To change an LLC name in Ohio, you file a Certificate of Amendment (Form 611) with the Ohio Secretary of State and pay a $50 filing fee. The filing itself is quick. The work that follows — updating the IRS, Ohio tax accounts, your bank, your insurer, local licenses, and anyone holding a contract with you — is where most of the time goes. Before you file anything, confirm the new name is available and meets Ohio’s naming rules, because a rejected filing just costs you time.
Confirm the New Name Is Available
Search the Ohio Secretary of State’s business database first.1Ohio.gov. Business Search Ohio requires your new name to be distinguishable from every active corporation, LLC, and trade name already on file. The catch is that “distinguishable” is narrower than people expect: differences in punctuation, spacing, articles (“the,” “a”), entity suffixes (swapping “LLC” for “Ltd.”), plurals, possessives, abbreviations, or “&” versus “and” generally will not save a name that is otherwise identical to an existing registration.
If the name is available but you aren’t ready to file the amendment, you can reserve it with Form 534B. The reservation costs $39 and holds the name for 180 days.2Ohio Secretary of State. Form 534B Name Reservation/Transfer/Cancellation That buys time to line up a rebrand or get member approval before making the change official.
Ohio Naming Rules
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 1706.07, every LLC name must include one of these designators: “limited liability company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” “limited,” “ltd.,” or “ltd.”3Ohio Secretary of State. Form 610 Instructions Leave the designator off and the filing is rejected no matter how clean the rest of the form looks. Ohio also prohibits names that imply the company is a bank, insurance company, or licensed professional firm unless the LLC actually holds those approvals. Foreign-language names are permitted as long as you disclose the English translation.
Check Federal Trademarks Before You Commit
Ohio’s business search only tells you about Ohio. It says nothing about whether your new name conflicts with a federally registered trademark held by a company in another state. Run a search through the USPTO’s trademark database before you finalize anything.4United States Patent and Trademark Office. Search Our Trademark Database Look for exact matches and close variations, because trademarks protect against confusingly similar names, not just identical ones. If you find a registered mark in a related industry, talk to a trademark attorney before you file the amendment. Rebranding twice costs much more than catching the conflict now.
File Form 611 With the Secretary of State
The form you need is Form 611, “Domestic Limited Liability Company Certificate of Amendment or Restatement,” governed by Ohio Revised Code Section 1706.161.5Ohio Secretary of State. Form 611 – Domestic Limited Liability Company Certificate of Amendment or Restatement Download it from the Secretary of State’s website or file through the Ohio Business Central portal.
Watch out for one common mix-up: some guides online point to Form 531A, which is actually for domestic limited partnerships. Using the wrong form means a rejected filing.
On Form 611, check the box for “Domestic Limited Liability Company Amendment” and provide:
- Your current LLC name, exactly as it appears in the state’s records (even minor discrepancies can trigger a rejection).
- Your registration number, which is on your original filing confirmation or in the business database.
- The new LLC name, including a required designator.
- An effective date, only if you want the change to take effect on a specific future date rather than immediately.
At least one person authorized by the LLC — a member, manager, or authorized representative — must sign. A typed name counts as an electronic signature.
Fees and Processing Times
The standard filing fee is $50 whether you file online or by mail.6Ohio Secretary of State. Filing Forms and Fee Schedule Online filing through OhioBusinessCentral.gov is the fastest standard option. Mail filings go to P.O. Box 1329, Columbus, OH 43216, with a check or money order payable to “Ohio Secretary of State,” and take several additional business days to process.
If you need it faster, Ohio offers three expedited tiers on top of the $50 fee:7Ohio Secretary of State. Form 552 – Expedite Request
- Expedite Level 1 ($100 extra): two business days after receipt.
- Expedite Level 2 ($200 extra): one business day after receipt.
- Expedite Level 3 ($300 extra): four hours if received by 1:00 p.m., with in-person delivery required. Documents received after 1:00 p.m. are processed by noon the next business day.
Expedited mail goes to a separate address: P.O. Box 1390, Columbus, OH 43216. Once approved, the Secretary of State issues a filing receipt. Hold onto it, because virtually every other agency and institution you notify will ask for a copy. Order a few certified copies while you’re at it; local offices and banks often want originals.
Would a Trade Name Work Instead?
If you want to operate publicly under a different name but keep your legal structure untouched, Ohio lets you register a trade name (sometimes called a DBA or fictitious name) through Form 534A for $39.6Ohio Secretary of State. Filing Forms and Fee Schedule Your legal name stays the same on tax returns, contracts, and state filings; the trade name just lets you do business publicly under something different. The tradeoff is managing two names going forward. For a genuine rebrand, a full legal name change through Form 611 is usually cleaner.
Notify the IRS
You do not need a new Employer Identification Number for a name change. The IRS is explicit: you keep your existing EIN when your LLC changes its name or location.8Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN Applying for a duplicate is a common and avoidable mistake that creates months of cleanup.
How you notify the IRS depends on timing. If you haven’t filed your current-year return yet, check the “name change” box on your annual return — Form 1065 for multi-member LLCs or Schedule C for single-member LLCs. If you’ve already filed, send a signed letter from a member or manager to the IRS address where you file your return.9Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change You can also use Form 8822-B, which includes a checkbox for business name changes, and is useful if you’re updating other information (such as address or responsible party) at the same time.10IRS.gov. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
Update Your Ohio Tax Accounts
The Ohio Department of Taxation does not sync automatically with the Secretary of State. Use the Business Account Update Form to change your legal name across every state tax account tied to your LLC, including Commercial Activity Tax, sales tax, and employer withholding.11Ohio Department of Taxation. Business Account Update Form You can submit it through the Online Notice Response Service, by fax, by email at businessaccountupdate@tax.ohio.gov, or by mail to P.O. Box 182215, Columbus, OH 43218. An owner or officer must sign; if a third-party representative is submitting on your behalf, attach a completed Form TBOR-1.
Don’t let this one slip. Payments and filings arriving under a name the Department of Taxation doesn’t have on record can be credited to the wrong account or rejected, and that creates penalty exposure for a problem that takes ten minutes to fix.
Update Everyone Else Holding Your Old Name
County and municipal governments maintain their own business registries, and none of them update automatically from the Secretary of State’s filing. Business licenses, vendor permits, and zoning approvals held at the local level need to be updated one by one. Most local offices will ask for a certified copy of your Certificate of Amendment.
Your operating agreement should be amended internally to reflect the new name, following whatever approval process the agreement itself requires. There’s no state filing for this.
Banks, insurers, and lenders will all want the certified amendment before updating your records. Insurance is worth prioritizing: a claim filed under a name that doesn’t match the policy can create delays at the worst possible moment.
Existing contracts generally remain enforceable, because the LLC itself hasn’t changed — only its name has. Even so, written notice to the other party is standard practice, and many contracts (especially leases, loan documents, and government contracts) include provisions requiring formal notice of any change to a party’s legal name. Government contracts in particular may require a formal change-of-name agreement rather than a simple notification. Read before you assume.