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Illinois LLC Search: How To Do It? – Everything You Need To Know
If you want to create an Illinois Limited Liability Company, you will need to do an Illinois LLC search. It is basically a database that offers you the option to search the name of your LLC for free. LLC owners use this database to ensure that their name is not already in use. After learning that their desired name is not in use, they ensure that the name they have opted for is now available for use as the name of the LLC.
In this article, you will learn about the workings of the Illinois LLC search. Next up, you will also learn how to search using this search database. Furthermore, we will also share with you the name requirements for the Illinois LLC search. Finally, we will give you subsequent steps that you can take to establish the name of your LLC. Hence, to learn more, read on through to the end of the article.
What Is The Illinois LLC Search?
With the help of the Illinois LLC Search, you are basically searching for available business names for your limited liability company. The Illinois Secretary of State provides this database where you can search for business names. It is also known as the Illinois business entity search tool.
What is a business entity? – The Forbes Advisor explains,
?A business entity is a formal business structure created by filing documents with the state. A business entity may be a limited partnership, limited liability company (LLC), corporation, or a limited liability limited partnership. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships are more informal types of businesses that are not considered business entities.?
Hence, to start a business name for your LLC, you will need to perform an Illinois LLC search. You can search for the name for free. By searching for the name, you can ensure that the name of your business is available among all the registered Illinois businesses or not.
Illinois LLC – How To Create One?
In Illinois, you can create a limited liability company under the Limited Liability Company Act. You will be able to complete the entire process online or submit the documents to the Illinois Secretary of State?s office at the Limited Liability Division in the Department of Business Services.
However, you will need to understand here that a statewide business license is not available in Illinois. Despite that, you will need to have a general business license from the city or municipality of the area where your business resides.
What Are The Name Requirements For Illinois LLC?
According to The Forbes Advisor,
?The default is searching for both LLC and corporation. After all, your new business name must be distinguishable from all other corporation and LLC names on file. You can also search by name, keyword or partial word, giving you the flexibility to weed out similar-sounding companies as well as exact matches.?
However, you will need to maintain certain conditions while you are naming your business:
1. Make sure that you mention LLC at the end of the name that you have decided for your business. (Example: ABC-XYZ LLC).
2. Make sure not to use the name Corporate at the end of the name. This is because, in Illinois, LLCs are not corporations. Hence, businesses cannot use words like – Corporation, Incorporated, or even their abbreviations.
3. Make sure that the name of your LLC is distinguishable. This goes without saying. The name of your business should be different from all the businesses registered on the Illinois LLC search database.
Illinois LLC Search – How To Search The Database?
Here are the following steps that you will need to follow to do an Illinois LLC Search:
Step 1: Go to the website named – ?Illinois Secretary of State: Business Entity Search.?
Step 2: In the ?Name? option search method, enter your desired LLC name in the box. Click Continue. However, you will need to ensure a few things here:
- Do not add LLC at the end of the name or any punctuation in the name.
- You need to follow any capitalization method to register your name.
- To check similarity, just consider entering the first word or two of the name of your LLC.
- To ensure the check is thorough, enter a part of the first word of the name.
Step 3: Once you hit the ?Submit? button, you can check for the presence of similarities in existing businesses/LLCs in the state of Illinois. Here are the types of actions you can take based on the results:
- If you see ?no results found,? then the business name is available for use.
- If you see names that are not very similar to yours, then also you can use the name. Just make sure the name is distinguishable.
- If your LLC name appears in the list of names in the Illinois database, then you must understand that the name is already taken and registered. In that case, consider changing the name.
- If your name is deceptively similar to existing Illinois LLC names, then your name falls under ?not available.? We recommend you change the name.
Make sure that you appoint a registered agent with your LLC or business. According to Ilsos.gov,
?All LLCs must appoint and maintain a registered agent within Illinois. The company appoints the agent as having the authority to accept the service of process. The agent will also act as the conduit for exchanging information between the company and the Secretary of State’s office.?
Wrapping Up – Final Steps
Once you do an Illinois LLC search, make sure that you have found a name for your LLC that is unique and distinguishable. After that, you will need to find an Illinois LLC Registered Agent. However, if you have any questions regarding the search, you can contact the Secretary of State for Illinois at 217-782-6961 (Extension 7736 for LLC Department).
Furthermore, if you want to change the name of your LLC, you will need to file an amendment form with the Secretary of State. Do you have any more recommendations regarding how to perform an Illinois LLC Search? Share your ideas with us in the comments section below.
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