Michigan LLC Lookup

A Michigan LLC lookup is a search that you will conduct prior to establishing your Michigan LLC. More specifically, a Michigan LLC, or Michigan Limited Liability Company, is a hybrid entity that combines the unique structures of a partnership, sole proprietorship, and a corporation.

Advantages of a Michigan LLC

An LLC is easy to both manage and operate. Unlike a corporation, you wont be required to conduct an annual meeting with shareholders, or even keep minutes of your meetings.

Another benefit of operating an LLC is that the business is considered a separate and distinct legal entity. Therefore, you cannot be held personally liable for the debts and obligations of the business. If your LLC is sued in court, then the LLC will use the assets of the business to pay. Your personal assets, i.e. home, car, bank account, etc., cannot be touched.

A tax advantage of the Michigan LLC is that you are not subject to double taxation, as would be the case with C corporations. Since the LLC is a pass-through entity, the earnings will be included in your own personal tax return.

Michigan LLC Name Requirements

There are certain name requirements that you must adhere to, which is generally the same for all states. Some of these requirements include the following:

• Your LLC must have the proper designation at the end of its name. This includes L.L.C., L.C., LC, LLC, or Limited Liability Company.

• Your LLC cannot use an indicator at the end of its name that would identify your business as a different structure, i.e. Corp, Incorporated, etc.

• Your name must be entirely unique. Therefore, if you see the name “Beauty Fix, LLC,” you can’t use the name “Beauties Fix, LLC.”

• The use of conjunctions such as “And” and “Or” do not create distinguishability. For example, if the company’s name is “Beauty and Health,” you can’t then use the name “Beauty & Health.”

• Using certain punctuation marks also doesn’t create distinguishability. For example, if you see the company “Beauty, Health, and Fitness” you cannot simply change it to “Beauty-Health-Fitness” to distinguish your company’s name.

• Using numerical vs. written numbers also doesn’t work. An example of this would be “Beauty 3” vs. “Beauty Three.”

• Names that are similar to one another won’t work, i.e. “Beauty and Health, LLC” vs. “Beautiful and Healthy, LLC.”

• You cannot use certain terms like “Banking,” “Medicine,” or “Law.”

How to Form Your Michigan LLC

Before you begin filing the paperwork to form your LLC, you’ll first need to think of a business name. Once you think of a name, you’ll have to conduct a Michigan LLC business entity search to find out if that name is available for use. As required by Michigan law, your LLC name must be “distinguishable upon the records.” When you run your search, keep in mind that there are many statuses for a company, which can include any of the following:

• Active

• Canceled

• Consolidated

• Dissolved

• Forfeited

• Incorporated

• Inactive

• Merged

• Old Name

• Revived

While it is okay to use a name that is dissolved or canceled, the state will recommend that you choose a different name to avoid potential future conflict. Once you have conducted a search and determined that your business name is free to use, you can reserve that name for up to six months prior to filing the actual application for formation. Once you are ready, you can file your application either online or through the mail. The filing fee is $25.

Michigan Registered Agent

You’ll need to choose a registered agent for your Michigan LLC. This person or business will agree to accept mail on your behalf with regard to potential legal suits and other important business documents. This information must be included on your company formation documents, particularly being the registered office address and the name of your registered agent. You can choose a friend or family member, or even a company as your agent. You can also choose to be your own registered agent for your LLC. If you choose another person or business, however, they will need to sign your LLC formation documents.

If you need help learning how to conduct a Michigan LLC look up, or if you need help forming your Michigan LLC, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel’s marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5-percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law, and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with, or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.