Reserving a Corporate Name

In some instances, you may want to reserve a corporate name before actually incorporating. Most states (but not all) will allow you to reserve a corporate name for a period of time — usually 30 to 120 days — for a small fee. Information about reserving a corporate name will be available on the Secretary of State's Web site for your chosen state, or can be found by calling the Secretary of State.

You're not required to reserve your corporate name. A corporate name is often reserved if you're not ready to incorporate at the same time you decide on the name. If it's going to take some time to get the papers in order to proceed with the incorporation, then go ahead and reserve the name. If the incorporation papers are ready to go and all you were waiting for was finding the perfect name — and the name is available — then incorporate immediately without reserving the name.