CHECKING NAME AVAILABILITY FOR A CORPORATION IN GEORGIA

The State of Georgia maintains a web site where you can check to determine whether the corporate name that you desire or a similar name is being used by another company. CLICK HERE

However, this search is in no way binding and does not assure that the name will be available once you file your papers. These determinations are non-binding and a final determination cannot be made until the documents are received and processed. However, it is a good place to start.

Georgia does permit you to request that a name be reserved. They maintain an online web page for making these requests. The hours of the page are limited so you may get a screen indicating the hours it is open. Reserving a name is done online and there is a fee of $25.00 to reserve the name for a 30 day period. To access the Georgia name reservation page CLICK HERE

One thing to note. When you reserve a corporate name, you will receive an E-Mail transmittal confirming the reservation. The E-mail will contain a number. When you file your Articles of Incorporation, you will be required to use a Transmittal Cover Sheet. Be sure to place the number in the appropriate space in the Transmittal Cover Sheet.

Filings of Articles of Incorporation are accepted without first obtaining a name reservation but there are no assurances that your documents will not be returned because of a conflict with another name unless you reserve your name first.

Name reservation requests are not accepted over the telephone.

It is suggested that you search in a few different ways depending upon what name you select. You should search for the entire name that you wish to secure. Print out the results of this search and keep it for your records. You should also do a partial name search to determine what names may be close, but not exactly like the name you wish to obtain.

For example, if the name that you have chosen is ABC Vending Supplies, Inc., you should search ABC Vending Supplies, ABC Vending, and perhaps ABC Ven so you will get a picture of what names may be similar to the one you have selected.

Checking the corporate name in advance is necessary and will save you a lot of time. If you do not check first, your incorporation papers will be returned to you if there is a conflicting name and you will need to start over again from scratch.

We suggest that you do not make any expenditures in reliance on the name you choose until after your documents have been accepted by the Georgia corporations office.

There are also trademark considerations in selecting a business name that you can read about HERE

Main Georgia Resource Page