Nevada Business Name Search: Check and Reserve a Name
Last verified: November 5, 2026
This guide is for founders about to form a Nevada LLC or corporation who want to know whether the name will be accepted by the Secretary of State. If you only need a trade name for a sole proprietorship or partnership, you want a county filing instead: see the Nevada DBA guide.
Our position: the Secretary of State search tells you whether a name can be filed, not whether you can safely use it. Run the state search and a federal trademark search before you commit, and pay the $25 to reserve a name only if you will not file within a few weeks.
What You Need Before You Start
- Your first-choice name and two or three backups: search every one before you reserve or file anything.
- The entity type: the ending your name needs depends on it (see the table below).
- The search page: the Nevada Secretary of State entity search, run from the Secretary of State website.
- $25 per name: only if you want a reservation. Both entity chapters set the same fee (NRS 86.561(1)(f) for LLCs, NRS 78.785(4) for corporations).
Nevada Name Rules at a Glance
| Item | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| LLC name ending | Must contain Limited-Liability Company, Limited Liability Company, Limited Company or Limited, or Ltd., L.L.C., L.C., LLC or LC. "Company" may be written Co. | NRS 86.171(1) |
| Corporation name ending | No required ending in the statute. A name that looks like a person's name with a given name or initials needs an added word such as Inc., Corp. or Company. | NRS 78.035(1) |
| Standard for every entity | Distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from every name on file and every reserved name, unless the holder gives written, acknowledged consent | NRS 86.171(2); NRS 78.039(1) |
| Reservation length | 90 days | NRS 86.176; NRS 78.040 |
| Reservation fee | $25 | NRS 86.561(1)(f); NRS 78.785(4) |
What "Distinguishable" Means in Practice
The statute leaves the detail to Secretary of State rules. Those rules, which apply to LLCs as well as corporations (NAC 86.010 points to NAC 78.020 to 78.100), split into changes that do not make a name different and changes that may.
These changes do not make your name distinguishable:
- A different ending: Corp., Inc., LLC, Ltd., Co. and similar endings are ignored when names are compared (NAC 78.020). "Nevada Digital Solutions LLC" and "Nevada Digital Solutions Corporation" are therefore treated as the same name.
- Punctuation, spaces, capitals, symbols and fonts: "Jones & Jones" and "Jones and Jones" are not distinguishable (NAC 78.030).
- "The," "a" or "an": adding or dropping an article does not help (NAC 78.040).
- A trademark or logo: distinctive lettering, a mark or a trademark does not make a name different (NRS 86.171(3)).
These changes may make a name distinguishable, at the Secretary of State's discretion: a different spelling (NAC 78.050), an added or dropped suffix such as "s" or "ing" (NAC 78.070), a changed preposition (NAC 78.080), an abbreviation against the full word (NAC 78.090) and a numeral against a spelled-out number (NAC 78.100). Words such as Group, Enterprises, Partners or Associates count as part of the name, so they can do the distinguishing (NAC 78.020(2)).
Do not plan a name around a "may." Pick a name that differs in its main words, because a rejected filing costs you time and the other holder keeps the name.
Words That Need Another Agency's Approval
For an LLC, the Secretary of State will not accept articles whose name includes certain regulated words unless the matching agency signs off (NRS 86.171(5) to (10)):
- Accountant, accounting, auditor: the Nevada State Board of Accountancy.
- Bank or trust: the Commissioner of Financial Institutions.
- Engineer or engineering: the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.
- Architect, registered interior designer or residential designer: the State Board of Architecture, Interior Design and Residential Design.
- Community association or homeowners association: the Real Estate Division of the Department of Business and Industry.
Check your word list against this before you build a brand around the name.
Step-by-Step: Check and Reserve a Nevada Name
Step 1: Search the Secretary of State Records
Open the Nevada entity search and enter your name without the ending, so that you also see names that differ only by ending (see above). Search each backup name too. Save a screenshot or note of the results with the date.
Read results for what they mean under the statute. An active entity or a reserved name with a matching main name blocks you unless its holder consents in writing. A name belonging to a revoked, merged or otherwise terminated entity is available to anyone (NRS 86.171(4)), but a defaulting LLC can still reinstate, and if its name has been taken it must choose another (NRS 86.278). The search page is not a filing decision: the Secretary of State makes that call when it reviews your articles.
Step 2: Run a Trademark Search
Being distinguishable on the state's records does not clear the name against someone's trademark, and the statute says a trademark does not make a name distinguishable (NRS 86.171(3)). Search the USPTO trademark search for the same words in your line of business before you pay for anything. If you are unsure what a conflict means for your name, a Nevada business or trademark attorney is the right person to ask.
Step 3: Decide Whether to Reserve
The Secretary of State will reserve a name for 90 days on request, as long as it is available under the distinguishable-name rule. While the reservation lasts, no other entity can form, register or reserve a name that is not distinguishable from yours without your written, acknowledged consent (NRS 86.176(1); NRS 78.040(1)).
Reserve if you will file in several weeks, for example while you wait on a partner or a regulated-word approval. Do not reserve if you will file this week: the $25 is a separate fee in the statute, and we found no rule that credits it against the articles filing fee, so treat it as extra cost.
Step 4: Request the Reservation From the Secretary of State
The Secretary of State takes the request. Its online business portal is reached from the Nevada SilverFlume portal and the Secretary of State website. Those sites block automated access, so we could not read the current reservation screens or forms and do not describe them here. Follow the Secretary of State's current instructions, enter the name with its ending exactly as it will appear in your articles, pay the $25 and keep the confirmation.
Step 5: File Before the 90 Days End
Mark day 80 on a calendar. The statute gives you 90 days and we found nothing in it about extending or renewing a reservation, so assume that after day 90 the name is open to anyone, including a competitor. If it lapses, search again before you pay again.
When you file the articles, these state fees apply, separate from the reservation:
| Item | LLC | Corporation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articles filing fee | $75 | $75 if authorized shares total $75,000 or less, higher above that | NRS 86.561(1)(a); NRS 78.760 |
| Initial list of managers or officers | $150 | $150 | NRS 86.263; NRS 78.150 |
| State business license | $200 | $500 | NRS 76.100 |
For an LLC that is $425 in the first year ($75 plus $150 plus $200) and $350 in later years, before the optional $25 reservation. The annual list and license renewal guide covers the yearly filings.
Mistakes That Cost Owners Time
- Treating a similar name as different: a changed ending, an "and" for an "&" or a dropped "The" changes nothing under the rules above.
- Searching only the state records: a name can be free in Nevada and still infringe a trademark.
- Reserving the wrong spelling: the reserved name must be the one in your articles, ending included for an LLC.
- Forgetting the 90-day end date: a lapsed reservation protects nothing.
- Skipping the regulated-word check: a name with "bank," "engineering" or "accounting" in it can stall your articles until another agency approves.
Next Steps: Form the Entity
Once the name is settled, you need a registered agent with a Nevada address, named in your articles (NRS 77.310). See the Nevada LLC guide or the Nevada corporation guide for the filing steps, or compare LLC formation services in Nevada if you would rather hand the paperwork off.
Disclaimer
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. We read the Nevada Revised Statutes and Nevada Administrative Code as published by the Legislature on November 5, 2026, but could not read the Secretary of State's own pages or fee schedule, so confirm the reservation process and fee with the Secretary of State before you pay. For a name that may conflict with a trademark, ask a qualified Nevada attorney.
Sources
- Nevada Legislature: NRS 86.171 (LLC names), NRS 86.176 (LLC name reservation), NRS 86.278 (reinstatement and names), NRS 86.263 (initial and annual lists) and NRS 86.561 (LLC fees)
- Nevada Legislature: NRS 78.035 (articles of incorporation), NRS 78.039 (corporate names), NRS 78.040 (corporate name reservation), NRS 78.760 and NRS 78.785 (corporate fees), NRS 78.150 (initial list)
- Nevada Legislature: NRS 76.100 (state business license) and NRS 77.310 (registered agent in filings)
- Nevada Legislature: NAC 78.020 to 78.100 (distinguishable names) and NAC 86.010 (same rules for LLCs)
- Nevada Secretary of State: Secretary of State website, entity search and SilverFlume portal (not readable from our server, linked as the official starting points)
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: trademark search