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    Kansas Business Filing Center: Simple Steps for Success

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Name Availability

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Name Availability Guidelines

Laws governing business entities generally require that the entity’s name be unique from the names of other entities doing business in the state. States typically employ one of the following legal standards to determine if a name is available for use: “distinguishable upon the record” or “deceptively similar.” Kansas uses the standard of “distinguishable upon the record”, which requires that the entity’s name be distinguishable from other entity names already on file with the Secretary of State. This standard means that even though the proposed name may look or sound similar, a small difference in spelling, or the addition of one extra letter or word, is enough to allow the name.

The Kansas Secretary of State uses the following guidelines to determine if a name is available:

1. The plural form of a word is distinguishable from the singular word.
      Example: “Cat” and “Cats”

2. Numbers are distinguishable from words representing the number.
      Example: “10” and “ten"

3. The following words, or abbreviations thereof, are eliminated from the name prior to searching for availability, no matter where the words occur in the name:

  • Association
  • Chartered
  • Church
  • Club
  • College
  • Company
  • Co
  • Corporation
  • Corp
  • Foundation
  • Fund
  • Incorporated
  • Inc
  • Institute
  • Limited Liability Company
  • LLC
  • Limited Company
  • LC
  • Limited Partnership
  • LP
  • Limited
  • LTD
  • Limited Liability Partnership
  • LLP
  • Professional Association
  • PA
  • PBC
  • Registered Limited Liability Partnership
  • RLLP
  • Society
  • SPBLLC
  • Syndicate
  • Union
  • University

4. The following prepositions, articles, and conjunctions are eliminated prior to searching for availability, no matter where the words occur in the name:

  • An
  • And
  • &
  • The
  • To
  • With

5. The letter “a” is eliminated only if it appears as an article in the name.
      Examples:

  • Like A Walk In The Park, LLC (“A” is eliminated)
  • A And B Bakery, Inc. (“A” is not eliminated)

6. The following symbols are not permitted to be used in a name in online applications:

7. The following characters are not eliminated, nor are they converted to the word equivalent. Symbols, punctuation marks, and special characters are eliminated prior to searching for name availability.

  • 0-9
  • A-Z

8. The following Roman numerals are entered by the Secretary of State as the alphabetic equivalent, not the number equivalent:

Exceptions

The Secretary of State may, at its discretion, accept a name for filing in the following instances:

  1. When initials are used in the name that, when the punctuation between the initials is disregarded, spell an article, preposition, conjunction or word of incorporation, and use of an article, preposition, conjunction, or word of incorporation is not intended;
  2. When an alphabetical character that is intended to be a Roman numeral is used in a name and causes a conflict with another name using the same character as a letter;
  3. When separate words are used in a name that constitute a name already on record when the space(s) between the words are disregarded.

Kansas law requires that the names of business entities that have been forfeited or cancelled remain unavailable for one year.

 

Questions & Answers

How do I register a name?
Who needs to reserve a name?
What are the guidelines for searching a name to find out if it is available?



How do I register a name?

The state of Kansas does not have name registration. A name may be reserved, if available for 120 days and a non-refundable fee of $30. A name that is reserved cannot be used by any other entity to form a business during the 120-day period.


Who needs to reserve a name?

Name reservation is not required. A name reservation can be used to reserve a particular name or multiple names, so the name will be available when you are ready to complete a business formation filing.



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