LLC Name Reservation Requirements in Oregon
At a glance
| Governing law and optional reservation scope | Optional ordinary LLC name reservation under ORS 63.097; distinct from the foreign-LLC registered-name route in ORS 63.101 |
|---|---|
| Who may apply and for which LLC or series name | Any person may apply for an LLC name; ORS 63.097 does not limit applicant to an existing LLC or state a separate series route |
| Name availability, designator, distinguishability, and consent | Must conform to ORS 63.094: LLC/L.L.C. or full phrase, prohibited entity-type terms, distinguishable from listed active entity/reserved/registered/assumed names; final-judgment exception (§ 63.094(1)–(5)) |
| Application, signer, form, and filing office | Apply to Secretary of State with applicant name/address and proposed name; current agency form asks mailing/contact details and applicant signature (ORS 63.097(1); SOS Form 210) |
| Reservation, renewal, transfer, and cancellation fees | $100 reservation processing fee on current SOS Form 210; ORS 56.140 supplies general business-registry fee categories but no reservation-specific row |
| Term, start date, and statutory exclusive use | Secretary reserves conforming name for applicant for 120 days; ORS 63.097(2) does not specify an initial start-date formula or broader use right |
| Renewal, filing window, and repeat limits | ORS 63.097 states no renewal procedure, window, or successive-term rule |
| Transfer notice, signer, and transferee details | Deliver notice executed by original applicant to Secretary of State office; state transferee name/address (§ 63.097(3)); no distinct transfer-fee row in that section |
| Cancellation, withdrawal, revocation, and scope of name rights | ORS 63.097 states no general cancellation process; Secretary may withdraw a filing within 1 year on a qualifying error request with authority statement (§ 56.080(2)); reservation does not settle trade-name rights (§ 63.094(7)) |
Requirements one by one
Applicant, name, and filing
ORS § 63.097(1) opens the application to a person and asks for that person's name and address plus the proposed LLC name. The Secretary of State checks the name against § 63.094. That section requires an LLC ending, excludes other entity-type terms, and compares the proposal with active names across several entity, reservation, registration, and assumed-business-name categories. Section 63.094(5) permits a certified final judgment establishing a prior or concurrent name-use right in place of the usual record-distinguishability test; the table does not decide whether a particular judgment qualifies.
Hold, fee, and transfer
The Secretary reserves a conforming name for 120 days under ORS § 63.097(2). Its current name-reservation application requires the applicant to sign and lists a $100 required processing fee. ORS § 56.140 sets the broader business-registry fee categories without naming the reservation transaction; the agency form supplies the transaction-specific amount. Under § 63.097(3), transfer requires a notice executed by the original applicant and stating the transferee's name and address.
What trips people up
The LLC reservation in ORS § 63.097 is separate from the foreign LLC registered-name filing in § 63.101, which has a different application and a one-year term. Section 63.094(7) preserves unfair-competition and trade-name law, so a reservation does not decide rights outside the state name records. The reservation section does not provide a renewal or ordinary cancellation procedure. ORS § 56.080(2) does allow the Secretary to withdraw a filed document within a year when its submitter reports premature filing, inadvertence, or mistake and supplies an authority statement; that is a limited withdrawal route, not an automatic cancellation on demand.
Common questions
Does a transfer start another 120 days?
ORS § 63.097(3) provides for transfer of the existing reservation. It does not state that transfer starts a new period; check the expiration recorded by the Secretary of State.
May an applicant bypass a conflicting record with the other name holder's consent?
Section 63.094(5) states a specific alternative: deliver a certified final court judgment finding a prior or concurrent right to use the LLC name. The cited reservation and name provisions do not state a consent-based exception, so a private consent alone is not the alternative described there.
Statutes and sources
The Oregon Legislature's current 2025 Edition of ORS chapter 63, including §§ 63.094, 63.097, and 63.101, and ORS chapter 56, including §§ 56.080 and 56.140, were accessed September 22, 2026. The Secretary of State's Application for Name Reservation was accessed the same day for its signature field and posted processing fee.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
What does Oregon law mean for your facts?
You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current Oregon law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace