Does a Virginia registration protect my name in other states?

No. It protects the name inside Virginia's registry only. Nationwide protection comes from a federal trademark, which is why the checker runs the USPTO search alongside the Virginia lookup.

What does a Virginia LLC name have to end with?

One of the state's accepted designators — LLC, L.L.C., L.C. and Limited Liability Company. 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 Virginia before I file?

Yes. The Virginia State Corporation Commission charges $10 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 Virginia?

The name itself is free to search. Filing the entity is what costs money: $100 for an LLC and $75 for a corporation, then annual registration fee, $50 (llc), due by the last day of the anniversary month; corporations $100+ by shares.

Are there words I can't use in a Virginia business name?

Words that imply a regulated business need consent first. In Virginia that includes Bank, Trust, Insurance, Engineer and Architect. Names that suggest a government agency are refused outright.

How many new businesses start in Virginia each year?

The Census Bureau counted 149,671 business applications in the twelve months to August 2026, +15.4% on the year before. Not every application becomes a registered entity, but each one is a name someone intends to use.

What if the Virginia registry shows an inactive company with my name?

Only active registrations block a name. Of the 1.05 million entities in our copy of the Virginia registry, 388,974 are active. A dissolved entity's name is usually available — but check whether Virginia allows reinstatement, which can revive the older claim.

Virginia Secretary of State business search — LLC name check, trademark & domain lookup

Virginia's registry is run by the State Corporation Commission — a court-like regulator, not a Secretary of State — and it holds over a million names in our copy. The Commission's search treats 'Inc.' and 'Corporation' as interchangeable when judging distinguishability, and the $50 LLC annual fee is one of the simplest in the country.

Is it taken in Virginia? — Enter the name exactly as you'd file it; the Virginia registry, USPTO and domain registrars are checked together.

Check this name →

How to check a business name in Virginia

Check the name as you'd file it. With the designator (LLC) attached — Virginia compares the whole string.
Verify at the source. The official Virginia State Corporation Commission search is the record that counts; registrations change daily.
Don't stop at the state line. A clear Virginia result says nothing about federal trademarks or the domain; the checker covers both in the same run.

How busy is Virginia right now?

The U.S. Census Bureau counted 149,671 business applications from Virginia in the twelve months ending August 2026 — +15.4% on the year before, the 14th-highest total of any state and 17.0 per 1,000 residents (ranked 23rd per person). April was the busiest month with 15,555 applications, and Virginia accounts for 2.4% 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: 88,000 applications in calendar 2019.

Virginia naming rules: what the Virginia State Corporation Commission will and won't accept

The rule that matters most in Virginia is distinguishable upon the records of the Commission. Swapping 'Inc.' for 'LLC', adding 'The', or changing a comma does not make a name distinguishable here. An LLC name must end in LLC, L.L.C., L.C. and Limited Liability Company; a corporation uses Corporation, Corp., Incorporated and Inc., among others.

Certain words trigger a review. In Virginia that list includes Bank, Trust, Insurance, Engineer, Architect, Surveyor and Cooperative 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 $100, a corporation $75 and a name reservation is $10 and holds the name for 120 days. Clerk's information system online filings are usually immediate.

Keeping it: Annual registration fee, $50 (LLC), due by the last day of the anniversary month; corporations $100+ by shares. An entity that stops filing loses good standing, and with it the exclusive claim to its name.

Per the Virginia State Corporation Commission, (804) 371-9733 — official website (fee schedule). Fees change; confirm before filing.

Inside the Virginia registry

There are 1.05 million entities in our copy of the Virginia registry: 100% LLCs. About 388,974 of them are active; the rest are dissolved or otherwise inactive — and only the active ones block a name.

The most common words in Virginia business names are Services, Group, Properties, Consulting, Solutions and Enterprises. A name built from those is competing with thousands of near-neighbours — fine for a search, harder for a filing. 98% of names end in an LLC designator. The average registered name is 22.8 characters long.

How Virginia decides whether a name is taken

Three things the Virginia State Corporation Commission 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 Virginia 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 Virginia and still infringe a federal mark, so run both — the checker on this page does.

Naming rules, fees and reservation windows come from Virginia statute and change; treat the Virginia State Corporation Commission's current guidance as final before you file. This is a practical guide, not legal advice.

About the Virginia State Corporation Commission

The Virginia State Corporation Commission maintains Virginia's registry of corporations, LLCs, and other registered entities — it is the system of record for Virginia business names. Useful official resources:

Official Virginia business entity search — the state's own lookup.
Virginia State Corporation Commission — official website — filings, forms, fees, and contact details.

Confirming the result on the Virginia State Corporation Commission'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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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

Does a Virginia registration protect my name in other states?: No. It protects the name inside Virginia's registry only. Nationwide protection comes from a federal trademark, which is why the checker runs the USPTO search alongside the Virginia lookup.
What does a Virginia LLC name have to end with?: One of the state's accepted designators — LLC, L.L.C., L.C. and Limited Liability Company. 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 Virginia before I file?: Yes. The Virginia State Corporation Commission charges $10 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 Virginia?: The name itself is free to search. Filing the entity is what costs money: $100 for an LLC and $75 for a corporation, then annual registration fee, $50 (llc), due by the last day of the anniversary month; corporations $100+ by shares.
Are there words I can't use in a Virginia business name?: Words that imply a regulated business need consent first. In Virginia that includes Bank, Trust, Insurance, Engineer and Architect. Names that suggest a government agency are refused outright.
How many new businesses start in Virginia each year?: The Census Bureau counted 149,671 business applications in the twelve months to August 2026, +15.4% on the year before. Not every application becomes a registered entity, but each one is a name someone intends to use.
What if the Virginia registry shows an inactive company with my name?: Only active registrations block a name. Of the 1.05 million entities in our copy of the Virginia registry, 388,974 are active. A dissolved entity's name is usually available — but check whether Virginia allows reinstatement, which can revive the older claim.

Still choosing a name? Try the Virginia business name generator — every idea checked against the same registry.

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