Name Registration in West Virginia
Protecting Your Active Company Name for Future
Business
Basic Rules
An eligible company that is active
and in good standing in another state or territory of the United
States may apply to register its
company name in West Virginia. Name registration will protect the name for future use
in this state.
To be eligible for name
registration, the company must be a corporation, limited liability
company, limited partnership, limited liability partnership,
voluntary association or business trust. Trade names, and
the names of sole proprietorships, general partnerships, and
unincorporated associations are not eligible for name
registration. The name must be available in order to be
registered -- see Name Availability
for more information.
Name registration begins at filing
and expires on a specific date.
-
For all company types, the annual expiration date
is December 31. The name registration
may be renewed between October 1 and December 31 for the following year.
If the renewal is not received by the December 31 expiration date, a
new application is required.
How To Apply
Check
name availability |
Search
the Business
Organizations Data System, then call (304) 558-8000
to confirm availability. A registered name must
meet the requirements set by law for the corporation or
other business type. |
Order
a home state certificate
|
Obtain
a good standing certificate or certificate of existence dated
within the current tax year from your home registration state to
submit with your application. Click the US map icon for
the corporate registration office in your home state. |
Complete
the application 
|
Click
the icon to download
the Name Registration
application form using Acrobat Reader. For information about
the Reader, see Acrobat Reader Help. |
File |
Submit
the application and $25 fee to the Business
Organizations Division. See Ordering
& Payment for more information. |
|
