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West Virginia LLC name search

The endings, restricted words, reservation and filing fee for a West Virginia LLC name, with the official search one click away.

How to search and claim an LLC name in West Virginia

  1. Search West Virginia's official entity records at no cost, leaving “LLC” off the name.
  2. Make sure the name ends with one of West Virginia's accepted endings, such as “Limited Liability Company” or “Limited Company”.
  3. Hold the name with a $15 reservation if you need time before filing.
  4. File the Articles of Organization with the West Virginia Secretary of State for $101 online ($100 by mail).

What a West Virginia LLC name must include

West Virginia accepts these endings for a limited liability company:

  • Limited Liability Company
  • Limited Company
  • L.L.C.
  • LLC
  • L.C.
  • LC
  • Ltd. Co.

A West Virginia LLC's name ends in “limited liability company”, “limited company”, “L.L.C.”, “LLC”, “L.C.”, “LC” or “Ltd. Co.”, with “Ltd.” and “Co.” allowed as abbreviations; a professional LLC uses “professional limited liability company”, “professional L.L.C.”, “professional LLC”, “P.L.L.C.” or “PLLC”. Corporate words such as “Corporation”, “Incorporated” or “Inc.” are off-limits to an LLC. Form NR-1 limits “banking” and “insurance” to LLCs that actually do that business, allows “engineer” or “engineering” only when the LLC practises professional engineering with a registered engineer among its principals, and bans “911”. A professional LLC gets its licensing board's approval of the name first and attaches the board's Verification of Eligibility to its articles. Names that look governmental or charitable without being so, and offensive names, are refused.

How West Virginia decides two names are the same

Your LLC's name must stand apart on the Secretary of State's records from every corporation, LP, LLP and LLC organized or authorized in West Virginia, from any name that's reserved or registered, and from the fictitious names foreign LLCs have had approved. The state's Business Name Guidance is strict: names that sound alike, would look alike on a billboard, or point to the same industry are treated as one, as with “Farthing Holdings” and “Farthing Holdco”. A changed ending (“Storm Chasers Ltd.” against “Storm Chasers Co.”), articles, conjunctions, punctuation, apostrophes, capital letters, plurals, a different tense or root form, or closing a space (“Cut Above” and “CutAbove”) leaves the name the same. If a name isn't distinguishable, you can still use it with the holder's written consent and promise to rename, a certified court judgment, or a merger, reorganization or purchase of substantially all its assets including the name (§ 31B-1-105(c),(d)).

Where the rules are written. W. Va. Code § 31B-1-105 (LLC name); § 31B-1-106 (reserved name); § 59-1-2 (fees); § 59-1-2a (annual/biennial reports); § 47-8-2 (assumed names of individuals and partnerships).

Searching for an LLC name in West Virginia

Run the free Business Organization Search on the most distinctive word of your LLC's name, using % as a wildcard. Whether trade names from the State Tax Department show up is unclear: the search page says they do, and the One Stop Business Portal says it checks Secretary of State records only. With sound-alike and industry tests in play, read past exact matches. A phone check with the Business Division at (304) 558-8000 is informal and doesn't secure anything.

Open the official West Virginia 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: West Virginia LLC name reservation

Reserve an LLC name with Form NR-1 for $15, by mail or in person with the Business Division. You get 120 days of exclusive use, and whoever reserves the name must also sign the Articles of Organization. An archived copy of the statute permits one more 120-day period and then bars the same people from reserving it again for a calendar year; the Secretary of State's pages don't mention the renewal. To pass a reservation to someone else, file a Notice of Transfer.

File a West Virginia name reservation

Forming the LLC in West Virginia

Articles of Organization (Form LLD-1) cost $100 on paper, or $101 through the One Stop Business Portal, which registers the LLC with the Secretary of State, the State Tax Department and WorkForce West Virginia in one transaction once you have an IRS EIN. Faster handling costs $25 for 24-hour or in-person same-day service, $250 for two hours and $500 for one hour. The articles alone don't let you trade: the State Tax Department's Business Registration Certificate, reported at $30, comes after the Secretary of State registration. LLCs owned by veterans or active-duty service members, and those formed by state residents younger than 30, don't pay the $100 registration fee. A professional LLC must carry $1 million of professional liability insurance.

File the Articles of Organization online

File the annual report from January 1 through June 30 every year, beginning the year after the LLC registers. It's $25 on time (plus $1.00 online) and $75 once June 30 has passed, and not filing can end in administrative dissolution. Companies owned by veterans or active-duty members skip the fee for their first four years. From July 1, 2026, an LLC in good standing with five consecutive on-time reports may switch to a biennial report, $50 every two years under the statute. The Secretary of State charges no franchise tax; we didn't research State Tax Department taxes. There's no publication. A Certificate of Existence is $10, issued only to active companies that are current on their reports.

When the LLC trades under another name

Any name your LLC uses besides its registered one must be registered as a trade name with the Secretary of State, online or on paper, for $25 ($1.00 extra online); the instructions warn of a fine or imprisonment otherwise. It has to be distinguishable from active names, but registering it doesn't keep others from using it. When the LLC stops using it, file a withdrawal, which also costs $25 (W. Va. Code § 47-8-4).

Sources

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 West Virginia Secretary of State confirms them.

Common questions

Can two LLCs in West Virginia have the same name?

No. West Virginia 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 West Virginia?

For a limited time (the official length couldn't be confirmed), for $15.

Does a new West Virginia LLC have to publish a notice?

No. West Virginia has no newspaper publication requirement for LLCs.

How much is the West Virginia LLC filing fee?

$101 online ($100 by mail), paid when you file the Articles of Organization.