Choosing and checking your charity's name

This guide is for founders choosing a name for a new charity, and for groups that have been using an informal name and are about to incorporate. Your name goes on your articles of incorporation, your IRS paperwork, your bank account, your website and every thank-you letter. Changing it later costs time, money and recognition. After reading, you'll know what makes a good name, how to check that you can use it, and the extra rules some states apply.

Choosing a name is the first task in the forming step of the founder pathway. It helps to have your mission clear first, since a good name grows out of it.

What makes a good name

• Easy to say and spell. People will hear it on the radio, say it to friends and type it into a search box.
• Clear about what you do or who you serve, or at least not misleading about it.
• Room to grow. "Eastside Tuesday Food Pantry" is stuck if you add Saturdays or move across town.
• Distinct from other charities, especially ones nearby or in the same field. Donors who confuse you with another group may give to them instead, or blame you for their mistakes.
• Short enough for a web address and social handle, or with a sensible short form.

Make a shortlist of three to five names before you start checking. Your first choice may not be available.

Step 1: Search your state's business name records

Each state keeps a record of corporations and other entities formed or registered there, usually at the secretary of state's office, and offers a free online search. Your nonprofit corporation's name generally has to be different enough from names already on file. Examples of how states describe this:

• California says a corporation's name must be "distinguishable in the records" from other corporations on file or reserved, and "not likely to mislead the public." Its online Business Search is a preliminary check, not a formal ruling, and names are checked only against the same type of entity (corporation names against other corporations).
• Texas says a filing entity's name must be "distinguishable in the records of the secretary of state" from existing entities and reservations. Texas will give a preliminary view on availability by phone or email, but a final decision is made only when your filing is processed.
• Florida offers a search of its records by name on its Division of Corporations site, to check whether a corporation name is distinguishable and available.

Search for your exact name and close variations: with and without "the," with "&" and "and," singular and plural. A name that differs only in punctuation, spacing, capital letters, or "&" instead of "and" may not count as different.

Reserving a name

Many states let you reserve a name while you prepare your paperwork. California allows a 60-day reservation; Texas allows 120 days. Check your own state's fees and periods. A reservation doesn't guarantee your name will pass every rule, California, for example, reviews names again when you file.

Step 2: Check your state's naming rules

States set rules about what a corporation name may include. Read your state's filing instructions for nonprofit corporations: some ask for a word like "Corporation," "Incorporated" or an abbreviation, and some don't for nonprofits.

Many states also restrict words that could mislead the public. California's regulations, for example, treat a name as likely to mislead if it:

• falsely suggests a link to government, for example by combining a place name with words like "Agency," "Commission," "Department," "Bureau," "Division," "Municipal" or "Board"
• falsely suggests the organization is an insurer, using words like "insurance," "assurance" or "surety"
• uses "Foundation" or "Charitable Foundation" at the end of the name of a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation (a different type from a public benefit corporation)

California also requires special approval before a corporation uses words like "bank," "trust," "trustee" or "credit union," and limits "cooperative." Other states have their own lists. If your name includes anything that sounds official, financial or professional, check before you file.

Step 3: Search for trademarks

Your state's search only covers entity names in that state. It doesn't check trademarks. California says plainly that its availability check isn't done against trademark or service mark registrations.

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design that identifies who provides goods or services, and a charity's name can be one. Search the free USPTO trademark database (opens another site) for your name and similar ones. The USPTO explains that a common reason trademark applications are rejected is "likelihood of confusion," meaning people would think two organizations' services come from the same source. It recommends a clearance search that covers its federal database, state trademark databases and the internet.

If a similar name is already used for similar services, especially charitable or educational ones, pick another. For more on protecting your own name and logo, see our legal basics guide.

Step 4: Check the web and social media

Before you settle on a name:

• Search the web for the name and close variations. Look for other charities, businesses or projects using it, in your area or your field.
• Check web addresses. See whether a domain for your name, or a sensible short form, is available. Many charities use .org.
• Check social media handles on the platforms you'll actually use. Consistent handles make you easier to find.
• Say it out loud and spell it out. Check what the initials spell, and whether the web address reads badly when the words run together.

Register the domain and handles as soon as you've decided, in the charity's name or an account the board controls, not a volunteer's personal account. Our guide to your first website has more.

Assumed names: using a name that isn't your legal name

Sometimes a charity's legal name is long or formal, and it wants to use a shorter public name or a separate name for a program. Many states require you to register that assumed name (also called a fictitious business name or "doing business as," DBA).

Where to file depends on the state:

• In Texas, nonprofit corporations file an assumed name certificate with the secretary of state. Texas notes that this certificate doesn't give you rights to the name, and doesn't stop someone else filing the same one. A certificate can last at most 10 years, and the state charges $25 to file one.
• In California, fictitious business names are filed with the county where your main place of business is located.
• Florida lists fictitious name registration on its Division of Corporations site.

If you use an assumed name, use your legal name on IRS forms, and file the assumed name where your state requires. If you're unsure how to sign contracts or open accounts under an assumed name, ask a lawyer; the Texas Secretary of State, for example, says it can't advise on this. Texas, for example, has civil and criminal penalties for not following its assumed name rules.

Name checklist

• Our shortlist has three to five names
• We've searched our state's business name records, including variations
• We've read our state's naming rules for nonprofit corporations
• The name avoids words that suggest government, insurance or banking
• We've searched the USPTO trademark database and the web
• A matching domain and social handles are available
• We'll register the domain and handles in the charity's name
• If we use a different public name, we know where to file an assumed name