LLC Name Reservation Requirements in Delaware

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Who can reserve a name

Section 18-103(a) lists five routes. A person planning a Delaware LLC or a registered series may apply. A domestic LLC or registered foreign LLC proposing a name change may apply, as may a foreign LLC intending to register in Delaware or a person planning to organize one and register it there. This is a preliminary name hold: § 18-102 concerns the name placed in an LLC's certificate of formation.

Availability and the filing

The Secretary of State must find the name available for use by a domestic or foreign LLC before reserving it (§ 18-103(b)). For an LLC's certificate name, § 18-102 requires an LLC designator and distinguishes names against specified existing and reserved entity and registered-series names. Its written-consent exception says an LLC may register under a nondistinguishable name with filed consent; § 18-103 does not expressly extend that exception to a reservation. The “bank” restriction in § 18-102(5) has specified exceptions and a nonmisleading-use qualification; a name search alone does not settle those questions.

The applicant executes an application giving the proposed name and the applicant's name and address, then files it with the Secretary (§ 18-103(b)). After the conformity and fee checks, the Secretary returns a copy marked with the action taken. The section does not prescribe a separate reservation form or electronic medium.

Fee, term, and repeat application

Sections 18-103(c) and 18-1105(a)(1) set $75 for each initial reservation, renewal application, transfer notice, and cancellation notice. An available name is reserved for the applicant's exclusive use for 120 days (§ 18-103(b)); the section gives no separate calendar formula for the first day. The same applicant may again reserve the same name for successive 120-day periods. The provision states no advance filing window or numerical cap.

Transfer and cancellation

Under § 18-103(b), the original applicant executes a transfer notice and files it with the Secretary, identifying the reserved name and the transferee's name and address. Either the applicant or transferee may execute and file a cancellation notice identifying the reservation and their own name and address. Section 18-103 specifies no separate agency revocation process.

What trips people up

The registered-series route belongs to a person intending to form a registered series under § 18-103(a)(2); the statute does not turn every internal series label into a separately reservable name. A transfer must be executed by the applicant for whom the name was reserved, while a cancellation may be executed by that applicant or the transferee. The $75 fee applies to each of those filings. The Secretary's availability decision and temporary entity-record hold do not decide trademark use, name ownership, or whether an LLC has been formed.

Common questions

Can an existing foreign LLC reserve a new name?

Yes, if it is registered in Delaware and proposes to change its name (§ 18-103(a)(3)). A foreign LLC intending to register has a separate route in subsection (a)(4).

Can someone reserve the same name again?

Section 18-103(b) allows the same applicant to reserve the same name for successive 120-day periods. It does not say a different applicant may inherit that repeat privilege without a transfer.

Statutes and sources

The official Delaware Code, § 18-102 supplies the LLC certificate-name rules; § 18-103 governs reservation, renewal, transfer, and cancellation; and § 18-1105(a)(1) supplies the transaction fee. All text was accessed September 23, 2026; the exact operative passages are quoted in the source records above.