How to Name Your Indiana LLC

These rules typically apply to all LLCs, regardless of what state they’re formed in.

The business name you have decided upon cannot be used by any other LLC or corporation in the State of Indiana. This is why it's imperative to perform an Indiana business entity search before you begin the filing process.

It’s not enough for your LLC name to be unique. It also cannot be similar to the name of a corporation or LLC in Indiana. For example, you cannot use the following factors to say your name is different from the name of another business:

• Suffixes, such as Corporation, Company, Incorporated, Incorporation, Limited, Corp., Co., Inc., Ltd., LLC, etc.

• Definite articles, such as “A,” “An,” or “The”

• The conjunction "And" or “&"

• The singular, plural, or possessive forms of words

• Abbreviations, punctuation, symbols, fonts, typefaces, etc.

All LLCs must have the words “Limited Liability Company,” “L.L.C.,” or “LLC” in their names, normally at the end of the name.

Finding the perfect business name can be difficult. We have a complete guide to choosing the right business name, but essentially, you'll want to choose a name that will:

Need help coming up with a business name? Try our free Business Name Generator.

Once you have an idea of the business name you’d like to use, you’ll need to perform an Indiana business entity search to make sure the name hasn’t been taken by another business.

Bizee offers a speedy, simple, and convenient tool to look up your desired business name. The State of Indiana also has a tool that lets you search the state’s business registry to see whether someone already has the business name you’d like to use.

You must be careful that your Indiana LLC name doesn’t infringe on the trademark or service mark of another business. The easiest way to make sure your proposed business name doesn’t do that is to complete a trademark search through Bizee. If it’s not being used by any other entity, you can even register it as a trademark yourself.

You may do business under a different name from your legal LLC name. In some states, this is called a DBA (doing business as), fictitious name, or trade name. In Indiana, it's called an assumed name and also referred to as DBA. You may decide to use an Indiana assumed name for a variety of reasons.

For example, your business might be called C and N Marketing Solutions, LLC, and under that company, you have an event planning business called C and N Events. You could file for an assumed business name just for that company. You'll file a Certificate of Assumed Business Name with the Secretary of State and County Recorder, or you can have Bizee do it on your behalf through our DBA service.

Once you’ve completed an Indiana business entity search, checked availability, followed the naming rules, and decided whether you need an assumed name, you can register your LLC name. There are a couple of ways to do this.

Use Bizee’s free and useful Business Name Search Tool and enter your preferred business name. You can also perform an Indiana business entity search of the state's registry, which will tell you whether there are any corporations or LLCs in the state with that name.

Yes. Most LLCs are bound by general rules (applicable to all LLCs) and specific rules (applicable in the State of Indiana). You'll find more information above.

Yes. You can conduct business under an assumed name. Details are above.