In choosing the corporation’s name there are certain legal requirements of which you should be aware:

• An entity name shall not contain language stating or implying that the entity is organized for any purpose other than a purpose that is lawful and that is permitted by its formation documents. (i.e., Articles of Incorporation)
• The name must be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State from the name of any other entity on the business registry. By Administrative Code, the business entity suffix of the name (i.e., inc., LLC) is not used to determine distinguishability on the records.
• An entity name shall not contain words offensive to accepted standards of decency.

The choice of a name depends on many factors, but there is one important rule to follow. Do not choose a name because you have seen it elsewhere and believe it will work well for your own entity, unless you obtain written permission of the party already using the name.

Each entity type has its own statutory requirement in the use of entity designations or entity endings (i.e., inc., LLC). Click the links below for the statutory requirements for each type of entity.