Can I reserve a business name in Ohio before I file?

Yes. The Ohio Secretary of State charges $39 to reserve a name for 180 days. A reserved name shows as taken to everyone else's search.

How much does it cost to register a business name in Ohio?

The name itself is free to search. Filing the entity is what costs money: $99 for an LLC and $99 for a corporation, then none — ohio requires no annual report for llcs or corporations.

Are there words I can't use in an Ohio business name?

Words that imply a regulated business need consent first. In Ohio that includes Bank, Banker, Banking, Trust and Insurance. Names that suggest a government agency are refused outright.

How many new businesses start in Ohio each year?

The Census Bureau counted 185,245 business applications in the twelve months to August 2026, +22.8% on the year before. Not every application becomes a registered entity, but each one is a name someone intends to use.

Does an Ohio registration protect my name in other states?

No. It protects the name inside Ohio's registry only. Nationwide protection comes from a federal trademark, which is why the checker runs the USPTO search alongside the Ohio lookup.

What does an Ohio LLC name have to end with?

One of the state's accepted designators — LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company and Limited. The checker searches the name with and without the suffix, because the suffix alone never makes a name distinguishable.

Ohio business name generator — every idea checked against Secretary of State records

Ohio is one of the very few states with no annual report at all: pay $99 once and the entity stays in good standing until you dissolve it. Ohio also lets an LLC use 'Limited' or 'Ltd.' as its designator, which most states reserve for corporations — so a search for 'Ltd' names here should include LLCs.

Run the Ohio check — One search covers the Ohio registry, federal trademarks and the domain. Free, no signup.

Help me name my business →

How to land a name that's actually available in Ohio

Start with the registry. Search the Ohio registry for the exact name; it's the check that decides whether you can file at all.
Then the two checks the state doesn't do. A federal trademark reaches across state lines, and the .com decides whether customers find you — both run here automatically.
Lock it in. Ohio will hold it for 180 days for $39. The system of record is the Ohio Secretary of State; confirm there before paying a filing fee.

Already have a name in mind?

You don't have to start from ideas — the same checker verifies a specific name. Enter the exact name you're considering and it's searched against the Ohio registry, federal trademark filings, and domain registrars in one pass.

Check a specific name →

How busy is Ohio right now?

The U.S. Census Bureau counted 185,245 business applications from Ohio in the twelve months ending August 2026 — +22.8% on the year before, the 8th-highest total of any state and 15.6 per 1,000 residents (ranked 29th per person). July was the busiest month with 19,320 applications, and Ohio accounts for 3.0% of all U.S. filings.

The busier the state, the more the obvious names are gone; the generator's job is to find the ones that are still open.

What America names its businesses — 26 million registered names decoded →

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly, not seasonally adjusted). 2019 comparison: 95,003 applications in calendar 2019.

Name ideas that fit Ohio — and clear its registry

The generator starts from what your business does and who it serves, then checks each idea against the Ohio registry, the federal trademark register and domain availability before it shows it to you.

When an idea clears, Ohio lets you hold it: a name reservation costs $39 and lasts 180 days — enough time to finish the paperwork without watching the name every morning.

Remember the suffix: an Ohio LLC name has to end in LLC, L.L.C. and Limited Liability Company, and the generator appends it before checking so what you see is what you'd file.

Ohio naming rules: what the Ohio Secretary of State will and won't accept

Ohio applies one test to every proposed name: it must be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State. The examiner ignores punctuation, spacing, capitalization and the suffix when comparing, so two names that look different on paper can still collide. An LLC name must end in LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company and Limited; a corporation uses Corporation, Corp., Incorporated and Inc., among others.

Some words need permission first. In Ohio that list includes Bank, Banker, Banking, Trust, Insurance, Cooperative and Engineer — using one implies a regulated activity and the filing will be held until the relevant regulator consents.

What it costs: forming an LLC costs $99, a corporation $99 and a name reservation is $39 and holds the name for 180 days. Ohio business central online filings 3-7 business days; expedited 2-day, 1-day and 4-hour.

Keeping it: None — Ohio requires no annual report for LLCs or corporations. Skip it and the state eventually dissolves the entity, releasing the name back into the pool.

Per the Ohio Secretary of State, (614) 466-3910 — official website (fee schedule). Fees change; confirm before filing.

What people are checking in Ohio

Over the last three months, visitors ran 29 Ohio checks here, and 79% of them came back clear at the state level. The words that came up most: Ketteler, Aligned, Living, Mind and Body. (Aggregate figures only — we don't publish individual searches.)

The four tests an Ohio business name has to pass

1. Nobody active already has it. The Ohio Secretary of State compares your name against every entity currently on its books; a company that was dissolved or had its registration revoked normally doesn't count, although one that lapsed only recently could be reinstated — the checker calls that out when it sees it.

2. It's genuinely different, not just formatted differently. "Distinguishable" in Ohio means more than a comma, an ampersand, a plural or a different suffix. Sound-alikes and spell-alikes are the usual reason a filing bounces.

3. It carries the right designator. An LLC's legal name has to end in an LLC designator; a corporation needs Inc., Corp., Company or another form Ohio accepts. The designator is part of the name the state records.

4. It doesn't step on a trademark. The registry doesn't look at the USPTO, so a name can clear Ohio and still be a federal infringement. That is why the trademark check runs alongside the registry search here.

Rules, fees and reservation periods are set in Ohio statute and are revised from time to time; for a filing decision, the Ohio Secretary of State's own published guidance controls. This page is a practical guide, not legal advice.

About the Ohio Secretary of State

The Ohio Secretary of State maintains Ohio's registry of corporations, LLCs, and other registered entities — it is the system of record for Ohio business names. Useful official resources:

Official Ohio business entity search — the state's own lookup.
Ohio Secretary of State — official website — filings, forms, fees, and contact details.

Using the official Ohio search

Search here first. The checker above covers the Ohio registry plus federal trademarks and domains in one pass — most dead-end names are eliminated in seconds.
Open the official Ohio entity search and look up your shortlisted name exactly as you plan to file it, including the entity suffix.
Review matching records — check each match's status (active registrations block a name; dissolved ones usually don't) and how close the spelling is to yours.
File or reserve promptly. Availability is first-come-first-served; a name that's clear today can be registered by someone else tomorrow.

Frequently asked questions

Can I reserve a business name in Ohio before I file?: Yes. The Ohio Secretary of State charges $39 to reserve a name for 180 days. A reserved name shows as taken to everyone else's search.
How much does it cost to register a business name in Ohio?: The name itself is free to search. Filing the entity is what costs money: $99 for an LLC and $99 for a corporation, then none — ohio requires no annual report for llcs or corporations.
Are there words I can't use in an Ohio business name?: Words that imply a regulated business need consent first. In Ohio that includes Bank, Banker, Banking, Trust and Insurance. Names that suggest a government agency are refused outright.
How many new businesses start in Ohio each year?: The Census Bureau counted 185,245 business applications in the twelve months to August 2026, +22.8% on the year before. Not every application becomes a registered entity, but each one is a name someone intends to use.
Does an Ohio registration protect my name in other states?: No. It protects the name inside Ohio's registry only. Nationwide protection comes from a federal trademark, which is why the checker runs the USPTO search alongside the Ohio lookup.
What does an Ohio LLC name have to end with?: One of the state's accepted designators — LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company and Limited. The checker searches the name with and without the suffix, because the suffix alone never makes a name distinguishable.

Already have a name? Run the Ohio Secretary of State business search to see if it's taken.

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