Registering a business name

In some states, go to the county seat and establish that no one else is using the name you want to use. If not, register it. In some states you will have to do a legal advertisement too, but registration forms and local papers make this easy.

If you're incorporating with the business name, you will need to contact the Secretary of State's office in the capital of your state to make sure that name isn't already being used. If not, reserve the name immediately. If you're using an attorney to help you incorporate, he or she should be able to handle this for you, or you can do it yourself.