Louisiana LLC name search

What a Louisiana LLC name must include

Louisiana accepts these endings for a limited liability company:

• Limited Liability Company
• L.L.C.
• L.C.

Several kinds of wording are barred from a Louisiana LLC name: “doing business as” or “d/b/a”, anything suggesting a government agency or, deceptively, a charity or nonprofit, an unlawful purpose, and immoral or scandalous matter. Financial terms such as bank, banker, banking, savings, safe deposit, trust, trustee, building and loan, homestead and credit union need the Commissioner of Financial Institutions' written approval. Before using engineer, engineering, surveyor or surveying, give the Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board 10 days' notice; architecture-related names require notice to the State Board of Architectural Examiners (La. R.S. 12:1306).

How Louisiana decides two names are the same

Louisiana sets a broad comparison: your LLC's name must be distinguishable from all Louisiana and registered foreign corporations, partnerships and LLCs, from reserved names, and from trade names on file with the Secretary of State (La. R.S. 12:1306(A)(3)).

Where the rules are written. La. R.S. 12:1306 (LLC name); 12:1307 (reservation).

Searching for an LLC name in Louisiana

Use the free Commercial Database search and type the name without L.L.C. or Inc. The Commercial Division will also give a preliminary answer on availability over the phone.

Open the official Louisiana entity search

Leave the ending off when you search, so every version of the name shows up, then compare each result word by word. If one matches apart from spacing, punctuation or a plural, change a real word in your name.

Holding the name: Louisiana LLC name reservation

An LLC name can be held for 120 days for $25. Reserve it online through geauxBIZ, or fax or post the paper form and pay by check or money order (La. R.S. 12:1307).

File a Louisiana name reservation

Forming the LLC in Louisiana

Louisiana LLCs file Articles of Organization together with an Initial Report. The fee became $125 on October 1, 2026, under Act 921 of 2026; before that it was $100. geauxBIZ takes the filing online.

File the Articles of Organization (with Initial Report) online

Each year the LLC files an annual report, which also went up on October 1, 2026, to $35 from $30. There's no franchise tax on LLCs and no newspaper notice. A Certificate of Good Standing is printed from the Commercial Database, and the code on it lets anyone reprint a copy with the same date for 120 days.

When the LLC trades under another name

Registering a trade name with the Secretary of State costs $95 since October 1, 2026 (previously $75), and the registration lasts 10 years with renewal available. Registered trade names count when new LLC and corporation names are compared.

Sources

• Fee changes 2026 (PDF), static.sos.la.gov, checked 2026-10-07
• Forms fee schedule, sos.la.gov, checked 2026-10-07
• Frequently asked questions, sos.la.gov, checked 2026-10-07
• legis.la.gov, checked 2026-10-07

These are the official pages behind every fact above. If one of them now says something different, it's right and this page is out of date.

A few were read from search results, not the page itself, because the site refused direct requests; treat the facts they back as provisional until the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) confirms them.