How do you check on the availability of a company name?

Answer 1

Search for registered trademarks at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office http://www.uspto.gov If you're worried about duplicating someone else's company name locally, check locally. The city or state may have a list of all companies registered as "doing business" there. You may not use an identical name, but you might use a similar name, as long as you do not sell similar products or services. If your concerns are larger than local, then your budget should include hiring an attorney to help "clear" the name for use in other places, by checking out numerous state corporate and d/b/a registries, state trademark registrations, trade journals, domain names, as well as the federal trademark database mentioned by another contributor. Start by using an ordinary online search engine to find out who may already be using a similar name, where they are, and what they sell.