Is Your Company Name No Longer Right? Change it!

Is your company name outdated, or does it no longer reflect the nature of your business? Why not officially change your company’s name? Often, clients feel that a new company must be filed or that changing the name will be extremely costly and time consuming. Not so, your company name can be officially changed quickly and easily. In fact, one of the most common filings we see clients make is the “name amendment.”

In some cases, the original name may have been too specific such as Bob’s Deck & Patio LLC, when Bob began doing more general contracting and home building. In other cases a company may be redesigning its total image and the centerpiece is the new name. Instead of filing a new company these clients simply call us. We prepare and file a Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Formation (for LLCs) or Certificate of Incorporation (for Corporations) with the Secretary of State’s office. This filing officially changes the name immediately, or on an “effective date” as selected by the client.

Filing a name amendment versus filing a new company will allow you to keep the history that goes along with your original filing. Assets don’t change hands, liabilities remain the same, all contracts remain in force, all accounting and tax records remain the same. The name will change but everything else will remain the same. This can save the hassle of opening new bank accounts, obtaining a new EIN, and creating entirely new internal documents. The formation date of the company remains the date of original formation. This is an important consideration for many entrepreneurs.

So, once you decide that filing a name amendment is the best decision for your company, what do you do to make it happen?

The first step in the name amendment process is choosing the name. This can be a tough decision. For assistance in picking out the right name Check out this HBS blog post by Paul Sponaugle entitled Three Easy Steps for Naming Your Company in Delaware.

To make sure your company name is available in Delaware, take advantage of Harvard Business Services free name check service, https://www.delawareinc.com/namecheck. After the name is selected and reserved with the Division of Corporations, a Certificate of Amendment will have to be prepared and must be signed by an authorized officer of the company. Next, the Certificate needs to be filed with the State, and the name will officially change as of the date and time the document is filed, or at some specified date known as the “effective date” after the file date. Company names cannot be effective before the filing date of the name amendment. The State of Delaware typically takes 3-5 business days to return Certified Copies of the filing documents. Quick and Easy!

Once the amendment is filed, clients need to make sure that everyone is aware of the new name for the company. The easy way to go about informing everyone is to make a list. Write down government agencies that the company works with, clients, vendors, and banks and inform them of the new name. Notify the Post Office, UPS, Federal Express Corporation and DHL as well as any other companies that your company deals with. Some of the bureaucracies involved may have a form to fill out and return with a copy of the approved Certificate of Amendment. The IRS allows this change to be made rather easily. Simply send a letter to the address IRS office where the return was filed for the previous year. The letter needs to state the new name of the company, the old name, EIN (Employers ID Number) the signature of a corporate officer.

Finally, go forward and prosper with the new company name that properly reflects the business you have worked so hard to build!

Should you require assistance in the filing of a name amendment, or any type of amendment, feel free to give Brett a call at 800-345-2677 or send an email to brett@delawareinc.com.