LLC Name Reservation Requirements in New Jersey

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Applicant and availability

N.J. Stat. § 42:2C-10(a) allows a person to apply for exclusive use of an available LLC name, expressly including a fictitious or assumed name for a foreign LLC whose own name is unavailable. Section 42:2C-8 requires the LLC designator and record distinguishability from listed organized or authorized entities and existing reservations. It also provides a separate authorization to use a nondistinguishable name if the holder gives signed consent and undertakes a qualifying name change, or if the applicant provides a final court judgment. That use authorization is distinct from the reservation application; proposed changes to the consent path are noted below.

Filing and fees

The application must give the applicant's name and address and the proposed name (§ 42:2C-10(a)). The Act defines the filing office as the Division of Revenue in the Department of the Treasury under § 42:2C-2. § 42:2C-22 requires a purpose caption, permitted medium, delivery, and payment of the filing fee. Section 42:2C-93(a)(2) charges $50 upon receipt of an application for reservation of name and the same amount for a renewal application, transfer notice, or cancellation notice.

Term, renewal, transfer, and cancellation

An approved reservation grants exclusive use for a “120-day period” (§ 42:2C-10(a)). That section supplies no separate start-date formula. Section 42:2C-93(a)(2) prices a renewal application, but § 42:2C-10 does not state a renewal window, length, or repeat limit. The owner may transfer the reservation by a signed notice to the filing office naming and addressing the transferee (§ 42:2C-10(b)). Although the fee section also prices cancellation, § 42:2C-10 gives no cancellation procedure or agency revocation ground.

What trips people up

The fee line’s references to renewal and cancellation should not be read as a complete procedure: it gives a charge but no timing or effect for either filing. Separately, a state record hold does not decide whether a proposed name can be used in commerce or whether it conflicts with another person's mark. The name-availability finding is a filing-office decision for the specific application.

Common questions

Does the consent route automatically reserve a conflicting name?

No. Section 42:2C-8(d) concerns authorization to use a nondistinguishable name; § 42:2C-10 separately requires a reservation application and an availability finding. A3572 and S156 would change the consent condition if enacted.

Can I transfer an existing reservation?

Yes. Section 42:2C-10(b) requires the owner to deliver a signed notice identifying the transferee by name and address. The current fee for that notice is $50 under § 42:2C-93(a)(2).

Statutes and sources

The current New Jersey Legislature unannotated statute compilation, accessed September 22, 2026 and updated through P.L.2026, c.30 and J.R.1, supplies the quoted text of §§ 42:2C-2, 42:2C-8, 42:2C-10, 42:2C-22, and 42:2C-93. P.L.2026, c.24 confirms the fee provision in force since July 1, 2026. The introduced A3572 and S156 texts propose the name-consent change; their later status could not be confirmed from the available official action trail.