A preliminary check of the
availability of a limited partnership name can be made by mailing a name availability inquiry letter
to the Secretary of State's office in Sacramento. A Name Availability Inquiry Letter form is available in PDF file format and can be viewed, filled in, and printed from your computer using the most current version of the Adobe Reader (available for free from Adobe's website). Email or online inquiries cannot be accepted at this time. If you have a recurring need to search limited partnership name
availability, you may establish a prepaid account with the Secretary of State's
office, so that you can inquire about the availability of a limited partnership name
through a telephone technician for a fee of $4.00 per search. For more
information about prepaid accounts, please contact the Accounting Office at
(916) 653-1233. (Please note: It takes about two weeks to establish an account.)
Checking the availability of a limited partnership name does not reserve the
name and has no binding effect on the Secretary of State, nor does it confer any
rights to a name.
A request to reserve a limited
partnership name can be submitted in person to the Secretary of State's office
in Sacramento or can be addressed in writing to the Sacramento office. Fees and
instructions for reserving a limited partnership name are included on the
Name Reservation Request Form. The Name Reservation Request Form is available in PDF file format and can be viewed, filled in, and printed from your computer using the most current version of the Adobe Reader (available for free from Adobe's website). Email or online requests for reservations cannot be accepted at this time.
A name reservation is made for a period of 60 days, and can be renewed, but
not for consecutive periods, to the same applicant or for the benefit of the same
party. (California Corporations Code section 15901.09.)
NOTE: Effective Janauary 1, 2008: (1) all limited partnership names are reserved pursuant to California Corporations Code section 15901.09 of the Uniform Limited Partnership Act of 2008 (the Act of 2008). A name reserved on behalf of a California limited partnership that existed prior to January 1, 2008 and has not elected to be governed by the Act of 2008, remains subject to the prior law and will be reviewed for compliance with that prior law at the time of filing the document; and (2) a limited partnership name can no longer be reserved by telephone with an established prepaid account. Limited partnership name reservation requests must be submitted in writing and must identify the paragraph of California Corporations Code section 15901.09(a) which applies to that request. Please refer to the Name Reservation Request Form for additional information.
The following is general information about name availability and name style requirements relating to limited partnerships.
Proposed limited partnership names are checked only against currently reserved limited partnership names and active limited partnerships of record in the California Secretary of State's office. Since there is no legal requirement that limited partnership names be checked against other business entity names, limited partnership names are not checked against general partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or corporate names, nor are names checked against trademarks, service marks or local fictitious business names filed at the county level.
For California and foreign limited partnerships that are subject to the Uniform Limited Partnership Act of 2008 (the Act of 2008) commencing with California Corporations Code section 15900: A proposed limited partnership name must be distinguishable in the
records of the Secretary of State from the name of an existing limited partnership or an limited partnership
name that has been reserved to another party. (California Corporations Code section 15901.08.) Effective January 1, 2008, a California limited partnership is subject to the Act of 2008: (1) if
it was formed on or after January 1, 2008; or (2) if it was formed prior to January
1, 2008, and has elected to be governed by the Act of 2008. All foreign limited partnerships,
regardless of when they were registered in California, are be governed by the Act
of 2008. Effective January 1, 2010, all California limited partnerships will be governed by the Act
of 2008.
For California limited partnerships that are not subject to the Uniform Limited Partnership Act of 2008 commencing with California Corporations Code section 15900: The Secretary of State's office cannot file a document which contains a name that is "likely to mislead the public or which is the same as, or resembles so closely as to tend to deceive," the name of a domestic or foreign (out-of-state or country) limited partnership that has registered with this office or a name which is under reservation for another limited partnership. (California Corporations Code section 15612(c).)
A limited partnership may adopt a name that is similar to, but not the same as, the name of an existing domestic or foreign (out-of-state or country) limited partnership if the existing limited partnership consents in writing to the use of the name and the Secretary of State's office finds that under the circumstances the public is not likely to be misled. The consent letter should be submitted on the letterhead of the consenting limited partnership, signed by an authorized individual of that limited partnership. If a proposed name is reserved utilizing consent, a currently dated consent must accompany each renewal request.
The limited partnership name may not falsely imply governmental affiliation.
All names must use the English alphabet or Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) or a combination thereof. Roman numerals are treated as letters and not translated into their numeric equivalent. Symbols are not allowed in an entity name; except, an ampersand & may be used in an entity name as a conjunction in place of the word "AND".
There is no distinction between upper and lower case letters, typeface or font.
The name of a limited partnership cannot include the words "bank," "insurance," "trust," "trustee," "incorporated," "inc.," "corporation," or "corp.". (California Corporations Code sections 15612(d) and 15901.08 .)
The name of a limited partnership must end with the words "limited partnership" or the abbreviation "L.P.". (California Corporations Code sections 15612(a) and 15901.08.)
