LLC Name Reservation Requirements in Nebraska

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Who may apply and which name qualifies

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 21-109(a) says “A person may reserve the exclusive use of the name of a limited liability company,” expressly including a fictitious or assumed name for a foreign LLC whose own name is unavailable. It requires a Secretary of State availability finding. Under § 21-108, an LLC name needs one of the listed LLC designators and may not be the same as or deceptively similar to the listed entity and reserved names; a signed consent or certified final judgment can support authorization under subsection (c).

A protected series has its own name rule in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 21-510: its name begins with the company name, including the LLC designator, and adds “Protected Series,” “protected series,” “P.S.,” or “PS.” Section 21-109 does not specify a separate series reservation application. Section 21-509 instead describes establishing a series through a protected-series designation, a different filing.

Application, signer, and fee

Section 21-109(a) requires an application delivered to the Secretary of State stating the applicant's name and address and the proposed name. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 21-119(a)(6) makes the person on whose behalf another record is delivered its signer; subsection (b) allows an agent to sign. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 21-121(a) requires a purpose caption, a Secretary-permitted medium, delivery, and the filing fee. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 21-192(1) expressly includes name reservation in its general filing fee: $25 electronically or $30 in writing. Its higher listed fee applies to protected-series designation, a different record.

Term and transfer

If the name is available, § 21-109(a) reserves it for the applicant's exclusive use for a “one-hundred-twenty-day period.” That subsection does not state a separate starting event; § 21-121(c) ordinarily makes a filed record effective when filed unless it specifies a permitted later time. Under § 21-109(b), the reservation owner may transfer it by delivering a signed notice for filing stating the transferee's name and address. Section 21-109 does not say that transfer restarts or extends the hold.

What trips people up

The complete § 21-109 states no renewal window, repeat-application rule, applicant cancellation or withdrawal, or agency revocation procedure. It does not promise continuity if a new application is later filed. A reservation holds a proposed name in the Secretary of State's entity records for its statutory period; it does not itself create the LLC or the protected series, settle a trademark or domain claim, or approve actual use.

Common questions

Can someone apply before organizing an LLC?

Yes. Section 21-109(a) says a “person” may deliver the application and does not make an existing LLC or organizer status a condition.

Does signed consent solve every name conflict?

Section 21-108(c) addresses authorization to use a deceptively similar name upon the Secretary's records when the listed person consents or a final judgment establishes a right. Section 21-109(a) still requires the Secretary to find the proposed reservation name available; a specific filing remains for that office to assess.

Statutes and sources

The official Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, accessed September 23, 2026, contains §§ 21-108, 21-109, 21-119, 21-121, and 21-192 quoted above. The official Protected Series Act, accessed the same day, contains §§ 21-509 to -510. The legislature's LB 40 history records indefinite postponement on April 17, 2026.