LLC Name Reservation Requirements in California

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Optional hold and applicant

Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.09(a) permits a person to apply to reserve the exclusive use of a domestic or foreign LLC name. It expressly includes an alternative name for a foreign LLC whose name is unavailable. The provision does not list a separate registered-series route. A reservation application is a preliminary name request, subject to the Secretary of State finding the name available.

Availability and name requirements

Under § 17701.08(a)-(b), an LLC name needs a statutory LLC designator, must not be likely to mislead the public, and must be distinguishable in the Secretary of State’s records from domestic LLC names, authorized foreign LLC names, and names already reserved under § 17701.09. Subsection (e) also bars specified banking, corporate, and insurance words. The Secretary of State makes the availability finding under § 17701.09(a); this table does not evaluate a proposed name.

Application and statutory fee

Section 17701.09(a) allows an application to the Secretary of State after payment of the prescribed fee. It does not specify application fields, an applicant signature, or a filing medium; the current Secretary of State name-reservation page offers an online request route. Gov. Code § 12190(a) charges “Ten dollars ($10)” for issuing an LLC name-reservation certificate. Section 17701.09(b) requires a signed notice for a later transfer, a distinct record from the initial request.

Hold length and repeat applications

If the name is available, § 17701.09(a) directs the Secretary of State to reserve it for the applicant’s exclusive use “for up to 60 days” and issue a certificate. The same provision prohibits certificates for the same name in two or more consecutive 60-day periods for the same applicant or the use or benefit of the same person. It also bars consecutive reservations by or for that person for a name so similar that it violates § 17701.08(b).

Transfer and end of reservation

Section 17701.09(b) lets the reservation owner transfer it by delivering a signed notice to the Secretary of State stating the reserved name and the transferee’s name and address. The section specifies no applicant cancellation, withdrawal, or agency-revocation procedure. Its express statutory end mechanism is the limited reservation term; separate agency practice or later law may require a fresh check.

What trips people up

“Up to 60 days” is the statute’s wording, not an assurance that every issued certificate lasts exactly 60 days. The consecutive-reservation restriction follows the beneficiary as well as the applicant, including a similar-name workaround. California’s name rules are checked independently of a preliminary reservation: § 17701.08(c) permits an injunction against use of a noncompliant name even after articles have been filed.

Common questions

Does the Secretary of State issue proof of the hold?

Yes. Section 17701.09(a) requires a certificate of reservation when the Secretary of State finds the proposed name available and reserves it.

Does filing articles make a noncompliant name safe to use?

No. Section 17701.08(c) says use of an LLC name violating that section may be enjoined notwithstanding the Secretary of State’s filing of the articles.

Statutes and sources

• Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.08 — LLC designator, misleading-name and distinguishability rules, restricted words, and the injunction rule. Official current Legislative Counsel text (accessed September 22, 2026).
• Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.09 — application eligibility, available-name certificate, up-to-60-day period, consecutive-reservation restriction, and transfer notice. Official current Legislative Counsel text (accessed September 22, 2026).
• Cal. Gov. Code § 12190(a) — $10 LLC name-reservation certificate fee. Official current Legislative Counsel text (accessed September 22, 2026).
• The California Secretary of State name-reservation page currently describes the online submission route and cautions that a preliminary name search is not a formal availability check (accessed September 22, 2026).