North Carolina Secretary of State business search — LLC name check, trademark & domain lookup
North Carolina's $200 annual report for LLCs is eight times what it charges corporations, one of the widest gaps in the country, and it's due every April 15 regardless of activity. The state's word list is broad — 'Wholesale', 'Mutual' and 'Realtor' need approval — and its search is one of the most heavily bot-protected, so double-check any 'available' result on the official site.
Is it taken in North Carolina? — Enter the name exactly as you'd file it; the North Carolina registry, USPTO and domain registrars are checked together.
Check this name →How to check a business name in North Carolina
- Check the name as you'd file it. With the designator (LLC) attached — North Carolina compares the whole string.
- Verify at the source. The official North Carolina Secretary of State search is the record that counts; registrations change daily.
- Don't stop at the state line. A clear North Carolina result says nothing about federal trademarks or the domain; the checker covers both in the same run.
North Carolina naming rules: what the North Carolina Secretary of State will and won't accept
Every North Carolina filing is screened for a single thing before anything else: the name must be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State. The examiner ignores punctuation, spacing, capitalization and the suffix when comparing, so two names that look different on paper can still collide. An LLC name must end in LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company and Limited Liability Co.; a corporation uses Corporation, Corp., Incorporated and Inc., among others.
A few words are gated. In North Carolina that list includes Bank, Banker, Banking, Trust, Insurance, Cooperative and Engineer and others — using one implies a regulated activity and the filing will be held until the relevant regulator consents.
On cost: forming an LLC costs $125, a corporation $125 and a name reservation is $30 and holds the name for 120 days. Online filings 3-5 business days; expedited 24-hour ($100) and same-day ($200).
After you file: Annual report, $200 (LLC) / $25 (corp), due April 15. Miss it and the entity slides to an inactive status — at which point the name can be taken by someone else.
Per the North Carolina Secretary of State, (919) 814-5400 — official website (fee schedule). Fees change; confirm before filing.
How busy is North Carolina right now?
In the year to August 2026, North Carolina recorded 197,879 new business applications — +17.5% on the year before, the 7th-highest total of any state and 17.9 per 1,000 residents (ranked 19th per person). April was the busiest month with 21,165 applications, and North Carolina accounts for 3.2% of all U.S. filings.
That volume is the reason exact-name checks age quickly here: the registry changes by the hundreds every business day.
Where America starts businesses — all 50 states ranked →
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly, not seasonally adjusted). 2019 comparison: 103,625 applications in calendar 2019.
What people are checking in North Carolina
Over the last three months, visitors ran 30 North Carolina checks here, and 80% of them came back clear at the state level. The words that came up most: Bull, Cott, Insurance, Coffee and Wreath. (Aggregate figures only — we don't publish individual searches.)
How North Carolina decides whether a name is taken
Three things the North Carolina Secretary of State looks at, and one it doesn't:
- Status. Only entities in an active status hold their names. Dissolved, revoked and withdrawn registrations release the name — with the caveat that a very recent lapse can still be reinstated, which our result notes when it applies.
- Distinguishability. Your name must differ from every active North Carolina name by more than punctuation, spacing, capitalisation or the entity designator. Two names that read the same aloud are usually treated as the same name.
- Designator. The recorded name of an LLC ends in an LLC designator and a corporation's in Inc., Corp. or an accepted equivalent; leave it off and the filing is returned.
- Not trademarks. The registry never checks the USPTO. A name can be free in North Carolina and still infringe a federal mark, so run both — the checker on this page does.
About the North Carolina Secretary of State
The North Carolina Secretary of State maintains North Carolina's registry of corporations, LLCs, and other registered entities — it is the system of record for North Carolina business names. Useful official resources:
- Official North Carolina business entity search — the state's own lookup.
- North Carolina Secretary of State — official website — filings, forms, fees, and contact details.
Confirming the result on the North Carolina Secretary of State's site
Treat the checker as the fast filter and the state's own search as the final word. Once a name comes back clear here, open the North Carolina entity search and type the name the way it will appear on the formation document — designator and all. Read down the list of matches rather than stopping at "no exact match": look at each record's status (only active ones block you) and at how close the spelling is, because North Carolina rejects near-duplicates as well as duplicates. If the name is still clear, reserve it or file the same day; registrations are first-come, first-served and the registry moves daily.
Frequently asked questions
- How many new businesses start in North Carolina each year?
- The Census Bureau counted 197,879 business applications in the twelve months to August 2026, +17.5% on the year before. Not every application becomes a registered entity, but each one is a name someone intends to use.
- Does a North Carolina registration protect my name in other states?
- No. It protects the name inside North Carolina's registry only. Nationwide protection comes from a federal trademark, which is why the checker runs the USPTO search alongside the North Carolina lookup.
- What does a North Carolina LLC name have to end with?
- One of the state's accepted designators — LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company and Limited Liability Co.. The checker searches the name with and without the suffix, because the suffix alone never makes a name distinguishable.
- Can I reserve a business name in North Carolina before I file?
- Yes. The North Carolina Secretary of State charges $30 to reserve a name for 120 days. A reserved name shows as taken to everyone else's search.
- How much does it cost to register a business name in North Carolina?
- The name itself is free to search. Filing the entity is what costs money: $125 for an LLC and $125 for a corporation, then annual report, $200 (llc) / $25 (corp), due april 15.
- Are there words I can't use in a North Carolina business name?
- Words that imply a regulated business need consent first. In North Carolina that includes Bank, Banker, Banking, Trust and Insurance. Names that suggest a government agency are refused outright.
Still choosing a name? Try the North Carolina business name generator — every idea checked against the same registry.
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