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

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

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

West 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 West Virginia Company is being organized and afterward while doing Business in the state of West Virginia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Processing times for new West Virginia 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 West Virginia Company Name Reservation takes the state around 1 day.

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

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

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

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

If you are ready to Reserve a West 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.