company," "L.L.C.," or "L.C." as a designator. It must be distinguishable from all existing business names on file with the Louisiana Secretary of State. It can't suggest a government affiliation, imply nonprofit status, or include restricted words tied to regulated industries like banking or insurance without proper authorization.
Yes. File an Application for Reservation of a Limited Liability Company Name with the Louisiana Secretary of State. The state fee is $25, and the reservation holds your name for 120 days. Reservation is optional — you can file your Articles of Organization directly without reserving first — but it's useful if you need time to prepare your formation documents.
File a trade name registration with the Louisiana Secretary of State. A DBA lets your LLC do business under a name that's different from its legal name. The trade name must still meet Louisiana's naming rules — it can't be deceptively similar to an existing registered name or include restricted words without authorization. A DBA doesn't create a new legal entity or provide trademark protection.
It's the Louisiana Secretary of State's free online database of registered business entities. You can search by entity name, charter number, trade registration number, name reservation number, or officer and agent name. It's the tool you use to check whether your proposed LLC name is already taken before you file your Articles of Organization.
Go to the Louisiana Secretary of State's commercial search tool at coraweb.sos.la.gov, select "Search by Entity Name," and enter your proposed name. If no matching or similar entity appears, the name may be available to register. Keep in mind that availability in this database doesn't clear the name for trademark use — run a separate trademark search through the USPTO and the Louisiana Secretary of State's trademark database before committing.
A Louisiana LLC name reservation is valid for 120 days from the date it's filed with the Secretary of State. The state fee is $25. If you're not ready to file your Articles of Organization right away, a reservation holds the name while you get your formation documents in order. After 120 days, the reservation expires and the name becomes available again.
