Before anything else — the operating agreement, the EIN, the bank account — a new Florida business needs a name the state will actually accept. Type it below. We run it against the firm's copy of the Division of Corporations registry, apply the same distinguishability test the Division applies, and then flag the thing the state never checks: whether a name Florida will happily register is one you could be sued over.

What Florida actually tests

Every Florida naming statute says the same thing in the same words: a name must be distinguishable from the names of all other entities or filings on record with the Department of State. That is the whole test. It is not a likelihood-of-confusion standard, it is not a judgment call, and the clerk processing your Articles is not weighing whether two businesses might be mistaken for one another.

The statutes then close off the obvious workarounds by listing five differences that do not count. A name that differs from one already on file by nothing but these is the same name:

  1. A suffix. Swapping "Inc." for "LLC" changes nothing. Neither does dropping it.
  2. A definite or indefinite article. "The" and "A" are invisible to the test.
  3. The word "and" and the symbol "&". They are the same character as far as the state is concerned.
  4. The singular, plural, or possessive form of a word. "Bakery," "Bakeries" and "Bakery's" are one word.
  5. A punctuation mark or a symbol. Commas, periods, hyphens and spacing carry no weight.

Run those five removals on both names and compare what is left. That is exactly what the tool above does, and it is why it can tell you a name is taken as a fact rather than as a guess.

And what it does not test

One ordinary word of difference clears the statute. That is a low bar, and clients regularly read a successful filing as the state's blessing on the name. It is not. The Division does not search trademarks, does not consider what industry you are in, and does not care that a customer looking for the other company would land on yours.

Each statute says so outright: the name on file is for public notice only and does not create any presumption of ownership beyond the common law. Trademark rights come from somewhere else entirely — use in commerce, a Florida registration, or a federal registration with the USPTO. A name can be filed, active, and infringing all at once.

That gap is the reason the tool shows you the near misses the state has no objection to, and asks a model which of them a customer would actually confuse. It is a screening step, not a clearance search. A real clearance opinion looks at federal and state trademark registers, common-law use, and domain and social handles, and a lawyer signs it.

The ending your name has to carry

Each entity type has to announce itself in its own name. Getting this wrong is the most common reason a first-time filing comes back.

EntityWhat the name must containAuthority
LLCLimited Liability Company, L.L.C., LLC, or LCs. 605.0112(1)(a)
Professional LLCProfessional Limited Liability Company, PLLC, P.L., or Chartereds. 621.12
CorporationCorporation, Company, Incorporated, Corp., Inc., or Co.s. 607.0401(1)(a)
Professional associationProfessional Association, P.A., or Chartered — and never Inc., Corp. or Co.s. 621.12
Not-for-profitCorporation, Incorporated, Corp. or Inc. — but not Company or Co.s. 617.0401(1)(a)
Limited partnershipLimited Partnership, Limited, L.P., Ltd., or LPs. 620.1108(1)
LLLPLimited Liability Limited Partnership, L.L.L.P., or LLLPs. 620.1108(2)

Two of those rows are traps. A not-for-profit may not call itself a Company, though a profit corporation may. And a professional association is forbidden from using any word that makes it look like an ordinary corporation — no "Inc.," no "Corp.," no "Co." — which catches a lot of medical and dental practices that filed as ordinary corporations first.

Words that need somebody's permission

These do not usually stop a filing. They come from other chapters of Florida law, enforced by other agencies, and they reach the business after it is already operating under the name — which is the expensive way to find out.

WordsWhy it mattersAuthority
Bank, banc, banco, banker, banking, trust company, savings bank, credit unionReserved to financial institutions and a short list of exceptions. The Office of Financial Regulation enforces it.s. 655.922(2)
Insurance, assurance, surety, casualty, indemnity, underwritersTransacting insurance needs a certificate of authority; selling it needs an agent or agency licence, and the agency is licensed under its own name.ss. 624.401, 626.112
Engineering, architecture, surveying, certified public accountantThe firm itself needs a certificate of authorization from its board, and the board reviews the firm name.ss. 471.023, 481.219, 473.3101
University, college, academy, seminary, instituteHolding the business out as a postsecondary school requires licensure or an exemption under chapter 1005.ss. 1005.03, 1005.04
Anything implying a government agencyThis one the Division does raise at the counter: a name may not state or imply a connection with a state or federal agency or a federally chartered entity.ss. 607.0401(1)(c), 605.0112(1)(c)
Olympic, Olympiad, ParalympicCongress gave the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee an exclusive right in these words that works like a trademark without the usual defenses.36 U.S.C. § 220506

Getting from a name to a filed entity

  1. Check the name against the registry. Use the tool above, or search Sunbiz directly. Search the distinctive words only — leave off "LLC" and "The," because the state ignores them anyway.
  2. Check it as a trademark. Search the USPTO's TESS database and Florida's trademark registry for the distinctive words, in your industry. Free, and it catches the problem the state will not.
  3. Check the name is usable. The domain, the social handles, and whether anyone local is already trading under it without having registered anything.
  4. File the Articles. Florida will hold a name for 120 days for a fee, by letter, but the Articles cost little more and actually create the entity. Nothing protects a name in between.
  5. Wait for the acknowledgment. The Division's own instructions say not to use or assume a name is approved until the filing acknowledgment arrives. Order the signage after that, not before.

Frequently asked questions

Does Florida reject a name just for being similar to another one?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding about Sunbiz. Florida applies one mechanical test: the name must be distinguishable from every name already on file. A single real word of difference clears it. "Sunshine Bakery, LLC" does not block "Sunshine Bakery of Miami, LLC," and the Division of Corporations will file the second name without comment. What the state will not do is protect you from the first bakery's trademark lawyer, which is a separate body of law the filing clerk has nothing to do with.
What differences does Florida say never make a name distinguishable?
Five, and they are identical in the LLC, corporation, nonprofit and limited partnership statutes: a suffix, a definite or indefinite article, the word "and" and the symbol "&", the singular, plural or possessive form of a word, and a punctuation mark or symbol. So changing "Inc." to "LLC," adding "The," swapping "and" for "&," pluralizing a word, or moving a comma does nothing at all.
Is a name compared only against its own entity type?
No. The comparison runs against every entity and filing on record, so an LLC name can be blocked by a corporation and vice versa. The exceptions are fictitious name registrations, general partnership registrations and limited liability partnership statements, which are excluded from the comparison — which is also why two businesses can hold the identical fictitious name.
The name I want belongs to a dissolved company. Can I take it?
Sometimes, but not on the strength of the word "inactive" alone. An administratively dissolved Florida entity can be reinstated and keeps a claim on its name in the meantime, and Sunbiz flags names it is holding. Treat an inactive filing on a name you want as a question to answer rather than an obstacle that has gone away.
Can I use a name that is not distinguishable if the other company agrees?
Yes. Each of the naming statutes lets you register an otherwise unavailable name with the written consent of the other entity, filed at the same time as the name. The corporate statute adds that the name still may not be identical to the other entity's name, and a nonprofit can alternatively produce a court judgment establishing its right to the name.
Can I hold a name while I get organized?
Florida will reserve a name for 120 days for a fee, but the reservation is made by letter to the Division rather than online. Most clients skip it: the Articles cost little more than the reservation and actually create the entity. Nothing protects a name between the day you decide on it and the day the state files it.
Does registering the name give me the trademark?
No, and every one of the naming statutes says so in the same words: the name on file is for public notice only and creates no presumption of ownership beyond what common law already gives you. Trademark rights come from use in commerce, from a Florida registration with the Department of State, or from a federal registration with the USPTO. A cleared name on Sunbiz and an infringement claim are entirely compatible.
Is this tool a legal opinion?
No. It applies the statutory test to the state's own data and flags issues worth a second look, which is genuinely useful and not the same thing as advice about your business. The Division makes the final call when it processes your filing, and it says plainly not to use a name until you have the filing acknowledgment in hand.

This tool screens a proposed name against the firm's copy of the Florida Division of Corporations registry and against the naming statutes. It is general information, not legal advice, it is not a trademark clearance search, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Division decides name availability when it processes a filing; do not rely on a name until you receive its filing acknowledgment.