How to search and claim an LLC name in Oregon
- Search Oregon's official entity records at no cost, leaving “LLC” off the name.
- Make sure the name ends with one of Oregon's accepted endings, such as “Limited Liability Company” or “L.L.C.”
- Hold the name with a $100 reservation for 120 days if you need time before filing.
- File the Articles of Organization with the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division for $100.
What an Oregon LLC name must include
Oregon accepts these endings for a limited liability company:
- Limited Liability Company
- L.L.C.
- LLC
An Oregon LLC name can't contain the words or abbreviations of other entity types, or anything derived from them: cooperative, corporation, corp., incorporated, Inc., limited partnership, L.P., LP, Ltd., limited liability partnership, L.L.P. or LLP (ORS 63.094(2)). Write it in the English alphabet with Arabic or Roman numerals and only incidental punctuation (ORS 63.094(3)), and don't suggest the LLC is a state agency or political subdivision unless you can prove it's authorized (OAR 160-010-0014(2)). Oregon's LLC endings are “limited liability company”, “L.L.C.” and “LLC”.
How Oregon decides two names are the same
Oregon judges names by how they look on paper. Homonyms like Fair and Fare are allowed side by side (OAR 160-010-0010), and a single different letter or numeral, a reordered set of key words, an inventive spelling or a number written differently is enough to separate two names. What doesn't separate them: an entity ending, punctuation, capitalization, spacing, a trailing “s”, or connecting words (a, an, and, at, by, for, in, plus, the, to, with) and the symbols &, @ and + (OAR 160-010-0013). Inactive records don't block anyone, so a dissolved or unrenewed company's name, or a lapsed reservation, is free to take (OAR 160-010-0011(4)).
Where the rules are written. ORS 63.094 (LLC name); ORS 63.097 (reservation); ORS 60.094 (corporate name); ORS ch. 648 (assumed business names); OAR 160-010-0010 to 160-010-0014 (name availability rules).
Searching for an LLC name in Oregon
Search Oregon's Business Registry for free. Since only active records block a name, a dissolved company in the results isn't a conflict, but read active names letter by letter: Oregon counts a one-letter difference.
Open the official Oregon 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.
Checked against 566,852 Oregon names. When Oregon is selected, the LLC name check also looks your name up in our copy of “Active Businesses - ALL”, published by the Oregon Secretary of State, Corporation Division and last updated September 29, 2026. Matches come back in three lists: the same words, longer names that open with yours, and names starting with the same two words. Each shows the entity's type, status and number. The state's own search is still the final word, since its records move ahead of our copy.
Holding the name: Oregon LLC name reservation
Reserving costs $100 for 120 days (ORS 63.097), on the Application for Name Reservation.
This fee couldn't be matched to a current official fee page, so ask the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division to confirm it before paying.
File an Oregon name reservation
Forming the LLC in Oregon
Articles of Organization cost $100, according to Internet Archive copies of the Secretary of State's fee page, since the live site refused our connections.
File the Articles of Organization online
The annual report, $100, is due each year by the anniversary of the original filing, and the Corporation Division sends a renewal notice about 45 days ahead (ORS 63.787). No newspaper notice is needed to form the LLC. State taxes weren't part of this research. A Certificate of Existence costs $10 and can be ordered online, arriving in minutes.
When the LLC trades under another name
To trade under another name, register it as an assumed business name with the Corporation Division before using it in a county where the LLC operates (ORS 648.007). The fee is $50, renewal is due every two years at $50, and an assumed name may not carry an entity identifier other than “company” unless every registrant is an entity named in it (OAR 160-010-0014(1)).
Sources
- Br fee schedule (PDF), sos.oregon.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Business registry certificates, sos.oregon.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Ordering copies and certificates, sos.oregon.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Obr annual report renewal, sos.oregon.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- sos.oregon.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Ors063, oregonlegislature.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Ors060, oregonlegislature.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Ors648, oregonlegislature.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Display division rules, secure.sos.state.or.us, 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.
Common questions
Can two LLCs in Oregon have the same name?
No. Oregon accepts a new LLC name only if it can be told apart from every name on its record. Adding or changing an ending such as “LLC” doesn't make a name different.
How long can I hold an LLC name in Oregon?
120 days, for $100.
Does a new Oregon LLC have to publish a notice?
No. Oregon has no newspaper publication requirement for LLCs.
How much is the Oregon LLC filing fee?
$100, paid when you file the Articles of Organization.