South Carolina Business Name Checker
Check if your business name is available in South Carolina. Validate SC naming rules instantly, then confirm availability free through the Secretary of State's search at businessfilings.sc.gov.
Validate the name format, then search the official South Carolina Secretary of State — Business Entities Search records.
1.Search the state registry (South Carolina Secretary of State — Business Entities 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
$25
Holds the name for
120 days
How to file
Application to Reserve a Limited Liability Company Name — paper form from businessfilings.sc.gov, filed by mail
Statutorily non-renewable: § 33-44-106 grants one "nonrenewable one hundred twenty-day period," so time the reservation against your actual filing date.
How Business Name Availability Works in South Carolina
South Carolina's Secretary of State offers a free business name search at businessfilings.sc.gov, covering registered entities, reserved and registered names, and approved fictitious names. Forming an LLC costs $110 — and then, unusually, the maintenance stops: standard South Carolina LLCs file no annual report with the Secretary of State.
The name reservation is cheap but strict. For $25, the Application to Reserve a Limited Liability Company Name — a paper form downloaded from businessfilings.sc.gov and filed by mail — holds your name for 120 days. The statute leaves no wiggle room: § 33-44-106 grants a "nonrenewable one hundred twenty-day period." One hold, no extensions.
South Carolina also has two quirks worth knowing before you commit to a name. There is no statewide DBA registry for LLCs — trade names are a county-level matter where they are recorded at all. And the state offers a rare escape hatch: an Application for Use of an Indistinguishable Name, which can clear a name that would otherwise be blocked, typically with the existing holder's consent.
South Carolina 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 upon the records of the Secretary of State from existing entities, reserved and registered names, and approved fictitious names (§ 33-44-105(b))
- • Cannot suggest a government affiliation
- • Cannot be misleading about business purpose
- • Governed by S.C. Code § 33-44-105 (LLCs) and § 33-2-102 (corporations)
✗ Restricted Words
- • "Bank" — typically requires approval from the SC State Board of Financial Institutions
- • "Trust" — implies trust powers — SC State Board of Financial Institutions review typically required
- • "Insurance" — regulated by the South Carolina Department of Insurance
- • "University" — implies an educational institution — clearance from the SC Commission on Higher Education is typically required
- • "College" — same educational-institution review applies as for "University"
- • "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 South Carolina
Use the tool above to open the South Carolina Secretary of State — Business Entities Search search and look up existing LLCs, corporations, and reserved names. South Carolina's reservation is non-renewable by statute (§ 33-44-106), and standard LLCs file no annual report at all — one of the lowest-maintenance states in the country.
Search the USPTO database at uspto.gov — clearing the South Carolina 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.
South Carolina lets you reserve a name for 120 days for $25 — Application to Reserve a Limited Liability Company Name — paper form from businessfilings.sc.gov, filed by mail.
What Registering a Name Costs in South Carolina
| Filing | State Fee | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| LLC formation filing | $110 | One-time |
| Annual report / recurring fee | $0 | — |
| Name reservation | $25 | Holds the name 120 days |
| County-level DBA (no statewide registry) | South Carolina has no statewide DBA registry for LLCs — where a filing exists at all, it is a county-level matter, so check with the clerk of court in your county. | |
State filing fees as of 2026. See the South Carolina 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 South Carolina for free?
Use the South Carolina Secretary of State's free business name search at businessfilings.sc.gov. It covers registered entities, reserved and registered names, and approved fictitious names — the full set of records your filing is checked against under § 33-44-105(b). Search variations of your name too, since small punctuation or designator differences will not make a blocked name available.
How much does it cost to reserve a business name in South Carolina?
A South Carolina name reservation costs $25 and holds the name for 120 days. You download the Application to Reserve a Limited Liability Company Name from businessfilings.sc.gov and file it by mail — there is no online reservation. The hold is statutorily non-renewable: § 33-44-106 grants one "nonrenewable one hundred twenty-day period," so reserve only when your filing date is close.
What suffix does a South Carolina LLC name need?
Under S.C. Code § 33-44-105(a), an LLC name must contain "limited liability company," "limited company," or an abbreviation such as L.L.C., LLC, L.C., or LC. "Limited" may be abbreviated as "Ltd." and "company" as "Co." Corporations follow § 33-2-102 and use "corporation," "incorporated," "company," or "limited," or an abbreviation of one of those words.
What is South Carolina's indistinguishable-name application?
South Carolina offers an unusual filing called the Application for Use of an Indistinguishable Name. If the name you want is blocked because it is not distinguishable from an existing record, this application can clear it — typically with the consent of the existing name holder or a showing that you have a right to the name. Ask the Secretary of State's office about the current requirements before relying on it.
Does South Carolina have a statewide DBA registry?
No. South Carolina has no state-level DBA registration for LLCs. Where trade names are recorded at all, it is a county-level matter — check with the clerk of court in your county. Because there is no statewide registry, a DBA in South Carolina provides very little protection, and many founders simply form their LLC under the exact brand name they plan to use.
Do South Carolina LLCs file an annual report?
Standard South Carolina LLCs do not file an annual report with the Secretary of State — a genuine rarity among states. The $110 Articles of Organization fee is essentially the last Secretary of State charge for a standard LLC. The exception is an LLC that elects corporate taxation, which then files corporate returns with the South Carolina Department of Revenue, including the CL-1 initial report.
Related Tools
SC LLC Tax & Fee Calculator
Estimate your South CarolinaLLC's filing fee, annual report costs, and recurring state charges before you form.
South Carolina Quarterly Tax Calculator
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Business Name Generator
Name taken? Generate unique, memorable alternatives for your South Carolina 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?
Searching Names on businessfilings.sc.gov and the $25 Reservation
The Secretary of State's search at businessfilings.sc.gov is free and shows the full comparison pool: domestic and foreign entities, reserved and registered names, and approved fictitious names. Under § 33-44-105(b), your name must be distinguishable from all of them, so a clean search here is the real signal that your name will clear.
The reservation itself is old-school: download the Application to Reserve a Limited Liability Company Name from businessfilings.sc.gov, and mail it in with $25. There is no online reservation filing. The hold lasts 120 days and is statutorily non-renewable — § 33-44-106 says "nonrenewable" in as many words — so do not reserve until your formation timeline is concrete.
Filing the Articles of Organization ($110) secures the name permanently. Since South Carolina processes formations relatively quickly and there is no annual report waiting afterward, many founders skip the paper reservation and file directly once the search comes back clean.
South Carolina Naming Rules — and the Indistinguishable-Name Exception
Under S.C. Code § 33-44-105(a), an LLC name must contain "limited liability company," "limited company," or an abbreviation: L.L.C., LLC, L.C., or LC — with "limited" abbreviated as "Ltd." and "company" as "Co." Corporations follow § 33-2-102 and use "corporation," "incorporated," "company," or "limited," or an abbreviation.
The distinguishability test in § 33-44-105(b) runs against every entity on the Secretary of State's records plus reserved names, registered names, and approved fictitious names. Punctuation, spacing, and designator swaps do not create distinguishability — you need a genuinely different word or a materially different arrangement.
South Carolina then does something few states do: it offers an Application for Use of an Indistinguishable Name. If your ideal name is blocked, this filing can clear it — typically where the existing name holder consents or the applicant shows a right to the name. It is a niche tool, but if a dormant entity is squatting on your name, it is worth asking the Secretary of State's office about.
No Statewide DBA, No Annual Report: What SC LLCs Actually File
South Carolina has no statewide DBA registry for LLCs. If you want to operate under a brand different from your legal name, there is no Secretary of State trade-name filing to make — where DBAs are recorded at all, it happens at the county level, so check with the clerk of court in each county where you operate. Many South Carolina businesses simply form the LLC under the brand they intend to use.
Maintenance is where South Carolina shines: standard LLCs file no annual report with the Secretary of State. Unless your LLC elects to be taxed as a corporation (which triggers corporate return obligations with the Department of Revenue), the $110 formation fee is essentially the last thing the Secretary of State charges you.
The flip side of no statewide DBA registry is no statewide notice: nothing stops another business in a different county from trading under a similar name. If brand exclusivity matters, secure it structurally — form the entity under the name, or register a state or federal trademark.
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