I Almost Got Sued for Checking LLC Name Availability in California 

My mistake !

I made the mistake of trusting one of those free “LLC name check” tools that promise to tell you if your business name is available.

It said I was good.

Green checkmark. “Congrats, that name is available!”

I felt legit. So I filed my LLC.

Got the confirmation. Got the documents. Opened a bank account. Built my site. 

Three weeks later?

I got a cease and desist letter in the mail.

Not spam. Not a joke.

A real lawyer sent it. They accused me of trademark infringement because the name I picked — the one that “passed” the online search tool — was already registered federally by a company in the same industry.

Apparently, just because a name looks available in California, doesn’t mean you’re in the clear.

The tool I used only checked for LLCs registered in California — not trademarks. Not variations. Not other active businesses that might not be LLCs at all.

The worst part? It felt like my business got yanked out from under me.

I had already:

    Ordered packaging

    Printed cards

    Paid for ads

    Told my friends

Now I had to shut everything down. Cancel stuff. Eat the costs. Start over with a new name and refile the LLC from scratch.

If you’re trying to see if an LLC name is available in California, please, for the love of all things sane, don’t just trust the first tool you see.

What I learned the hard way and here’s what actually works

If you’re trying to see if an LLC name is available in California, please, for the love of all things sane, don’t just trust the first tool you see.

Here’s what actually works:

✅ Step 1: Use the real California Secretary of State database

This is where actual LLC registrations in California live.

You can use it to check if your name, or something super close to it, is already taken.

It’s not pretty, but it’s legit.

👉 https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business

✅ Step 2: Check for trademarks

Even if the name is technically available in California, you could still get smacked with a legal notice if someone has a federal trademark.

Search the USPTO trademark database here:

👉 https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/

✅ Step 3: Google it

Seriously. Just search the name like a regular person.

Sometimes people are operating under the radar — using the name but never registered it. If their site or socials are active, it could still cause confusion or drama.

Little things I wish someone had told me

    “Available” doesn’t mean safe to use.

    The California LLC name search won’t catch trademarks.

    Tools that say “check your business name instantly” are usually just trying to sell you something.

    Similar names can still get flagged by the state — even if they’re not exact matches.

    Changing your business name later is way more annoying (and expensive) than doing it right up front.

Comments from people who sent me a message

JennyL

    I almost filed with “CozyHaus” but then found out someone trademarked it for home decor 2 years ago 😬 thank you for this

onicaC

    Just wanted to say I ended up using that free LLC service you mentioned — with the free registered agent too — and yeah, it was actually super smooth. Whole thing took like 10 minutes. Appreciate the rec 🙌

CAStartupDude

    That state site looks like it hasn’t been updated since 2002 but it actually works. Bookmarking.

Liam_Launch

    Here’s the California name lookup link again: https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business — use it first before you even think about filing.

Anyway…

I hope this saves someone from the mess I went through.

I just wanted to check if my business name was taken in California — didn’t think I’d end up in a legal nightmare.

Now I check everything first.

LLC availability in CA.

Trademarks.

Google.

The whole shebang.

No pressure. No pitch.

Just don’t trust the first “name check” tool with a smiley logo.

Peace ✌️