Change Your Company Name: Certificate of Amendment
Want to change your Company’s name?
Good news: You can officially change your company name in a cost-effective, efficient manner, and you do not have to incorporate a new company to do so.
Use a Certificate of Amendment to Change Your Company's Name
Instead of filing a new company, you can simply call us. We can 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 (in California or Delaware).
This filing officially changes the name, either immediately or on an effective date, whichever option is selected by you.
Filing an amendment is generally superior to creating a whole new company, as this will allow you to maintain the history that is connected to your original filing. Assets don’t change hands, liabilities remain the same, all contracts remain in force and all accounting and tax records remain the same.
Bottom line: The name changes, but everything else remains the same. This saves you countless headaches, including reincorporating, getting a new EIN, changing internal documents, etc.
How To File a Certificate of Amendment
The first step is choosing your name.
First, make sure your company name is available by searching for existing corporations in the state of incorporation.
After the name has been selected, a Certificate of Amendment will have to be prepared; it must be signed by an authorized officer of the company.
Next, the Certificate of Amendment 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 after the file date.
Once the amendment is filed, you should make sure everyone—your clients, your bank, etc.—is aware of the new name for the company.
In doing so, some of the bureaucracies involved may have a form to fill out, and they may ask you to return the form with a copy of the approved Certificate of Amendment. For example, the IRS has specific rules on how to report a change in name.
Filing Your New Name in Other States where You Do Business
You will also want the registered name to match in all states where you do business, which may include some states where you are registered as a foreign entity. Once the name is amended and approved, you can file to change the name on your foreign registration with the Secretary of State in other states.
SUMMARY Steps to changing your company name:
Choose your new name.
Do a corporation name search to make sure your new name is available with the state.
Prepare and sign a Certificate of Amendment.
Notify your employees, vendors, banks, and other parties (including the IRS) about the new name.
Change your company names in any other states in which you are authorized to do business.
While the process above is not terribly complicated, our office can assist you in understanding what needs to be done, getting it done, and on and checking the name to make sure it is also available in each applicable state.