LLC Name Reservation Requirements in Missouri
At a glance
| Governing law and optional reservation scope | Optional LLC name reservation under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.025; domestic and foreign LLC routes; no registered-series route specified |
|---|---|
| Who may apply and for which LLC or series name | Prospective Missouri organizer; domestic LLC adopting a name; registered or registering foreign LLC; prospective foreign organizer seeking Missouri registration (§ 347.025(1)) |
| Name availability, designator, distinguishability, and consent | Secretary checks entity-name records and availability; LLC designator and distinguishability rules, with written-consent/name-change or court-decree exceptions (§§ 347.020, .025(2)) |
| Application, signer, form, and filing office | Applicant-executed filing with Secretary in prescribed format specifying the name; § 347.025(2) states no further application fields |
| Reservation, renewal, transfer, and cancellation fees | $20 reservation application or transfer/cancellation notice; eligible military organizer's application fee waived; Secretary may add $5 through 2026-12-31 (§§ 347.179(1)(11), (2), .740) |
| Term, start date, and statutory exclusive use | Exclusive use for 60 days from application filing; total hold no more than 180 days from first application (§ 347.025(2)) |
| Renewal, filing window, and repeat limits | Statute gives 180-day ceiling but no renewal filing window; Secretary guidance describes two further 60-day periods; statutory text says no return to reserve status after day 180 (§ 347.025(2)) |
| Transfer notice, signer, and transferee details | $20 transfer notice recognized by fee statute; § 347.025 does not prescribe its signer, contents, or effect (§ 347.179(1)(11)) |
| Cancellation, withdrawal, revocation, and scope of name rights | $20 cancellation notice recognized by fee statute; § 347.025 states no procedure or agency revocation; hold concerns the Secretary's entity-name record only (§§ 347.025, .179(1)(11)) |
Requirements one by one
Applicant and name check
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.025(1) lists four applicant routes: a prospective Missouri LLC organizer, a domestic LLC, a registered or registering foreign LLC, and a prospective foreign LLC organizer intending Missouri registration. The Secretary must find the proposed name unregistered in the listed entity categories and otherwise available. Section 347.020 separately requires an LLC designator and record distinguishability, subject to its written-consent/name-change or final-court-decree exceptions.
Filing and fees
Under § 347.025(2), the applicant executes a filing with the Secretary in the Secretary's prescribed format specifying the proposed name. Section 347.179(1)(11) charges $20 for accepting a reservation application or filing a transfer or cancellation notice. Subsection (2) waives the application fee for an organizer listed as a member in the operating agreement who meets its Missouri-resident military-service and proof conditions.
Exclusive hold and outer limit
If the name passes the Secretary's check, § 347.025(2) reserves its exclusive use to the applicant for 60 days from the filing date. It then says a reservation shall not exceed 180 days from the first application and that on the 181st day the name ceases reserve status and “may not be placed back in such status.” The Secretary's guidance describes two additional 60-day renewals, but the section specifies no renewal filing window.
What trips people up
The Secretary's FAQ suggests another entity may reserve the same name after the 180-day ceiling, but that statement conflicts with the quoted final sentence of § 347.025(2). The statutory text controls the limit stated here; the filing office must resolve a particular later application. Section 347.179(1)(11) sets a price for transfer and cancellation notices without giving their signature, contents, or effect in § 347.025. Separately, § 347.740 lets the Secretary add $5 to chapter fees but expressly expires December 31, 2026; confirm the fee when filing.
Common questions
Does the applicant have to be the LLC's organizer?
No. Section 347.025(1) also lists an existing domestic LLC, a registered or registering foreign LLC, and a prospective foreign organizer, each with the name-adoption or registration intent stated there.
Can a reservation establish trademark rights or form the LLC?
Section 347.025 describes only an exclusive name reservation through the Secretary. Formation and trademark rights require separate legal grounds and are outside this name-hold procedure.
Statutes and sources
The current Missouri Revisor text of § 347.025, § 347.020, § 347.179, and § 347.740, plus the Secretary's business FAQ, were accessed September 22, 2026.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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