LLC Name Reservation Requirements in New Mexico
At a glance
| Governing law and optional reservation scope | New Mexico Limited Liability Company Act; optional exclusive name reservation before the separate articles filing (§§ 53-19-4, 53-19-7) |
|---|---|
| Who may apply and for which LLC or series name | Prospective domestic organizer; existing NM or registered foreign LLC adopting name; foreign LLC intending NM registration; prospective foreign organizer intending NM registration. No distinct series route stated in § 53-19-4(A) |
| Name availability, designator, distinguishability, and consent | Secretary checks availability; LLC name needs an authorized LLC designator and distinction from listed NM entities, authorized foreign entities, and reserved names; final court-decree prior-right exception (§§ 53-19-3, 53-19-4(B)) |
| Application, signer, form, and filing office | Applicant executes and files application specifying the name with Secretary of State; § 53-19-4(B) states no other application fields or form medium |
| Reservation, renewal, transfer, and cancellation fees | $20 to accept reservation application; $20 to file transfer notice. No separate renewal or cancellation fee specified (§ 53-19-63(H)) |
| Term, start date, and statutory exclusive use | Exclusive use by applicant for 120 days after application filing; transfer does not extend term (§ 53-19-4(B)-(C)) |
| Renewal, filing window, and repeat limits | Current § 53-19-4 states no renewal or repeat-application procedure, window, term, or count; do not assume a continuing hold |
| Transfer notice, signer, and transferee details | Original applicant executes and files notice identifying reserved name and transferee name/address; $20; term unchanged (§§ 53-19-4(C), 53-19-63(H)) |
| Cancellation, withdrawal, revocation, and scope of name rights | Section 53-19-4 specifies no applicant cancellation, withdrawal, or agency revocation route; 120-day term ends the statutory hold. Reservation does not itself form an LLC (§§ 53-19-4, 53-19-7) |
Requirements one by one
Applicant and available name
NMSA 1978 § 53-19-4 lists four routes under subsection (A): a person planning to organize a domestic LLC, an existing New Mexico or registered foreign LLC adopting a name, a foreign LLC planning to register, and a person planning to organize and register a foreign LLC. The section does not list a separate registered-series route. Under subsection (B), the filing office reserves a name only if it finds the name available. NMSA 1978 § 53-19-3 requires a distinguishable LLC name against the named domestic, registered foreign, and reserved-name records under subsection (B); subsection (A) supplies the LLC designators. Subsection (C) states an exception when the applicant files a certified final court decree establishing the LLC's prior right to use the name.
Application and filing office
Section 53-19-4(B) requires an application executed by the applicant that specifies the proposed name. The compiled text reads “commission [secretary of state]”; the Secretary of State is also named in the current fee section, § 53-19-63. Section 53-19-4(B) supplies no additional application fields or filing-medium rule.
Fee, term, and transfer
NMSA 1978 § 53-19-63(H) sets $20 for accepting a reservation application and $20 for filing a transfer notice. Section 53-19-4(B) gives the applicant exclusive use for “one hundred twenty days after the date the application is filed.” To transfer that hold, § 53-19-4(C) requires the original applicant's executed notice identifying the reserved name and transferee's name and address. The same subsection says the transfer “shall not extend the term.”
What trips people up
The full current § 53-19-4 states no renewal window, repeat-application rule, applicant cancellation, withdrawal, or agency revocation process. A later application therefore should not be assumed to preserve the first filing's hold. The 120-day period runs from filing, even if the name is transferred. NMSA 1978 § 53-19-7 separately forms an LLC through articles of organization; a reservation alone is a name hold, not formation or clearance for use outside the state entity-name records.
Common questions
Can an already registered foreign LLC reserve a new name?
Yes. Section 53-19-4(A)(2) expressly includes a foreign LLC registered in New Mexico that intends to adopt the name.
Does the LLC name have to include “LLC”?
Section 53-19-3(A) lists “limited liability company,” “limited company,” “L.L.C.,” “LLC,” “L.C.,” and “LC” as permitted designators, with stated word abbreviations. The filing office checks the proposed name against the statutory records.
Statutes and sources
The official New Mexico Compilation Commission Chapter 53, accessed September 23, 2026, supplies the verbatim text of §§ 53-19-3, 53-19-4, 53-19-7, and 53-19-63(H) quoted in the frontmatter. The Commission's scope page, accessed the same day, states that the compilation is current through the 2026 Second Session.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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