Montana Business Name Checker
Check if your business name is available in Montana. Validate Montana naming rules instantly, then search state records free at biz.sosmt.gov — the Secretary of State's online-only portal in the state with the nation's cheapest LLC filing fee.
Validate the name format, then search the official Montana Secretary of State — Business Search records.
1.Search the state registry (Montana Secretary of State — Business Search) for existing LLCs, corporations, and reserved names
2.Check federal trademarks at USPTO.gov — state approval does not protect you from trademark claims
3.Verify the .com domain is available for your name
4.Grab matching social media handles (Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Facebook)
5.Lock the name in by filing your formation documents — or reserve it first (details below)
Fee
$10
Holds the name for
120 days
How to file
Online only, through the Secretary of State's portal at biz.sosmt.gov
The reservation cannot be renewed, and there is no paper option — Montana accepts no paper filings at all.
How Business Name Availability Works in Montana
Montana went all-in on digital filing: the Secretary of State accepts no paper forms at all. Every business search, name reservation, formation, and annual report runs through biz.sosmt.gov, and the business search there is free. The upside is speed — you can search, reserve, and form in a single sitting.
Montana is also the cheapest place in the country to form an LLC: Articles of Organization cost just $35, the annual report is $20, a name reservation is $10, and an assumed business name is $20. The entire naming-and-formation stack costs less than a single filing in many states.
The availability rules under MCA 35-8-103 are broad: your name must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from entity names, assumed business names, trademarks and service marks, and reserved names. One extra wrinkle — the names of dissolved corporations remain protected for 120 days after dissolution, so a freshly dead company still holds its name for four months.
Montana Business Name Requirements
✓ Name Requirements
- • LLCs must include "LLC", "L.L.C.", "LC", "L.C.", "Limited Liability Company", "Limited Company" or "Ltd. Co."
- • Corporations must include "Inc.", "Corp.", "Co." or "Ltd."
- • Must be distinguishable on the records of the Secretary of State from entity names, assumed business names, trademarks and service marks, and reserved names — dissolved corporations' names stay protected for 120 days
- • Cannot suggest a government affiliation
- • Cannot be misleading about business purpose
- • Governed by Montana Code Annotated § 35-8-103 (LLCs) and § 35-14-401 (corporations)
✗ Restricted Words
- • "Bank" — requires approval from the Montana Division of Banking and Financial Institutions
- • "Trust" — implies trust-company powers — Montana Division of Banking and Financial Institutions review needed
- • "Insurance" — regulated by the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance — extra wording or approval required
- • "Credit Union" — restricted to chartered credit unions under Montana financial-institution law
- • "Engineer" — implies licensed engineering services — Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors rules apply
- • "Olympic" — federally protected under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act
How to Check Name Availability in Montana
Use the tool above to open the Montana Secretary of State — Business Search search and look up existing LLCs, corporations, and reserved names. Montana is fully online-only — the Secretary of State accepts no paper forms. Every search, reservation, formation, and annual report goes through biz.sosmt.gov.
Search the USPTO database at uspto.gov — clearing the Montana registry does not protect you from a federal trademark claim.
Check that the matching .com domain is available before you commit — renaming an LLC later means an amendment filing and new bank paperwork.
Confirm your name is free on Instagram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn so your branding stays consistent everywhere.
Montana lets you reserve a name for 120 days for $10 — Online only, through the Secretary of State's portal at biz.sosmt.gov.
What Registering a Name Costs in Montana
| Filing | State Fee | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| LLC formation filing | $35 | One-time |
| Annual report / recurring fee | $20 | Yearly |
| Name reservation | $10 | Holds the name 120 days |
| Registration of Assumed Business Name | Filed with the Secretary of State online at biz.sosmt.gov for $20 — a state-level registration, and because assumed business names count in Montana's distinguishability check, it also blocks confusingly similar later filings. | |
State filing fees as of 2026. See the Montana LLC tax and fee calculator for the full annual cost picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check if a business name is taken in Montana?
Search free at biz.sosmt.gov, the Montana Secretary of State's online portal. The search covers entity names, assumed business names, registered trademarks and service marks, and reserved names — all the records Montana tests your proposed name against under MCA 35-8-103. Montana accepts no paper filings, so the portal is also where you will reserve or form once the name is clear.
How much does it cost to reserve a business name in Montana?
Just $10 — among the cheapest reservations in the country. The hold lasts 120 days and cannot be renewed, and it is filed online only through biz.sosmt.gov, since Montana's Secretary of State accepts no paper forms. If you are ready to commit, the Articles of Organization cost only $35, so many founders skip the reservation and simply form the LLC.
What suffix does a Montana LLC name need?
Under MCA 35-8-103, a Montana LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or "limited company," or an abbreviation such as llc, l.l.c., lc, or l.c. — and "limited" may be abbreviated "ltd." with "company" as "co." Corporations need "corporation," "incorporated," "company," or "limited" (or an abbreviation) under MCA 35-14-401.
Is Montana really the cheapest state to form an LLC?
For state filing fees, yes: Articles of Organization cost $35, the lowest in the nation. The annual report is $20, a name reservation is $10, and an assumed business name is $20 — the entire stack runs $85. Compare that with states charging $300 or more just to form. Note that cheap formation does not change where you owe taxes: you generally still register and pay where you actually operate.
Can I file Montana business forms by mail?
No. Montana is fully online-only — the Secretary of State accepts no paper forms. Name searches, reservations, Articles of Organization, assumed business names, and annual reports are all filed through biz.sosmt.gov. You will need to create a portal account (ePass Montana) before filing, so set that up before you start the clock on anything time-sensitive.
How long is a dissolved company's name protected in Montana?
A dissolved corporation's name remains protected on the Secretary of State's records for 120 days after dissolution. During that window you cannot take the name even though the company no longer operates. If you are waiting on a specific name, check the dissolution date in the biz.sosmt.gov record and calendar day 121 — then reserve it for $10 the moment it frees up.
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Checking a Name in Another State?
Montana Is Online-Only: Searching and Filing at biz.sosmt.gov
Everything starts — and ends — at biz.sosmt.gov. The Secretary of State stopped accepting paper filings, so the portal is the only path for searches, reservations, formations, assumed names, and annual reports. The business search is free and covers the full set of records used in the availability test.
Search entity names, assumed business names, registered trademarks and service marks, and reserved names — Montana checks your proposed name against all of them, which is a wider net than most states cast. A brand someone registered as a mere assumed name in Missoula can block your LLC statewide.
When the name is clear, the economics are the easiest in America: $10 reserves the name for 120 days (nonrenewable), and $35 files the Articles of Organization outright. Filings through the portal typically process quickly, and expedited handling is available for a small extra fee.
Montana Naming Rules and the 120-Day Dissolution Hold
Under MCA 35-8-103, a Montana LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or "limited company," or an abbreviation: l.l.c., l.c., llc, or lc — with "ltd." and "co." accepted as abbreviations of "limited" and "company." Corporations follow MCA 35-14-401: "corporation," "incorporated," "company," or "limited," or an abbreviation.
The distinguishability test runs against entity names, assumed business names, marks, and reservations on the Secretary of State's records. Cosmetic edits — punctuation, capitalization, swapping designators — do not create distinguishability; a different key word does.
Montana adds a timing rule worth knowing: when a corporation dissolves, its name stays protected for 120 days after dissolution. If you have been waiting for a competitor's name to free up, the clock starts at dissolution, not before — check the dissolution date in the portal record.
Assumed Business Names and Montana's $35 Formation Fee
Operating under a brand different from your legal name requires a Registration of Assumed Business Name, filed online for $20. Because assumed business names count in the state's distinguishability check, your registration does double duty: it legalizes the trade name and blocks confusingly similar later filings.
Montana's $35 LLC filing fee is the lowest in the nation, and the $20 annual report keeps ongoing costs near the bottom too. That combination — plus no state sales tax — is why Montana punches far above its population in new-entity filings.
Cheap does not mean informal: the annual report deadline (April 15) is real, and a name cleared by the Secretary of State still is not a trademark. Run a USPTO check before investing in the brand, exactly as you would in a pricier state.
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