Whether you’re searching for the perfect business name for your New Jersey S Corporation or New Jersey C Corporation, we can help. We’ve got all the information you need on how to conduct a New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) business search, plus business naming rules, assumed names and trademarks.
General Rules for Corporation Names
These rules generally apply to all corporations, wherever they're formed.
The name that you select cannot be claimed by any other business in the state. This is why it's so important to perform a New Jersey Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services corporation search before you begin your incorporation paperwork.
It’s not enough for your corporation name to be unique. It also cannot be comparable to the name of another business in the state. In addition, you cannot use any of the following features in an attempt to differentiate your corporation name from that of another business:
- Suffixes, such as Corporation, Company, Incorporated, Incorporation, Limited, Corp., Co., Inc., etc.
- Definite articles, such as “A,” “An” or “The”
- The conjunction "And" or “&"
- Numbers in place of numerals (or vice versa), e.g., "One World" is the same as "1 World"
- The singular, plural or possessive forms of words
- Abbreviations, punctuation, symbols, fonts, typefaces, etc.
All corporations must use one of the following in their names, usually at the end of the name: “Incorporated,” “Corporation,” “Limited” or their abbreviations.
Most states will not allow you to incorporate with names that:
- Are similar to the name of a federal or state agency or organization (e.g., FBI, FDA, New Jersey Enterprise Services, New Jersey Rangers, Treasury, etc.)
- Suggest affiliation with a federal or state agency or organization
- Use the term “Olympic” or any terms that are trademarks of the International Olympic Committee
- Imply a purpose that would be illegal for your business to carry out
Specific Rules for New Jersey Business Names
In addition to the general rules listed above, you'll need to follow some New Jersey corporation laws that apply to naming your business.
For example, per the state's code Title 14A, §§ 14A:2-2:
The name of a corporation or foreign corporation:
Shall not contain any word or phrase, or abbreviation or derivative thereof, which indicates or implies that it is organized for any purpose other than one or more of the purposes permitted by its certificate of incorporation.
Shall be such as to distinguish it upon the records in the office of the Secretary of State from the names of other for profit and nonprofit domestic corporations and for profit and nonprofit foreign corporations qualified to do business in this State and from the names of domestic limited partnerships and foreign limited partnerships and from names subject to a current name reservation or a current name registration, unless there is filed a certified copy of a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction establishing the prior right of the corporation to the use of such name in this State.
Shall not contain any word or phrase, or any abbreviation or derivative thereof, the use of which is prohibited or restricted by any other statute of this State, unless any such restrictions have been complied with.
Shall contain the word "corporation," "company," "incorporated," or shall contain an abbreviation of one of those words, or shall include the abbreviation Ltd. or shall contain words or abbreviations of like import in other languages, except that a foreign corporation which does not have those words or an abbreviation thereof in its name shall add at the end of its name one of those words or an abbreviation thereof for use in this State.
In addition, some words are restricted by New Jersey Code Title 14A, §§ 14A:2-2.2:
- "No corporation organized under the laws of the State of New Jersey nor any foreign corporation authorized to do business in New Jersey shall use the words "blind," or "handicapped," or term, terms, imprint, stamp, label or symbol suggesting such impairments, as part of its name unless the approval of the Attorney General, or his designee, is attached to the certificate of incorporation or application for amendment thereof. Such approval shall indicate that the words "blind" or "handicapped," or term, terms, imprint, stamp, label or symbol suggesting such impairments, as used in the corporate name will not tend to mislead or confuse the public into believing that the corporation is organized for charitable or nonprofit purposes for the blind or handicapped. Any corporation presently organized under the laws of this State or any foreign corporation presently authorized to do business in this State that employs the words "blind," or "handicapped," or term, terms, imprint, stamp, label or symbol suggesting such impairment, in its corporate name shall seek the approval of the Attorney General, or his designee, within 90 days after the effective date of this act if it wishes to continue the use of such words, terms, imprint, stamp, label or symbol in its corporate name."
Coming Up with the Ideal Business Name
The perfect business name can be elusive. Incfile has a complete guide to choosing the right business name, but essentially, you'll want to choose a name that will:
Appeal to your customers
Be memorable enough to stand out
Best represent your product or services
Not be used by another business
Need help coming up with business name ideas? Try our free name generator.
New Jersey Corporation Name Search
Once you have an idea of the name you want, perform a New Jersey business search to make sure another company isn't already using that name.
You can use the state's online portal to perform a name search.
You can also use our simple and convenient Business Name Search tool, which will search the state's business registry for you.
Trademarks and Service Marks
You must be careful that your New Jersey corporation name doesn't infringe on the trademark or service mark of another business. The easiest way to ensure you're not infringing is to perform a trademark search through Incfile. If the trademark isn't already in use, you can even register it yourself.
Let Incfile run a trademark search for you.
Register a DBA in New Jersey
You may do business under a name different from your corporation's legal name. While many states refer to this as a trade name, fictitious name or "doing business as" (DBA), it's an alternate name in New Jersey. You may decide to use an alternate name for a variety of reasons.
For example, your primary business may be called East Coast Marketing, Inc., and you have a chain called East Coast Events. You could register an alternate name just for that brand. You'd do that by filing the C-150G Registration of Alternate Name form with the NJ Treasury, DORES, or you can have Incfile do it on your behalf with our DBA service.
In order to keep your business names unique, you can also use the New Jersey DORES online portal to perform a New Jersey DBA name search to find out whether any other companies are already using the alternate name you want. We can also help you with this via our DBA name service.
Note: A trade name is not the same as a trademark. Learn more about trademark vs. DBA.
Register Your Business Name with the New Jersey DORES
You’ve performed a New Jersey Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services corporation search, checked availability, followed the naming rules and determined whether you need an alternate name. Now you can register your corporation name in one of two ways.
If you don’t want to form your corporation right away, you can reserve the business name. You'll do this by completing an Application for Reservation of an Entity Name and filing it with the New Jersey DORES. The name will be reserved for 120 days. If you're starting your business right away, you don't need to reserve a name.
If you’re ready to start your corporation, you can indicate your chosen business name when you file your Certificate of Formation with the New Jersey Treasury, DORES. Or you can have Incfile do this for you.
Create a Corporation in New Jersey for $0 + State Fee ($125)
FAQs About Naming Your Corporation in New Jersey
Use our free Business Name Search tool and enter your chosen business name. You can also perform a search of the state's registry, which will tell you whether any other corporations or LLCs in the state are already using that name.
Yes. Most corporations will be bound by general rules (applicable to all corporations) and specific rules (applicable in the state of New Jersey). We’ve detailed these rules above.
Yes. You can conduct business under an alternate name. Details are above.
Yes. The New Jersey Treasury, DORES allows you to reserve a name if you're not ready to start your business immediately. Details are above. If you do want to start your business right away, you don't need to reserve a name.
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