Oregon Business Name Checker
Check if your business name is available in Oregon. Validate Oregon naming rules instantly, then search the Oregon Business Registry free — before deciding whether the state's $100 name reservation is worth it.
Validate the name format, then search the official Oregon Secretary of State — Business Registry Search records.
1.Search the state registry (Oregon Secretary of State — Business Registry 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
$100
Holds the name for
120 days
How to file
Application for Name Reservation via the Oregon Business Registry online, or by mail
Oregon's $100 fee is the most expensive name reservation in the country, and renewal terms are not clearly published — confirm with the Corporation Division before planning consecutive holds.
How Business Name Availability Works in Oregon
Oregon runs everything through one system: the Oregon Business Registry, operated by the Secretary of State's Corporation Division. The name search is free, covers LLCs, corporations, reserved names, and assumed business names, and the same portal files your Articles of Organization ($100) when you are ready. Oregon LLCs then owe a $100 annual report each year.
Oregon holds a distinction no founder loves: at $100, its name reservation is the most expensive in the country — double what the state charges for a $50 assumed business name. Because both land on the same registry, many founders hold their name the cheaper way, or simply skip the hold and file the formation directly since it also costs $100.
The upside of Oregon is clarity. The state publishes unusually direct guidance on what makes names distinguishable: a word or even a letter's difference can be enough, but changes in punctuation, special characters, an added "s," spacing, articles, or capitalization are not. Few states tell you the rules this plainly before you file.
Oregon Business Name Requirements
✓ Name Requirements
- • LLCs must include "LLC", "L.L.C." or "Limited Liability Company"
- • Corporations must include "Inc.", "Corp.", "Co." or "Ltd."
- • Must be distinguishable from names on the Oregon Business Registry — a single letter can be enough, but punctuation, special characters, an added "s," spacing, articles, and capitalization changes do not count
- • Cannot suggest a government affiliation
- • Cannot be misleading about business purpose
- • Governed by Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 63 (LLCs) and chapter 60 (corporations)
✗ Restricted Words
- • "Bank" — typically requires approval from the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation
- • "Trust" — implies trust-company powers — Oregon Division of Financial Regulation review typically required
- • "Insurance" — regulated by the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation; the name must not imply insurer status without a license
- • "Cooperative" — reserved for entities organized under Oregon's cooperative statutes
- • "Credit Union" — restricted to chartered credit unions
- • "Olympic" — federally protected under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act
How to Check Name Availability in Oregon
Use the tool above to open the Oregon Secretary of State — Business Registry Search search and look up existing LLCs, corporations, and reserved names. Oregon's $100 name reservation costs double the $50 assumed business name — for many founders, registering the ABN is the cheaper way to hold a name.
Search the USPTO database at uspto.gov — clearing the Oregon 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.
Oregon lets you reserve a name for 120 days for $100 — Application for Name Reservation via the Oregon Business Registry online, or by mail.
What Registering a Name Costs in Oregon
| Filing | State Fee | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| LLC formation filing | $100 | One-time |
| Annual report / recurring fee | $100 | Yearly |
| Name reservation | $100 | Holds the name 120 days |
| Assumed Business Name (ABN) | Registered statewide with the Secretary of State's Corporation Division for $50 — the application must list the counties where the name will be used. Renewal is every 2 years. | |
State filing fees as of 2026. See the Oregon 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 Oregon for free?
Search the Oregon Business Registry, run by the Secretary of State's Corporation Division — it is free and covers LLCs, corporations, reserved names, and assumed business names. Search loose variations of your name, because Oregon treats names differing only by punctuation, plurals, spacing, articles, or capitalization as the same name. What you see in the registry is exactly what the examiner will compare your filing against.
How much does it cost to reserve a business name in Oregon?
Oregon charges $100 for a 120-day name reservation, filed through the Oregon Business Registry or by mail — the most expensive reservation fee in the country. Since Oregon's Articles of Organization also cost $100, many founders skip the reservation and file the LLC directly. Renewal terms are not clearly published, so confirm with the Corporation Division if you need a longer hold.
What suffix does an Oregon LLC name need?
Under ORS chapter 63, an Oregon LLC name must contain "Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC." Corporations use "Corporation," "Incorporated," "Company," or "Limited," or the abbreviations Corp., Inc., Co., or Ltd. Note that the designator does not distinguish a name — "Summit LLC" and "Summit Inc." count as the same name on the registry.
What counts as a distinguishable name in Oregon?
Oregon publishes clear guidance: a word or even a single letter's difference can be enough to make a name distinguishable. But differences only in punctuation, special characters, an added "s," spacing, articles, prepositions, conjunctions, or capitalization do not count. So "Riverbend Goods LLC" would be blocked by "River Bend Good LLC" — the spacing and plural changes are not recognized as differences.
How does an assumed business name (DBA) work in Oregon?
Oregon's assumed business name is registered statewide with the Secretary of State's Corporation Division for $50 and renewed every 2 years. Unusually, the application must list the counties where the name will be used, so list every county you operate in — or all 36 for statewide coverage. At half the price of the $100 name reservation, an ABN is often the cheaper way to get a name onto the registry.
What are Oregon's ongoing LLC costs?
Oregon LLCs pay $100 to file Articles of Organization and then a $100 annual report every year, due on the formation anniversary. If you operate under an assumed business name, add $50 every two years for the ABN renewal. There is no franchise tax on top of the annual report at the state filing level, but Oregon does have a state income tax that applies to business earnings.
Related Tools
OR LLC Tax & Fee Calculator
Estimate your OregonLLC's filing fee, annual report costs, and recurring state charges before you form.
Oregon Quarterly Tax Calculator
Calculate the estimated quarterly taxes you'll owe as a Oregon business owner or freelancer.
Business Name Generator
Name taken? Generate unique, memorable alternatives for your Oregon business with AI.
Business Entity Search Directory
Official Secretary of State search portals for all 50 states — look up any registered company.
Checking a Name in Another State?
Oregon's $100 Name Reservation — the Most Expensive in the Country
If you need to hold a name in Oregon before filing, the Application for Name Reservation costs $100 and lasts 120 days, filed online through the Oregon Business Registry or by mail. No other state charges this much to park a name — most sit between $10 and $50. Whether the reservation can be renewed is not clearly published, so ask the Corporation Division before assuming a second 120-day window.
Run the math before paying it. Oregon's Articles of Organization also cost $100, so if your paperwork is ready, filing the LLC itself secures the name for the same money and actually forms the company. And the $50 assumed business name puts your name on the same registry for half the price — a route many founders use as a de facto hold.
Either way, start with the free Business Registry name search. It shows active and inactive records, reserved names, and ABNs, so you can see exactly what your proposed name will be compared against before spending anything.
How Oregon Decides Whether Names Are Distinguishable
Oregon's Corporation Division publishes clear guidance most states keep internal: your name must be distinguishable from every active name on the registry, and "a word or even a letter's difference can be enough." That makes Oregon relatively forgiving — a genuinely different key word or a changed letter will usually clear.
The guidance is equally clear about what does not count: differences only in punctuation or special characters, an added "s" or other plural, spacing, articles, prepositions, or conjunctions ("the," "a," "and"), or capitalization. "Cascade Trail LLC" and "The Cascade Trails, LLC" are the same name in Oregon's eyes.
Designators follow ORS chapter 63: an Oregon LLC must contain "Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC." Corporations under ORS chapter 60 use "Corporation," "Incorporated," "Company," or "Limited" — or Corp., Inc., Co., or Ltd. The designator itself never makes a name distinguishable, so "Summit LLC" cannot coexist with "Summit Inc."
Assumed Business Names: Oregon's $50 Alternative
Oregon's DBA is the Assumed Business Name (ABN), registered statewide with the Secretary of State's Corporation Division for $50 and renewed every 2 years. Anyone doing business under a name that does not include the owner's full legal name — sole proprietors and registered entities alike — must register one.
Oregon adds a step most states skip: the ABN application must list the counties where the name will be used. Statewide coverage means listing all 36 counties, which the online form allows — just do not forget to add counties if your business expands into new territory later.
Because ABNs live on the same Business Registry that formation filings are checked against, registering one puts your name in the pool of records that new filings must be distinguishable from. At $50 versus the $100 reservation, it is the cheaper hold — though the honest strongest protection remains forming the entity or registering a trademark.
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