There are many companies that do business in the state of Virginia and each has a unique Business Name for their Virginia Company.

If you have an idea for a Business, the Name of your Virginia Company can be very important for a number of reasons.  The right Name for your Virginia Company can increase sales and make your Virginia Business more credible.

Reserving a name for your Virginia Company could reduce the processing time for your application to form a Virginia Corporation or LLC with the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

Virginia Company Name Reservation protects a Business Name by giving the owner exclusive rights to the use of that Company Name during the time the Virginia Company is being organized and afterward while doing Business in the state of Virginia.

We can Reserve your Virginia Company Name with the Virginia State Corporation Commission for only $29 + Virginia state fees.

We will check to make sure that your Virginia Company Name is available and conforms to all state of Virginia Business Naming regulations.

You can easily Reserve a Virginia Company Name by choosing one of the Virginia Business Type options in the Virginia Company Name Reservation Cost Estimator just to the right; then clicking on the Order Form link.

Please note that the availability of a Virginia Company Name can change at any time so if you're worried that someone else may snatch your Virginia Company Name you might want to Reserve that Virginia Company Name online today.

You need to use a Virginia Company Name which is not the same or too similar to the Business Name of any other entity operating in the state of Virginia.  The Virginia State Corporation Commission will not approve a Virginia Company Name which is so similar to another Virginia Company Name (Corporation or LLC) as to be likely to be mistaken for it.

Your Virginia Company Name can identify the type of products and/or services your Virginia Corporation or Virginia LLC will provide; or it may be the name of the founder; or it can be a combination of the two or even something else.

In any case, the Virginia Company Name that you choose must be distinguishable from the name of any other registered Virginia Business entity and the name must also be different from any Reserved Company Names on record with the Virginia State Corporation Commission.  Your Virginia Company Name must not imply that it was formed for a purpose other than that stated in your formation documents and your Virginia Company Name must not be a name that is likely to mislead the public.

If you are planning on starting a Virginia Corporation then your name must include the words "Incorporated", "Corporation", "Inc." or "Corp.".  If you are planning on starting a Virginia LLC then your name must include the words "LLC" or "Limited Liability Company".

Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind when you come up with your Virginia Company Name:

• Your Virginia Company Name must include only English letters and numbers or Roman numerals.
• Punctuation DOES NOT make Virginia Company Names distinguishable from each other.
  For example, "A.B.C., Inc." is not distinguishable from "ABC, Inc."
• Plural forms of the same word DO NOT make the Virginia Company Names distinguishable from each other.
• A suffix added to a word or any other deviation from or derivative of the same word DOES NOT make Virginia Company Names distinguishable from each other.
• Virginia Company Names are NOT DISTINGUISHABLE if the only difference is the abbreviation of a word in the name.  For example, "VA Auto Store, Inc." is not distinguishable from "Virginia Auto Store, Inc."
• Virginia Company Names are NOT DISTINGUISHABLE if the only difference is a phonetic spelling of the same word.  For example, "Boyz, Inc." is not distinguishable from "Boys, Inc."

It's important to choose a good name for your Virginia Business because if you want to change it after you form your Virginia Company you will have to file amended formation documents with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (and pay a fee).

Exclusive rights gives the person who Reserved a Company Name for a Virginia Business the exclusive right to the use of that name.

An exclusive right means that no one else may use the Virginia Company Name which you Reserved for your Virginia Business.  This includes both the time during which you are forming your Virginia Corporation or LLC and afterward when you are doing Business in the state of Virginia.

To find out how much it will cost to Reserve a Virginia Company Name, choose a Virginia Company Option on one of the Virginia Company Name Reservation Cost Calculators on this web page.  The total cost will be displayed automatically.

Processing times for new Virginia Company Name Reservations vary depending on the work load of the State Corporation Commission's staff.  We've found that normal processing of a new Virginia Company Name Reservation takes the state around 2-3 business days.

We are dependent on, and have no control over, the staff and systems of the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

In our experience 2-3 business days is the time it usually takes the Virginia State Corporation Commission to process a new Virginia Company Name Reservation.  We get your Virginia Company Reservation request to the VA State Corporation Commission ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have no control over the new Virginia Company Name approval process.

Once you Reserve a Name for your Virginia Company it is valid for 120 days.  You must file your Virginia Business formation documents (Articles of Incorporation for new Corporations or Articles of Organization for new LLCs) with the Virginia State Corporation Commission within that time period.

If you don't use the Virginia Company Name which you have Reserved you can Reserve it again unless some other Virginia Business has Reserved the Name before you do.

If you are ready to Reserve a Virginia Company Name Online now, simply fill in the Company Name Reservation Order Form below and press the Place Order button. If you have any questions you can call us at 855-771-2477 or email us.