How to Name Your Maine LLC
Learn how to name an LLC in Maine: required designators, how to search the Maine Secretary of State's business name database, trademark checks, and how to reserve or register your name.
Bizee Editorial Staff
Editorial Team
Maine LLC naming requirements at a glance
Filing fee: [STATE_FEE]
Processing time: [PROCESSING_TIME]
State agency: Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions
Annual report due: [ANNUAL_REPORT_DUE]
State tax rate: [STATE_TAX_RATE]
Maine LLC naming rules
To name an LLC in Maine, your name must include an approved designator, be distinguishable from existing business names on file with the Maine Secretary of State, and avoid prohibited or restricted words. Your name gets locked in when you file the Certificate of Formation (Form MLLC-6) with the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions.
Maine accepts the following designators for an LLC name: "Limited Liability Company," "Limited Liability Co.," "Limited Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C." Any of these works — most founders go with "LLC" for simplicity.
Beyond the designator, your name must be distinguishable from every other business entity already registered in Maine. That means a name that differs only by punctuation, spacing, or a common word like "the" or "and" may still be rejected. Run the name search before you get attached to anything.
How to search Maine business names
Search Maine business name availability through the Maine Secretary of State's Corporate Name Search tool at apps3.web.maine.gov. Enter a keyword from your proposed name, review the results, and click any matching entity to see its legal name, charter number, filing type, and status. If a close match is active, you'll need a different name.
The search tool lets you look up entities by name keyword or by charter number. Search by keyword first — it's the fastest way to spot conflicts. The system is designed for individual lookups, not bulk searches, so the state prohibits automated scraping of the database.
A clean result in the state database doesn't mean the name is yours to use everywhere. It only confirms no other Maine-registered entity has claimed it. You still need to check federal trademarks separately.
Prohibited and restricted words
Maine prohibits LLC names that imply the business is organized for a purpose it isn't legally authorized to carry out, or that suggest a government affiliation the business doesn't have. A name that misleads the public about what the business does or who it's connected to won't be accepted.
Words that suggest government affiliation — references to agencies like the FBI or Treasury — are restricted. Financial-industry terms like "bank" or "banking" typically require regulatory approval before you can use them in a Maine LLC name. If your proposed name includes any of these terms, check with the relevant licensing authority before filing.
Federal trademark search
A Maine state name search only tells you whether another Maine-registered entity is using the name. It doesn't tell you whether someone holds a federal trademark on it. Search the USPTO trademark database at tmsearch.uspto.gov before you commit to a name.
When you search, go beyond exact matches. Look for sound-alike names, common misspellings, and synonyms — the USPTO evaluates whether names are "confusingly similar," not just identical. Also search within the relevant goods and services categories for your business, since trademark conflicts are evaluated by industry class.
If your name includes a logo or design element you want to protect, use the USPTO Design Search Code Manual to identify the right design codes and search those separately. A trademark attorney can help you figure out whether a close match is actually a conflict.
How to reserve your Maine LLC name
If you've found a name you want but aren't ready to file your LLC yet, you can reserve it with the Maine Secretary of State using Form MLLC-1, the Application for Reservation of Name. A reservation holds the name for 120 days while you get ready to file.
The reservation doesn't form your LLC — it just takes the name off the table for other filers during that window. Once you're ready, file Form MLLC-6 (Certificate of Formation) to formally register the name and form your LLC.
How to register your Maine LLC name
Your Maine LLC name is officially registered when you file Form MLLC-6, the Certificate of Formation, with the Maine Secretary of State's Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions. The name you list on that form becomes your legal LLC name on the state's records.
Before you file, run the Corporate Name Search one more time to confirm the name is still available — another business could have registered it between your initial search and your filing date. The name must be distinguishable from all existing entities on record at the time of filing, or the state will reject the Certificate of Formation.
Foreign LLCs that want to protect a name for use in Maine — without forming a domestic LLC — use Form MLLC-2, the Application for Registration of Name.
Maine DBA (assumed name) registration
If you want to run your Maine LLC under a name other than its legal registered name, you need to file an assumed name — also called a DBA (doing business as). Maine law requires you to file a Statement of Intention to Transact Business under an Assumed or Fictitious Name before you start using the alternate name.
For domestic Maine LLCs, that filing is made on Form ASUM-205, submitted to the Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions. The statement must include your LLC's legal name, the assumed name you want to use, the Maine locations where you'll use it (if not statewide), and a statement of your intent to transact business under that name.
Foreign LLCs whose legal name is already taken in Maine use a fictitious name instead of an assumed name, but the filing process and form are the same. An assumed name doesn't create a separate legal entity — your LLC remains the legal entity behind it.
FAQ
Use the Maine Secretary of State's Corporate Name Search tool at apps3.web.maine.gov. Enter a keyword from your proposed name, review the list of matching entities, and click any result to see its legal name, charter number, and status. If an active entity has a name that's too close to yours, you'll need to choose something different.
Yes, Maine has specific naming rules. Your LLC name must include an approved designator — "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," "L.L.C.," "Limited Liability Co.," or "Limited Company." It must be distinguishable from all other business names on file with the Maine Secretary of State. It can't include words that imply a government affiliation or suggest the business is authorized to do something it isn't.
Yes. Maine allows LLCs to operate under an assumed name (DBA) that's different from the legal LLC name. Before using the assumed name, you need to file Form ASUM-205 — the Statement of Intention to Transact Business under an Assumed or Fictitious Name — with the Maine Secretary of State's Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions.
Yes. Maine lets you reserve an LLC name for 120 days before you're ready to file. File Form MLLC-1 (Application for Reservation of Name) with the Maine Secretary of State to hold the name. The reservation doesn't form your LLC — it just prevents another business from registering the same name during that window.
The Maine Corporate Name Search is the official database maintained by the Maine Secretary of State's Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions. Anyone can use it to look up existing business entities by name keyword or charter number. It's the right starting point for checking whether your proposed LLC name is already taken — but it doesn't replace a federal trademark search.
Your LLC name is registered when you file Form MLLC-6, the Certificate of Formation, with the Maine Secretary of State. That's the document that forms your LLC and locks in the name on the state's records. If you want to protect a name before you're ready to file, use Form MLLC-1 to reserve it for up to 120 days.
