Books from Hamilton

Choosing a Corporate Name

• It is a very good idea to check your corporate name by requesting a free name check from Hamilton.

• The Secretary of State checks your choices based on whether they are confusingly similar to names already on file. Be sure to submit three distinctly, different corporate names. 

• A designator such as "Corporation," "Incorporated," "Limited," or an abbreviation ("Corp.," "Inc.," or "Ltd.") is legally required only when a personal name is used as your corporate name. 

• You may wish to include a designation whether or not you use a personal name in order to inform others that your business is incorporated. 

• Remember, the name chosen here for a corporation is only for the purpose of naming the corporation. 

Links that will help you learn whether you can use your corporate name for other business purposes

• use the corporate name as the business name, 

• name the products or services that the business provides, and/or 

• register a domain name to use the corporate name on the Internet as a URL.

Explore the following links to corporate name information on the California Secretary of State web site: 

California Secretary of State Corporate Name Availability

Checking the availability of a corporate name

Reserving a corporate name

General name availability information

• Check with the city and/or county clerk and/or recorder in the counties where you will be doing business to assure that your name has not already been registered by another person or business as a fictitious business name . 
  

  • You may prefer to use a personal name such as John Doodles Doe, Inc. as the corporate name and then file for fictitious business names for the companies owned by the corporation.
    

• Verify whether you can use your corporate name to name your product or service by performing a trademark search. 

• Search for a domain name at networksolutions.com or register.com to learn whether your corporate name can be registered for use as an Internet URL

Books from Hamilton

Hamilton Document Service, Inc.
171 Branham Lane, Suite 10-333
San Jose, CA 95136

Tel:

(408) 226-0932

Fax:

(408) 362-9652

Toll Free:

(877) 411-3863

email:

bruce@inccal.com