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

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

Reserving a name for your Alabama Company could reduce the processing time for your application to form an Alabama Corporation or LLC with the Alabama Secretary of State.

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

We can Reserve your Alabama Company Name with the Alabama Secretary of State for only $29 + Alabama state fees.

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

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

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

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

Your Alabama Company Name can identify the type of products and/or services your Alabama Corporation or Alabama 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 Alabama Company Name that you choose must be distinguishable from the name of any other registered Alabama Business entity and the name must also be different from any Reserved Company Names on record with the Alabama Secretary of State.  Your Alabama Company Name must not imply that it was formed for a purpose other than that stated in your formation documents and your Alabama Company Name must not be a name that is likely to mislead the public.

If you are planning on starting an Alabama Corporation then your name must include the words "Incorporated", "Corporation", "Inc." or "Corp.".  If you are planning on starting an Alabama 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 Alabama Company Name:

• Your Alabama Company Name must include only English letters and numbers or Roman numerals.
• Punctuation DOES NOT make Alabama 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 Alabama 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 Alabama Company Names distinguishable from each other.
• Alabama Company Names are NOT DISTINGUISHABLE if the only difference is the abbreviation of a word in the name.  For example, "AL Auto Store, Inc." is not distinguishable from "Alabama Auto Store, Inc."
• Alabama 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 Alabama Business because if you want to change it after you form your Alabama Company you will have to file amended formation documents with the Alabama Secretary of State (and pay a fee).

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

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

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

Processing times for new Alabama Company Name Reservations vary depending on the work load of the Secretary of State's staff.  We've found that normal processing of a new Alabama Company Name Reservation takes the state around 1 day.

We are dependent on, and have no control over, the staff and systems of the Alabama Secretary of State.

In our experience 1 day is the time it usually takes the Alabama Secretary of State to process a new Alabama Company Name Reservation.  We get your Alabama Company Reservation request to the AL Secretary of State ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have no control over the new Alabama Company Name approval process.

Once you Reserve a Name for your Alabama Company it is valid for 1 year.  You must file your Alabama Business formation documents (Articles of Incorporation for new Corporations or Articles of Organization for new LLCs) with the Alabama Secretary of State within that time period.

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

If you are ready to Reserve an Alabama 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.