The first step in forming your business in Iowa is to check whether the business name you desire is available for registration or not. You can find information about the business name search here.
Once you are sure the name is available you can proceed with the formation of your business. In cases where you are sure about the name but are not yet ready for filing, in such scenarios name reservation can be used. Name reservation protects your business name from being registered by someone else.
The business name can be reserved for the period of 120 days which can be further renewed. It can also be transferred to any third party during the holding period.
Iowa Business Name Requirements
Iowa Secretary of State has mandated certain requirements which you must keep in mind while selecting a business name.
The business name must be unique and distinguishable from any existing business entity name registered with Secretary of State. Also any difference in grammar, similarly sounding business name, or using stop words does not make the business name unique and it will lead to the name being rejected.
For example following names are not distinguishable:
- Justin Plumber LLC vs The Justin Plumber LLC
- Mango Farm LLC vs Mango Farms LLC
- Jake & Mary Corporation vs Jake and Mary Corporation
Required suffix in the business name:
- For Corporations:
Must contain either “Corporation”, “Incorporated”, “Company”, “Limited” or an abbreviation of one of such words. - For LLC
Must contain either “Limited Liability Company”, “Limited Company”, “L.L.C.”, “LLC”, “L.C.”, “LC”, “Limited”, “Ltd.”, “Company” or “Co.”
Prohibited words:
- Language falsely indicating or implying the business is organized for an impermissible purpose
- An LLC cannot end with “Corporation”, “Corp”, “Co” etc.
- A corporation cannot end with “LLC”, “Limited Liability Company” etc.
Business Name Availability
To make sure your chosen business name is unique and distinguishable, you must search through Iowa SOS business records. We have written an in-depth tutorial on how to search for a business name in Iowa here.
Business Name Reservation
Business name reservation can be filed over mail. The process can take upto 1 week.
By Mail
| Download Form | https://sos.iowa.gov/business/pdf/635_0051.pdf/ |
| Fees | $10 |
| Address | Secretary Of State Business Services Division Lucas Building, 1st Floor Des Moines, Iowa 50319 |
| Processing Time | Within 1 week |
- Download the name reservation form – Link.
- Fill the form with the requested details.
- Include the money order or check drawn in favor of “Secretary of State”.
- Send the filled form to:
Secretary Of State
Business Services Division
Lucas Building, 1st Floor
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Contact:
For any queries, you can contact the SOS at 515-281-5204 during business hours.
Reference:
Last Updated: 19/09/2018
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source https://businessentity.org/ia/iowa-business-name-reservation/
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