After choosing a business structure most appropriate for your operation, the next important step is naming your business. You may wish to exercise care in selecting a name to avoid infringing on names filed by other businesses or being used by another entity as a trademark or trade name.
Sole proprietors and general partnerships that wish to conduct business under a name other than the real name of the person(s) must file a Registration of Firm Names (also known as "doing business as" application) with the county Register of Deeds. Before completing the form you should check the phone directory, real estate index and the Department of Financial Institution's Corporate Registration Information System (CRIS) to make sure no one else in the county is using the desired name. Search the internet for name registrations through ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or one of the many accredited registrars of domain names. Sole proprietors and general partnerships can also elect to file a trade name with the Secretary of State.
Although these optional registrations create a public record of your use of a business name, the registrations, in themselves, do not establish or reserve exclusive rights to use of a name.
Corporations, Limited Liability Company, Limited Partnership or Limited Liability Partnership
The Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) applies two different name availability standards when naming a business. One standard requires a name to be "distinguishable upon the records of the DFI" for any domestic and foreign corporations, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships. The other standard prohibits a name from being the "same as or deceptively similar" to another name, applies to domestic and foreign limited partnerships.