LLC Name Reservation Requirements in Kansas
At a glance
| Governing law and optional reservation scope | Optional name hold under Business Entity Standard Treatment Act; covered entity includes LLC (§§ 17-7902(a), 17-7923(a)-(b)) |
|---|---|
| Who may apply and for which LLC or series name | Domestic organizer or entity changing name; foreign organizer/applicant or authorized foreign entity changing name; domestic LLC or prospective organizer for a series certificate of designation (§ 17-7923(a)) |
| Name availability, designator, distinguishability, and consent | Secretary must find name available; general entity names distinguishable from listed active, reserved, and recently canceled names; LLC designator required; consent/judgment exceptions govern registration (§§ 17-7918, 17-7920, 17-7923(b)) |
| Application, signer, form, and filing office | Applicant executes application specifying entity or domestic-series name and files with Secretary of State; signed-document and telefacsimile/electronic filing rules apply (§§ 17-7910(a), 17-7914, 17-7923(b)) |
| Reservation, renewal, transfer, and cancellation fees | § 17-7923 gives no dollar amount; applicable fees tendered under § 17-7910(b); current K.A.R. §§ 7-16-1 and -2 list $10 online information/services and $5 paper technology add-ons for name reservation; confirm full filing charge with office |
| Term, start date, and statutory exclusive use | Upon availability finding, Secretary reserves name for applicant’s exclusive use for 120 days; no more precise start-date formula stated (§ 17-7923(b)) |
| Renewal, filing window, and repeat limits | § 17-7923 states no renewal process, window, or successive-hold limit; silence is not a prohibition |
| Transfer notice, signer, and transferee details | Original applicant executes and files transfer notice with Secretary naming transferee and address; may transfer to any person or covered entity (§ 17-7923(c)) |
| Cancellation, withdrawal, revocation, and scope of name rights | § 17-7923 states no applicant cancellation, withdrawal, or agency revocation route; hold concerns state entity-name records, not trademark, domain, or actual business use |
Requirements one by one
Eligible applicants and series
Section 17-7923(a) lists domestic formation and name-change applicants, prospective or registered foreign entities, and domestic LLC or prospective organizer applicants for a series certificate of designation. The term “covered entity” includes an LLC under § 17-7902(a). The statute gives an optional reservation route rather than a formation step.
Name and filing
A proposed LLC name must satisfy the § 17-7920(a) designator rule. Section 17-7918(a) compares entity names with other registered names, reserved names, and names canceled or forfeited within the previous year. Its written-consent and final-judgment exceptions address entity registration or use, not an express override of the Secretary's availability finding on a reservation application under § 17-7923(b).
The applicant must execute an application specifying the proposed entity or domestic-series name and file it with the Secretary. Section 17-7910(a) accepts facsimile, conformed, and electronic signatures; § 17-7914(a)-(b) permits telefacsimile or electronic transmission subject to the Secretary's accepted formats.
Duration and transfer
After finding the name available, the Secretary reserves it for the applicant's exclusive use for 120 days under § 17-7923(b). No more precise start-date formula, renewal application, or cancellation route appears in that section. The original applicant may transfer the hold to any person or covered entity by filing an executed notice naming the transferee and address under § 17-7923(c).
Filing charges
Section 17-7923 gives no dollar figure. Section 17-7910(b) requires tender of applicable filing fees. The current administrative schedule adds a $10 information-and-services charge to an online name-reservation filing under K.A.R. § 7-16-1 and a $5 technology-communication charge to a paper filing under K.A.R. § 7-16-2. These add-ons are not a quoted total filing price; confirm the full current charge with the filing office.
What trips people up
The 120-day hold concerns the name in the Secretary's entity records. It does not establish trademark ownership, an internet domain, or permission to use a name in commerce. The statutory silence on renewal or cancellation does not establish that either action is forbidden; the published reservation section simply gives no procedure for it.
Common questions
Can a proposed domestic LLC reserve a registered-series name?
Yes. Section 17-7923(a)(2) expressly names a person intending to organize a domestic LLC and file a certificate of designation to form its series.
Can the holder assign the reservation to a different person?
Yes. Section 17-7923(c) requires an executed transfer notice filed with the Secretary, identifying the transferee by name and address.
Statutes and sources
The current official K.S.A. § 17-7902 defines covered entities; § 17-7923 governs reservation and transfer; § 17-7918 and § 17-7920 govern names; and § 17-7910 and § 17-7914 govern filing. The Secretary's current K.A.R. § 7-16-1 and § 7-16-2 publication lists additional charges. All sources accessed September 23, 2026.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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