Delaware Name Reservation Helper (free 2026 tool)

What this tool does

Walks through Delaware's Name Reservation form: confirm availability, select 120-day reservation period, pay $75 fee. Useful when finalizing co-founder agreements before full Certificate of Formation filing.

Who needs it

Founders who need to lock in an LLC name before full formation.

How it works

1. Enter proposed name.
2. Tool confirms availability via Delaware iCIS.
3. Walks through Name Reservation submission.
4. Confirms 120-day window and fee.

Inputs

• Proposed LLC name

Output

Name Reservation submission guide.

What does the Name Reservation Helper actually do?

This tool walks you through a single, specific filing with the Delaware Division of Corporations: the Application for Reservation of Limited Liability Company Name. It is not the formation filing, and it does not create your company. What it does is help you confirm that a proposed name appears available, then guide you through submitting the reservation form so that the name is held for you for 120 days. The fee for that reservation is $75. The helper takes the name you type in, checks it against the Delaware iCIS records so you can see whether an identical or confusingly similar entity already exists, and then walks you step by step through the reservation submission and confirms the 120-day window and the $75 charge.

For a non-resident founder, the value here is timing. You often need to settle the company name before you and your co-founders have signed an operating agreement or wired in capital, and you do not want to file the full Certificate of Formation until those details are locked. Reserving the name buys you a window to finish those conversations without the risk that someone else registers the exact name you have been building a brand around. The tool exists to make that narrow task less confusing, because the reservation form, the availability check, and the formation filing are three separate things that founders routinely conflate. Treat this helper as the bridge between "we think we have a name" and "we are ready to file the Certificate of Formation for $110."

How do you read the single input the tool asks for?

The only input is the proposed LLC name, and how you type it matters more than people expect. Delaware requires that a limited liability company name contain a recognized designator, so your entry should end with "LLC," "L.L.C.," "Limited Liability Company," or an accepted variant. If you leave the designator off, the availability check is still informative, but the name you ultimately reserve must carry it, so enter the name exactly as you intend it to appear on the Certificate of Formation. Capitalization and spacing are generally not what makes two names distinguishable in Delaware's eyes, so do not assume that "BlueHarbor LLC" clears simply because an existing "Blue Harbor LLC" uses a space.

Type the full name you actually want, including any punctuation and numerals. The tool reads that string and queries the Delaware iCIS database, which is the same system the Division uses internally. A few practical pointers for the input field:

• Include the designator you plan to use so the result reflects the real, complete name.
• Enter one candidate at a time so you can read each availability result clearly.
• Avoid restricted words such as "bank," "trust," or "insurance" unless you hold the approvals Delaware requires for them.
• Keep a short list of backups, because the first choice for a common word is frequently taken.

How do you interpret the availability result the tool returns?

The output is a name availability read plus a guided path to the reservation submission. When the tool reports that a name appears available, it means no identical or confusingly similar active entity was found in iCIS at the moment of the check. That is a strong signal, but it is not a legal guarantee. Delaware makes the final determination when the reservation or formation document is processed, and availability can change between your check and your filing if someone else reserves the same name first. This is exactly why the helper pushes you toward filing the reservation promptly rather than treating the green result as a permanent claim.

When the tool flags a conflict, read it as a prompt to adjust, not a dead end. Delaware's standard is whether your name is distinguishable on the record from existing entities, so small differences sometimes clear and sometimes do not. Here is how to act on each result:

• Available: move quickly to the reservation step, because the window to lose it is real.
• Conflict: alter a distinctive word, not just the designator, and re-check.
• Uncertain or borderline: assume it will be treated as confusingly similar and pick a cleaner alternative.
• Restricted term detected: either drop the term or be ready to supply Delaware's required approvals.

Why is the reservation period exactly 120 days?

The 120-day figure is not arbitrary and it is not something the tool invents. It is the statutory reservation period that Delaware grants when you file the Application for Reservation of Limited Liability Company Name. Once your reservation is accepted, the name is held exclusively for you for 120 days from the date of filing. During that window, no other applicant can reserve or form an entity under that name, which gives you a protected runway to finish whatever is holding up your formation. The helper confirms this window so you know precisely how long your protection lasts and can plan your Certificate of Formation filing accordingly.

Treat the 120 days as a planning horizon, not a deadline to ignore until the end. A common pattern for non-resident founders is to reserve the name, then spend several weeks finalizing co-founder equity splits, drafting the operating agreement, and lining up a registered agent. If you reserve on the first of a month, count forward 120 days and mark the expiration on your calendar. If your formation is going to slip past that date, you generally can renew the reservation by filing again and paying the fee a second time, but it is cleaner to file the Certificate of Formation before expiry so the name converts into a live entity rather than lapsing back into the available pool.

A worked example: a non-resident founder reserving a name

Imagine a founder based in Lagos who is building a software product and has settled on "Northbridge Analytics LLC." Two co-founders still need to sign the operating agreement, and the bank account, likely with Mercury or Wise, will not open until the company exists. The founder does not want to file the $110 Certificate of Formation yet, but is anxious that a competitor might grab the name. They open this helper, type "Northbridge Analytics LLC," and the tool checks iCIS and reports the name appears available. The helper then walks them through the reservation submission and confirms a 120-day hold for the $75 fee.

With the name reserved, the founder has roughly four months to finish the operating agreement and confirm the registered agent before filing the Certificate of Formation. Suppose the co-founder discussions take six weeks. That is well inside the window, so the founder files the Certificate of Formation, the reserved name is consumed by the new entity, and the company is live. After formation they apply for an EIN using Form SS-4, which for an applicant without a US Social Security number is free and typically returns in about 8 to 10 business days by fax. The reservation step did its narrow job: it protected the name during the gap between deciding and filing, for a known $75 cost.

What is the underlying rule and fee the tool is built on?

The helper is built around two concrete facts: Delaware allows a name to be reserved for 120 days, and the filing fee for that reservation is $75. Everything the tool displays about timing and cost traces back to those two numbers. The availability portion is built on Delaware's iCIS entity database, which records every active and reserved name in the state. The distinguishability standard, meaning your name must be distinct on the record from existing entities, is the legal test the Division applies, and the tool surfaces likely conflicts against it so you are not surprised at filing time.

It helps to keep the reservation fee separate in your head from the other costs you will encounter. The $75 reservation fee is optional and only applies if you choose to lock the name before formation. The Certificate of Formation that creates the LLC costs $110 and is a separate filing. After that, Delaware charges a flat $300 annual franchise tax due June 1 each year, with a $200 late penalty plus 1.5% interest per month if you miss it. None of those are what this tool charges. The helper is concerned only with the $75 reservation and the 120-day window, and it should never lead you to believe the reservation is a substitute for the formation filing or the annual tax.

What are the most common mistakes founders make here?

The single most frequent error is believing the reservation creates the company. It does not. A reservation holds a name, nothing more, and your LLC does not exist, cannot get an EIN, and cannot open a bank account until you file the Certificate of Formation for $110. Founders who stop after the reservation sometimes lose months thinking they are formed when they are not. A second common mistake is assuming an available result is permanent. Availability is a snapshot, and the only way to secure the name is to file the reservation or the formation document.

Other recurring mistakes cluster around the name itself and the timing:

• Changing only the designator to dodge a conflict, which rarely makes a name distinguishable in Delaware.
• Forgetting the designator entirely, so the reserved name does not match the intended legal name.
• Using a restricted term without the approvals Delaware requires, which stalls the filing.
• Letting the 120-day window lapse and having to pay the $75 again, or losing the name to another applicant.
• Reserving a name the founder is not actually committed to, then wanting to change it after formation, which means a separate amendment filing.

Do non-residents need a name reservation at all?

Many founders skip the reservation entirely and go straight to the Certificate of Formation, and for a lot of cases that is the sensible choice. If you and your co-founders are aligned and ready to file today, the $110 formation filing both creates the company and claims the name in one step, so paying an extra $75 to reserve first adds cost without much benefit. The reservation earns its keep specifically when there is a gap between choosing the name and being able to form, such as unsigned co-founder agreements, pending capital, or a registered agent you have not yet engaged.

For non-resident founders, the reservation can also reduce anxiety during slower steps that are outside your control. If you are coordinating across time zones, waiting on documents, or comparing banking options across Mercury, Wise, Relay, Lili, and Payoneer before committing, a reserved name removes one variable from the stack. Weigh the $75 against the value of that certainty. If your name is generic enough that a conflict is unlikely and your formation is days away, you can probably skip it. If the name is distinctive, central to your brand, and your formation is weeks out, the reservation is a reasonable, low cost insurance against losing it.

What edge cases can trip up the availability check?

A few situations produce results that surprise founders. The first is the confusingly similar standard. Delaware does not only block identical names, so "Summit Capital LLC" can be refused because "Summit Capitol LLC" already exists even though the spelling differs. The availability check surfaces likely conflicts of this kind, but the final call belongs to the Division at processing time. A second edge case is restricted and regulated words. Terms tied to banking, trust, insurance, and certain professional services require approvals, and a name containing them may appear technically unused yet still cannot be reserved without that paperwork.

Other edge cases to watch for:

• Trademark conflicts: a name can be available in Delaware's entity records yet still infringe a federal trademark, which the iCIS check does not evaluate.
• Recently dissolved entities: a name freed by a dissolution may show as available but could be claimed by the prior owner reinstating.
• Punctuation and abbreviations: variants like "and" versus "&" are usually not treated as distinguishing.
• Reserved but unformed names: another founder's active reservation will block you even though no company exists under it yet.

What should you do with the result once you have it?

If the tool shows your name available and you are confident in it, the productive next move depends on your timeline. When formation is imminent, you can often skip the reservation and file the Certificate of Formation directly, since that single $110 filing claims the name. When formation is weeks away, complete the reservation the helper walks you through, pay the $75, and record the 120-day expiration date. Either way, the availability read you just generated is the signal that your preferred name is worth pursuing rather than abandoning.

After the reservation is in place, use the window deliberately. Finish the operating agreement, confirm your registered agent, and prepare to file the Certificate of Formation before the 120 days run out. Once the LLC is formed, your sequence continues with the EIN via Form SS-4, opening a business bank account, and tracking the $300 franchise tax due June 1. Remember that a US-formed LLC has been exempt from the federal Beneficial Ownership Information report since the FinCEN interim final rule of March 26, 2025, so for domestic filers that step is off your list, though foreign-owned single-member LLCs still file Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 and face a $25,000 penalty for missing it. The reservation result is the first checkpoint in that longer path.

How does the reservation connect to your full formation timeline?

It helps to see where this single filing sits in the sequence a non-resident founder typically follows. The reservation is an optional front step. After it, or instead of it, you file the Certificate of Formation for $110, which is the moment the company legally exists. From there the to-do list opens up: obtain the EIN, open a bank account, and stay current on the annual franchise tax. The helper deliberately scopes itself to the reservation so you do not confuse holding a name with forming a company, but understanding the full arc keeps you from stalling after the reservation is done.

Mapping it out concretely:

• Optional: reserve the name for $75 and hold it 120 days using this tool.
• Form the company by filing the Certificate of Formation for $110.
• Apply for the EIN with Form SS-4, free, roughly 8 to 10 business days.
• Open a US business account with a provider such as Mercury, Wise, Relay, Lili, or Payoneer.
• Pay the $300 franchise tax by June 1 each year to avoid the $200 penalty and 1.5% monthly interest.
• File Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 if you are a foreign-owned single-member LLC, mindful of the $25,000 penalty.

Seen this way, the Name Reservation Helper is a small, well-defined tool that solves one timing problem cleanly. It tells you whether your name looks clear, walks you through holding it for 120 days at a $75 cost, and then hands you back to the larger formation process with one less thing to worry about.

How do you renew a reservation if 120 days is not enough?

Sometimes the formation slips. A co-founder goes quiet, a funding round drags, or a registered agent decision stalls, and suddenly the 120-day window the helper confirmed is closing while your name is still only reserved rather than formed. The practical answer is that the reservation can be filed again. Delaware does not bar you from submitting a fresh Application for Reservation of Limited Liability Company Name for the same string, and a new acceptance starts a new 120-day clock. The cost of doing so is another $75, because the fee attaches to each reservation filing rather than to the name itself. The helper's availability check is worth re-running before you re-file, since the state of the iCIS record can shift in four months even for a name you previously held.

Whether re-filing is the right move depends on your situation. Consider these points before paying a second $75:

• If formation is only a week or two out, it is often cleaner to push to file the $110 Certificate of Formation and let it consume the name directly rather than renewing.
• If the delay is open ended, a second reservation buys another 120 days of certainty, but stacking renewals indefinitely is a sign the formation itself needs attention.
• Re-run the availability check first, because a lapsed reservation briefly returns the name to the available pool and another applicant could have moved on it.
• Keep the original filing confirmation, since it documents your continuous intent to use the name if a dispute ever arises.

How is a name reservation different from a trademark or a DBA?

Founders frequently assume that reserving a name in Delaware locks down their brand everywhere, and that assumption causes trouble. A reservation is narrow: it holds a specific entity name within Delaware's corporate registry for 120 days so no one else can form or reserve under it in that state. It says nothing about your rights to use the name as a brand, a product name, or a logo. A federal trademark, by contrast, is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and protects the commercial use of a mark across the country within your class of goods or services. The two systems do not talk to each other, so a name can clear the iCIS check the helper runs and still collide with a registered trademark owned by an unrelated company.

A "doing business as" name, or DBA, is a third and separate concept. It is a trade name registered at the state or county level that lets an existing entity operate under a different public-facing name. Here is how to keep the three straight:

• Delaware name reservation: holds the exact legal entity name in Delaware for 120 days for $75, an availability play only.
• Federal trademark: protects brand use nationally within a class, filed with the USPTO, unrelated to entity formation.
• DBA or trade name: a public operating name for an entity that already exists, registered where you actually do business.

The takeaway is that clearing this tool is a corporate-registry result, not a brand-protection result. If your name is central to a product you intend to market, treat a trademark search as a separate task that this helper does not perform.

Can a reservation be transferred to someone else?

The reservation is tied to the applicant who filed it, but Delaware does allow the benefit of a name reservation to be transferred to another party during the 120-day window. This matters in a handful of real scenarios. A founder who reserved a name personally may want the eventual LLC, once formed, or a co-founder to be the one who carries the reservation forward. A formation agent who reserved a name on a client's behalf may need to assign it to the client. The transfer is handled by filing a notice of the transfer with the Division, signed by the person who originally made the reservation, identifying the party to whom it is being transferred. The helper itself focuses on the initial reservation, so a transfer is a follow-on filing you would handle directly with the Division rather than through this tool.

For most solo non-resident founders, transfers never come up. You reserve in your own name, then you form the company in your own name, and the reservation simply converts into the entity. The transfer mechanism is mainly relevant when there is a change in who controls the formation between the reservation date and the formation date. If that applies to you, plan the transfer well inside the 120-day window rather than at the edge of it, because once the reservation lapses there is nothing left to transfer. As with the underlying reservation, keep written confirmation of the transfer so the chain from the original applicant to the final entity is documented if anyone ever questions who was entitled to the name.

What records should you keep after you reserve a name?

A name reservation generates a small but useful paper trail, and keeping it organized saves you from confusion later. When Delaware accepts the reservation, you receive a confirmation showing the reserved name, the filing date, and the 120-day expiration. Save that document somewhere durable, because it is the proof that you held the name and the source of truth for when your protection ends. Founders who treat the confirmation as disposable often lose track of the exact expiration and either re-file unnecessarily or let the window close. The availability read this helper produces is also worth a screenshot, since it captures the moment-in-time state of the iCIS record you relied on.

Beyond the confirmation itself, a tidy record set keeps your formation moving. Consider holding the following together:

• The reservation confirmation with the filing date and the calculated 120-day expiration written next to it.
• The availability result you generated, in case a later conflict prompts a question about what the record showed.
• A calendar reminder set well before the expiration so you decide to form, renew, or release with time to spare.
• Any list of backup names you cleared, so you are not starting from scratch if your first choice falls through.

Once you file the $110 Certificate of Formation and the name converts into a live entity, the reservation record becomes historical, but it is still worth archiving alongside your formation documents. It shows a clean, continuous claim on the name from reservation through formation, which is the kind of tidy file that makes future steps such as opening a bank account or responding to a counterparty's due diligence go more smoothly.