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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Processing times for new Maine 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 Maine Company Name Reservation takes the state around 2 weeks.

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

In our experience 2 weeks is the time it usually takes the Maine Secretary of State to process a new Maine Company Name Reservation.  We get your Maine Company Reservation request to the ME Secretary of State ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have no control over the new Maine Company Name approval process.

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

If you don't use the Maine Company Name which you have Reserved, you may not renew the Reservation for that Maine Company Name.

If you are ready to Reserve a Maine 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 at CorpServices@AllBizDocs.com.