LLC Name Reservation Requirements in South Carolina
At a glance
| Governing law and optional reservation scope | Optional LLC reservation under S.C. Code § 33-44-106, distinct from formation under § 33-44-201 and foreign-name registration under § 33-44-107 |
|---|---|
| Who may apply and for which LLC or series name | A person may apply; foreign LLC with unavailable real name may reserve a fictitious name; § 33-44-106 does not distinguish preformation, name-change, or series applicants |
| Name availability, designator, distinguishability, and consent | SOS must find name available; LLC name needs approved designator and distinguishability against specified active/reserved/registered names; name-use consent/undertaking or court-judgment routes under § 33-44-105 |
| Application, signer, form, and filing office | Deliver application to SOS stating applicant name/address and proposed name; § 33-44-106(a) does not specify applicant signature; accepted medium and fee required (§ 33-44-206) |
| Reservation, renewal, transfer, and cancellation fees | $25 reservation application; $10 transfer notice; no renewal fee because initial hold expressly nonrenewable (§ 33-44-1204(a)(6)-(7)) |
| Term, start date, and statutory exclusive use | Available name held for applicant’s exclusive use for nonrenewable 120-day period; accepted filing normally effective at filing (§§ 33-44-106(a), -206(c)) |
| Renewal, filing window, and repeat limits | Initial 120-day reservation expressly nonrenewable; § 33-44-106 gives no renewal window or reapplication terms |
| Transfer notice, signer, and transferee details | Owner delivers signed transfer notice to SOS stating transferee name/address; $10 fee; § 33-44-106(b) does not specify a separate transferee signature |
| Cancellation, withdrawal, revocation, and scope of name rights | § 33-44-106 gives no separate cancellation, withdrawal, or agency-revocation route; entity-name hold does not itself form LLC or resolve other name-use rights (§§ 33-44-105, -201) |
Requirements one by one
Applicant and name check
S.C. Code § 33-44-106(a) allows a person to seek exclusive use of an LLC name, including a fictitious name for a foreign company whose real name is unavailable. The Secretary of State must find the proposed name available. Under § 33-44-105(a)-(b), an LLC name needs an approved designator and must be distinguishable from listed active, reserved, registered, and foreign fictitious names. Section 33-44-105(c) separately permits a company to seek use of a nondistinguishable name with the present user's written consent and undertaking to change, or with a certified final court judgment; those are name-use routes, not automatic reservation approvals.
Application and fee
The application must give the applicant's name and address and proposed name, and be delivered to the Secretary of State (§ 33-44-106(a)). That subsection does not require an applicant signature. General § 33-44-206 requires an acceptable medium and payment. Section 33-44-1204(a)(6)-(7) fixes a $25 reservation fee and $10 transfer-notice fee.
Term and transfer
Section 33-44-106(a) describes a “nonrenewable one hundred twenty-day period” of exclusive use. Under § 33-44-206(c), accepted filings normally take effect at filing; the reservation provision states no separate start-date formula. The owner may transfer the hold to another person by delivering a signed notice that states the transferee's name and address (§ 33-44-106(b)).
What trips people up
The 120-day reservation cannot be renewed under § 33-44-106(a); the section says nothing about a later fresh application. It also states no separate cancellation, withdrawal, or agency-revocation procedure. A reserved name is not itself an LLC: formation requires articles under § 33-44-201. Foreign name registration under § 33-44-107 and name-use questions outside the state entity records remain separate from this temporary filing.
Common questions
Does the foreign LLC need to reserve its actual out-of-state name?
No. Section 33-44-106(a) expressly includes a fictitious name for a foreign company whose own name is unavailable in South Carolina. That route still depends on the Secretary of State finding the proposed name available.
Can I give the hold to another person?
Yes. The owner may deliver the signed transfer notice described in § 33-44-106(b), with the $10 fee in § 33-44-1204(a)(7).
Statutes and sources
The official South Carolina Code, Title 33 Chapter 44, accessed September 22, 2026, supplies the quoted §§ 33-44-105, -106, -201, -206, and -1204.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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