How to Conduct a Kentucky Business Search

Before you start your business in Kentucky, you’ll need to decide what to name your company. You’ll want to find the perfect name that describes your business, represents you as a business owner, and is unique enough so customers can remember it.

After you’ve done a few brainstorming sessions, you can find out if your ideal business name is available by using the Kentucky business search website or calling the Office of the Secretary of State.

Kentucky Secretary of State business search contact information

You can contact the Kentucky Secretary of State:

• Address: 700 Capital Avenue, Suite 152, Frankfort, KY 40601
• Mailing address: P.O. Box 718, Frankfort, Kentucky 40602
• In-person services hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Telephone: (502) 564-3490
• Website: https://www.sos.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Step-by-Step Guide to a KY SOS Business Search

In the state of Kentucky, your business name must be distinguishable from all other in-use business names.

To find out if the business name you want to use is available, you’ll need to either call the Kentucky Secretary of State or perform a thorough business name search via the links below.

If you file paperwork to apply for a business name, and it is not available or doesn’t follow the Kentucky naming rules, your application will likely be rejected.

Step 1: Call or perform a search for your potential business name

There are a few different ways to discover if your desired business name is available in Kentucky—all of which are at no charge to you.

• Call the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office at (502) 564-3490 and they will check if the name is available for you.
• Write a letter to the Kentucky Secretary of State with your request.
• Perform a business name availability search to see if an active or inactive business is currently using the name.

Performing an online search is the fastest way to get results. If you’re doing an online search, follow these steps:

1. Enter the business name you’re interested in using.
2. Click “search” (hitting return on the keyboard will get a loading screen, not results).

No matter which search method you choose, it’s important to note that a preliminary search doesn’t guarantee a name’s availability upon application. You will still need to apply to use the name and receive approval.

Step 2: Read the results

Once you’ve received your results, you’ll see a long list of businesses.

Those in green are active businesses, and those in red are inactive. If any names are similar to yours, then you’ll need to choose a different business name in order to abide by distinguishability.

You can search by:

• Business name or organization number
• City name of principal office
• ZIP code of principal office

From the results, you can find out more information about the listed businesses. Such as:

• Organization number
• Profit or non-profit designation
• Standing
• Organization date
• Principal office address

If the business name you’re interested in is being used by an inactive business (one listed in red) you can call the Kentucky Secretary of State to find out if it would be available for use.

If you receive no results or none of the names are similar to the one you want to use, then your business name is likely available to use and you can proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Refine your search for accuracy

To ensure the accuracy of your search, you’ll want to run a few different searches with permutations of the business name you want to use.

If you’ve found the whole name to be unique, you should now limit your search to just the keywords in your business name. Searching the most unique words will show you if there are any businesses already using a similar enough name to not pass distinguishability.

A few other search tips:

• You don’t need to include business entity designations, such as LLC or Corporation, as the search will return all types of companies.
• There’s no need to include punctuation such as commas, periods, and apostrophes.
• Searches are not case-sensitive, so you don’t need to worry about uppercase and lowercase letters.

If you have any trouble with your search or want to be certain that you’ve done it adequately, you can call the Kentucky Secretary of State and they can check for you. Their phone number is (502) 564-3490. 

Step 4: Check if your domain name and social media handles are available

Once you’ve found a business name that seems available and that you like, you’ll next want to make sure that you’ll be able to get a website url and the social media handles you want to go with that business name.

You can search for your potential domain name on a domain host website like Squarespace or GoDaddy to see if it’s available. To search for social media handles, you’ll check each individual social media site to see if it’s already in use or not.

Step 5: Perform a trademark search

The Kentucky business name search tool assesses whether or not a business name is already in use in the state of Kentucky.

If you’re interested in taking your business across state lines or operating nationally, you might also want to file for federal trademark protection.

Before registering your business name, you can perform a trademark search to see if the name is already in use somewhere else in the U.S. 

Step 6: Apply for your business name

Once you feel you’ve found the perfect, available name for your business, it’s time to apply to use that business name. 

In Kentucky, you’ll apply through the Business Registration Portal for a new business. During this application, you’ll need to choose your business entity type and apply to use your chosen business name. 

Important naming guidelines in Kentucky

When naming your business in Kentucky, you’ll need to adhere to some simple naming guidelines. 

• The name of every business corporation must contain the word "Incorporated," "Corporation," "Limited," "Company," or the abbreviation "Inc.," "Corp.", "Ltd.," "Co." 
• The name of every limited liability company must contain the words "Limited Liability Company" or "Limited Company," or the abbreviations "LLC," or "LC."

Other guidelines include:

• Use the English alphabet and Arabic or Roman numerals
• For-profit entities cannot use the term cooperative
• Some special characters are allowed but not all

Kentucky business searches made easy with LegalZoom

Starting a business can be an overwhelming task. If you have one too many items on your checklist, we can help you cross one thing off. Our business search service does the legwork for you so you can get back to raising capital and brainstorming the big ideas. 

FAQs

How can I reserve a business name in Kentucky?

If you’re not quite ready to start your business but want to reserve your chosen business name, you can do that through the Kentucky Secretary of State. After paying a $15 filing fee and submitting the proper forms, your business name will be reserved for 120 days.

Why conduct a Kentucky business entity search or LLC lookup?

It’s important to check if a business name is taken because you can’t use a business name that is already in use. It’s important legally and for your own ability to market to have a unique business name.