LLC Name Reservation Requirements in Illinois
At a glance
| Governing law and optional reservation scope | Optional LLC or foreign-LLC name reservation under 805 ILCS 180/1-15; series naming is addressed separately in § 37-40(c) |
|---|---|
| Who may apply and for which LLC or series name | Prospective Illinois LLC organizer; existing Illinois LLC or registered foreign LLC adopting a name; foreign LLC seeking admission; or prospective foreign LLC organizer seeking admission (§ 1-15(a)); no separate series applicant listed |
| Name availability, designator, distinguishability, and consent | Secretary must find name available; LLC designator and record-distinguishability rules include existing, foreign, reserved, assumed, and corporate names; certified court decree can establish prior right (§§ 1-10(a), (d)-(f), 1-15(b)) |
| Application, signer, form, and filing office | Submit application to Secretary of State in form and manner it designates; § 1-15(b) specifies no application fields or signer, but requires applicant signature on early cancellation and execution of transfer notice |
| Reservation, renewal, transfer, and cancellation fees | $25 reservation application; $5 cancellation notice; $25 transfer notice (§ 50-10(b)(4)-(6)); no reservation-renewal fee listed |
| Term, start date, and statutory exclusive use | If available, exclusive use for applicant for 90 days or until earlier signed written surrender; § 1-15(b) gives no separate start-date formula |
| Renewal, filing window, and repeat limits | Section 1-15 states no renewal process, window, or successive-hold rule; § 50-10(b)(8) prices renewal of registration of a name, a different filing |
| Transfer notice, signer, and transferee details | Deliver notice executed by current reservation holder to Secretary of State, stating transferee name and address (§ 1-15(b)); $25 filing fee (§ 50-10(b)(6)) |
| Cancellation, withdrawal, revocation, and scope of name rights | Applicant may surrender early by signed written cancellation; $5 notice fee (§§ 1-15(b), 50-10(b)(5)); § 1-15 states no agency-revocation route; entity-name hold does not resolve trademark or actual-use rights (§ 1-10(b)) |
Requirements one by one
Who may apply
Section 1-15(a) names four routes: a proposed Illinois LLC organizer; an Illinois LLC or registered foreign LLC that will adopt the name; a foreign LLC planning to apply for admission under that name; and an organizer of a proposed foreign LLC that plans to seek Illinois admission and adopt it. The reservation is an optional name hold. Section 5-5(b) instead makes filing articles of organization the act that organizes an Illinois LLC.
Availability and series names
Under § 1-15(b), the Secretary reserves a name only after finding it available. Section 1-10(d) requires record distinguishability from existing Illinois LLCs, admitted foreign LLCs, reserved names, registered assumed names, and listed corporate names. Subsection (f) says changing only the LLC designator or certain articles, conjunctions, abbreviations, or word forms does not make a name distinguishable. A certified final court decree establishing prior right is the stated exception in subsection (e). Section 37-40(c) governs a series name's relation to its LLC's name; § 1-15(a) does not list a separate series reservation applicant.
Application, fee, and term
Section 1-15(b) requires an application to the Secretary of State in the form and manner the Secretary designates. It gives no required application fields or signer. Section 50-10(b)(4) charges $25 to file the application. If the name is available, the Secretary reserves it for the applicant's exclusive use for 90 days, with no separate start-date formula stated in § 1-15(b). That section supplies no renewal method or window. Section 50-10(b)(8)'s “renewal of registration of a name” is a distinct registration fee, not an express reservation-renewal procedure.
Transfer and early surrender
The applicant can end the hold sooner by a signed written cancellation document under § 1-15(b); § 50-10(b)(5) sets a $5 filing charge. A transfer requires a notice executed by the current reservation holder, delivered to the Secretary's office, naming the transferee and giving the transferee's address. Section 50-10(b)(6) charges $25 for that notice.
What trips people up
The statute gives a 90-day entity-record hold, but § 1-10(b) preserves separate trade-name, trademark, unfair-competition, and other name rights. An applicant should also distinguish an early cancellation from a transfer: the former ends the hold, while the latter changes its holder under § 1-15(b).
Common questions
Does the reservation itself form an Illinois LLC?
No. Section 5-5(b) says organization occurs when articles of organization are filed or on a permissible later date specified in them.
May someone reserve the name of a proposed foreign LLC?
Yes, if that person intends to organize the foreign LLC, seek Illinois admission, and adopt that name. That is one of § 1-15(a)'s four applicant routes.
Statutes and sources
The current official Illinois Limited Liability Company Act supplies the quoted name reservation, name rules, series naming, formation, and fees. All were accessed September 23, 2026.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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