First time posting, mostly a lurker. I formed an LLC in my home state about six months ago for a small woodworking side business. Sole owner, no employees. I did the name search in my state, it was clear, so I filed. Later I found out a company in another state (not even close by) has almost the identical name. Not a trademark, just another LLC registration. They do something totally different, plumbing supplies vs handmade furniture, so I don't think there's customer confusion. But a friend told me this could still be a problem, maybe even a lawsuit? I have no idea if I should dissolve and rename, or if this is one of those things you just keep paperwork on and move on. Has anyone dealt with this?
LLC naming
I registered my LLC without realizing another state had the same name
LLC registration is state-by-state. Having the same name in another state is generally fine unless you ever register to do business there, or they hold a federal trademark. "Almost identical" matters too if it's confusingly close. If it's clearly distinct, I wouldn't panic.
Two different industries, two different states, no trademark. You're almost certainly fine. The internet makes this sound much scarier than it is.
Wait, so you can just have the same LLC name as someone in Ohio if you're in Arizona? That seems wild but I guess it's like how every town has a Main Street.
The friend who told you it could be a lawsuit, do they actually know business law or are thye the type to say "you can go to jail for that" about everything? Because I get a lot of that from my brother-in-law.
also worth checking: your state's naming rules. Most don't care what exists elsewhere at registration time, but if you ever expand operations, a DBA or a new registration may need to clear that state's database. That's when a duplicate bites you.
Not legal advice, and i'm not a lawyer, but I went through something similar. I ended up adding a distinctive word to my trade name so the storefront and invoices looked different, but left the legal LLC name alone. Cost me a new sign, that's it.
Adding a trade name angle is something I hadn't considered. Right now my business name is basically my legal name, which is why it feels exposed. If renaming the LLC is a mountain of paperwork and fees I'd rather not.
People assume a name collision is some legal ticking bmob. Half the country has a "Sunrise Auto" somewhere. As long as you're not impersonating them or selling in their market, you're a footnote in a database, not a defendant.
footnote in a database is going straight into my vocabulary
Only real risk I'd flag: if their name is super close and they're the the litigious type, you might get a stern letter. Keep your formation docs, keep records, don't ignore certified mail. That's cheap insurance.
A stern letter from a plumbing supply company in another state about your furniture LLC would be a great story though. I'd frame it.
One annoying practical thing: if you ever want the matching domain or social handles, the other company might already sit on them. That's been the bigger real-world headache for me than any legal letter.
And if you ever do plan to register in their state, run their secretary of state search first and expect to use a different name there. Filing the same name in a state where it's taken usually gets rejected and you lose the fee. Not catastrophic, just an noying.
Checked their site. They do commercial plumbing fixtures, wholesale, been around since the 80s. Honestly it reads like a completely separate world from what I do. I'm going to hold off on dissolving and just keep the records together. The trade name idea still nags at me, but I'll probably live with it until the domain thing forces my hand.
Hold off on dissolving is the right call for now. Dissolving and reforming is a lot of work to fix a problem nobody has complained about.