How to Check LLC Name Availability in Texas: Search and Reserve

To check LLC name availability in Texas, run your proposed name through two state databases: the Texas Comptroller’s free Franchise Tax Account Status Search for a quick first pass, and the Secretary of State’s SOSDirect portal, which charges $1 per search and is the authoritative source.¹² A name is available only if it is “distinguishable” from every registered entity, reserved name, and registered foreign entity name on file, includes a required LLC designator, and doesn’t use a restricted word without the right agency’s approval.³ Even a clear result at the state level doesn’t protect you from a federal trademark conflict, so a USPTO search belongs in the same sitting.

Where to Search

Texas Comptroller’s Taxable Entity Search

The Comptroller’s Franchise Tax Account Status Search is free and needs no account. You can look up entities by name, taxpayer number, or Secretary of State file number.¹ It shows entities registered for state taxes, which is useful as a first pass, but it won’t catch every name on file with the Secretary of State. Treat a clear result here as encouraging, not conclusive.

SOSDirect

The Secretary of State’s SOSDirect portal is the definitive database. Create an account, deposit funds, and search. Each search costs $1, whether it returns matches or not.²

How to Search Well

Don’t just type your exact name and stop. Use the “starts with” filter for direct matches, then switch to “contains” to catch names that use your key words in a different order. Search the root of your distinctive word so you pick up plurals and variations. For “Brightstone Consulting LLC,” run “Brightstone,” “Bright Stone,” and “Brightston.” A few extra dollars in searches is cheap compared to a rejected filing, and the filing fee is not refunded when a name is rejected.

A clear search is not a guarantee. The final availability call happens when your Certificate of Formation is reviewed, and another filer could submit a conflicting name between your search and your filing.

What “Distinguishable” Means

Texas requires your LLC name to be distinguishable in the Secretary of State’s records from every other registered entity, every reserved name, and every registered foreign entity name.³ The standard is narrower than most people expect: two names are distinguishable only if they differ by at least one “key word,” and the Secretary of State has real discretion in that call.⁴

What Counts as Different

A name passes when it has at least one different key word from every existing name on file. “Sunshine Community Development” is distinguishable from “Sunshine Community Properties” because “Development” and “Properties” are different key words. “United One” is distinguishable from “United” because the second name adds a key word.⁴

What Doesn’t Count

Many differences that feel meaningful are invisible to the state’s review. Adding or dropping “The” does nothing: “Texas Cowboys” is treated as the same name as “The Texas Cowboys.” Near-synonym swaps fail too, so “Look to the Future” is the same as “Look toward the Future.”⁴ Punctuation, capitalization, spacing, and entity-type designators like “LLC” versus “Inc.” are all disregarded.

Industry and geography don’t matter either. A roofing company in El Paso and a software startup in Houston can still collide. The Secretary of State also ignores whether an existing entity is actively conducting business.⁵ A dormant entity sitting on the name blocks yours as effectively as an active one.

Phonetic and Foreign-Language Names

Texas is more lenient with sound-alike names than you might expect. If two names sound alike but at least one word has a visibly different meaning or connotation on its face, they are treated as distinguishable. Names that share key words in a different language are also considered distinguishable, so a Spanish version of an existing English name will usually clear the state’s review even when the meanings are identical.

Required Wording and Restricted Words

Every Texas LLC name must contain the phrase “limited liability company” or “limited company,” or an abbreviation such as “LLC” or “L.L.C.”³ Without one of these designators, the Secretary of State will reject the filing.

Certain words require written approval from a specific agency before the Secretary of State will accept them. Banking terms such as “bank,” “trust,” or “trust company” need a no-objection letter from the Texas Banking Commissioner. Educational terms such as “college,” “university,” “school of law,” or “school of medicine” need a no-objection letter from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “Olympic,” “Olympiad,” and the motto “Citius Altius Fortius” require authorization from the United States Olympic Committee. Veteran-related words such as “veteran,” “legion,” or “disabled” require written approval from an authorized veterans organization when the name implies the entity benefits war veterans and their families.⁶

If your name uses any of these, get the approval letter before you submit. Filing without it guarantees a rejection.

Check for Federal Trademark Conflicts

State-level clearance is not trademark clearance. Approval from the Texas Secretary of State only means your name is distinguishable from other Texas-registered entities. It says nothing about whether the name infringes on someone’s federal trademark. A trademark owner who finds you using a confusingly similar name can sue in federal court seeking an injunction forcing you to stop using the name, destruction of your branded materials, your profits earned under the name, and their attorney’s fees.⁷

Rebranding after you’ve printed cards, built a site, and signed contracts is expensive. Before filing, search the USPTO’s free Trademark Search system at uspto.gov/trademarks/search for registered marks that match or closely resemble your name.⁸ A trademark owner who hasn’t registered federally can still assert common-law rights, so a clear USPTO search reduces risk but doesn’t erase it.

If the Name Is Close to One Already on File

You have an option besides giving up. Under Texas law, the other entity can provide a notarized written statement consenting to your use of the similar name. Filed with your application, that consent will get the name approved even though it would otherwise fail the distinguishability test.³ The consent has to be notarized, not a casual email. And there’s a hard limit: if the Secretary of State decides the two names are identical rather than merely similar, no consent letter will save it.

Holding the Name Before You File

If your search comes back clean but you aren’t ready to file your Certificate of Formation, you can reserve the name with Form 501 (Application for Reservation or Renewal of Reservation of an Entity Name). The reservation lasts until the 121st day after acceptance, roughly four months.³ The fee is $40.⁹

The form asks for the exact name, your name as the applicant, and a mailing address, and must be signed by you or your agent.¹⁰ Submit by mail to the Austin office, by hand delivery, or through SOSUpload.¹¹ You can renew for another 120 days by filing a new Form 501 with another $40 fee during the 30 days before expiration, with no cap on renewals.³ Standard expedited processing runs $50 on top of the filing fee for two-to-three-business-day turnaround.¹²

Once approved, you’ll receive a certificate of reservation confirming your hold on the name.¹³ Keep it until you file your Certificate of Formation. Reserving a name does not give you the right to use it if that use violates another person’s trademark or other legal rights.

A Note on Assumed Names (DBAs)

If you plan to operate under a name different from your LLC’s legal name, the assumed name filing works differently. Texas requires Form 503, filed with the Secretary of State only; since September 2019, LLCs no longer file a separate certificate with county clerks. The fee is $25, the filing is submitted in duplicate, and the certificate is effective for up to ten years.¹⁴ Important boundary: the Secretary of State does not review assumed names for conflicts with existing entities. The filing simply creates a public record. Run the same SOSDirect and USPTO searches described above before you commit to a DBA, because no one else will do it for you.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Franchise Tax Account Status Search
2
Office of the Texas Secretary of State. SOSDirect – Online Searching and Filing
3
State of Texas. Texas Business Organizations Code Chapter 5 – Names of Entities
4
Legal Information Institute (LII). Texas Administrative Code 1-79.38 – Distinguishable Names
5
Legal Information Institute (LII). Texas Administrative Code 1-79.44 – Matters Not Considered
6
Legal Information Institute (LII). Texas Administrative Code 1-79.34 – Restricted Words
7
United States Patent and Trademark Office. About Trademark Infringement
8
United States Patent and Trademark Office. Search Our Trademark Database
9
Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Business Filings and Trademarks Fee Schedule
10
State of Texas. Texas Business Organizations Code Section 5.101 – Application for Reservation of Name
11
Texas Secretary of State. Filing and Other General FAQs
12
Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Introducing Texas Express Expedited Business Filings
13
Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 501 – Instructions for Application for Reservation or Renewal of Reservation of an Entity Name
14
Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 503 – Instructions for Assumed Name Certificate