LLC Name Reservation Requirements in Iowa

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Eligible applicant and name

Iowa Code § 489.113(1) lets a person apply before forming an LLC. The Secretary of State may reserve the name only if it complies with § 489.112 and is available. That section requires an LLC designator and distinguishes the proposal from existing, recently dissolved, registered, reserved, and fictitious-name records; merely changing an entity-type term does not make a name distinguishable. Recorded consent plus an undertaking to change the conflicting name, or a certified final judgment establishing the applicant's right to use it, provides a limited alternative. Some words require another Iowa agency's approval under § 489.112(5).

Filing, fee, and period

The application states the applicant's name and address and the name to reserve. Under § 489.203 and § 489.206, the applicant or an agent signs; the record states the individual signer's name and capacity, and written delivery is required unless the Secretary permits electronic records. Agency forms are generally optional under § 489.206(5). Under § 489.122(1)(e), the Secretary charges $10 for the application. If the name is available, § 489.113(1) gives the applicant exclusive use for 120 days, without a separate statutory start-date formula.

Transfer

Under § 489.113(2), the owner files a signed notice in a record identifying the transferee and address. Section 489.122(1)(f) charges $10 for that notice. The transfer provision describes assignment of the existing reservation; it does not provide a new 120-day term.

What trips people up

The reservation in § 489.113 differs from the foreign-LLC name registration in § 489.114. Registration lasts one year and permits successive renewals in a three-month pre-expiration window. Section 489.113 states no reservation-renewal or post-effect cancellation procedure, so the foreign-registration renewal rule should not be imported into an ordinary reservation.

Common questions

Must the applicant already own an Iowa LLC?

No. Section 489.113 says “a person” may apply and does not require a formed company. The Secretary still must find a compliant, available name.

Does the reservation settle trademark rights?

Section 489.113 creates an exclusive state name hold for its term. It does not adjudicate a mark, actual use, or ownership dispute; those questions require separate analysis.

Statutes and sources

The quotations come from the official Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 489, accessed September 23, 2026. The 91st General Assembly's second-session amended-sections report was checked the same day and lists no amendment to the cited reservation, name, fee, or filing sections.