How to Change Your Oklahoma Business Name

How to Get a New Business Name

There are a few things you may need to do before you change the name of your business. Like any major business decision, you should probably not rush into amending your entity’s name. Before you start the process of changing your business name, there are a few items to consider.

1) Choose a new business name

A business name change in Oklahoma is relatively straightforward, and you can usually pick almost any name. Still, there are some rules that you need to follow. In general, your new business name needs to:

• Include appropriate abbreviations or words that indicate what kind of business you run (e.g., LLC, corporation, etc.)
• The name of the company should be distinguishable from the names of other businesses filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State

2) Gather information for filing your amendment

An Amended Certificate of Incorporation or an Amended Certificate of Organization will require a few pieces of information. Listed below are some of the items you might need:

• The current name of the business
• The new name
• The date the original formation documents were filed
• The filing fee
• The signature of an authorized officer

Depending on whether you are amending a corporation or an LLC, these requirements may vary. Also, check your entity’s bylaws or other governing documents to see if there are specific rules about who must approve name changes or amendments. 

3) File your Oklahoma amendment

The Secretary of State’s website features a portal where you can file your amendment. It is also possible to mail in your amendment. Note that there is a difference between filing an amendment and filing a DBA or trade name. A DBA allows you to use a separate assumed name but does not legally change your name. That said, amendments and trade name registrations can both be filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State.

After Changing Your Business Name

When you legally change a business name in Oklahoma, there are other things you should consider. Some items you may need to take care of include:

• Updating your name with all applicable government agencies, including local and federal
• Updating banking information
• Ensure your letterhead, email address, and other identifying items are updated

In the long run, you may have issues and confusion if you don’t update your name. You might also want to let your customers know that the business name is changing. Failure to update customers and vendors about the name change might hurt your business.

We Can Help

Have some more questions about how to change a business name in Oklahoma? Changes to your business name can seem complicated, but our Amendment Filing Service makes it easy. You don’t need to worry if you haven’t formed an Oklahoma entity yet! Our Oklahoma LLC and Oklahoma Corporation Formation Services let you create your own entity in minutes.

Once you have your entity up and running, we can help you keep it that way with our Worry-Free Compliance Service. This service even includes up to two amendment filings per year, which can be used for name changes or other amendments to the entity. We enjoy seeing our customers succeed. Whether you need to change a name, form a new entity, or secure your compliance needs, let us know what we can do for you today!