How to Change Your LLC Name in Ohio (2026)

Published by Jon Morgan | Co-Founder & Chief Editor

Last updated: August 29, 2026

Methodology
We meticulously research and verify the information presented in our articles. By consulting reliable sources and ensuring factual accuracy, we are committed to providing readers with well-informed, trustworthy content.

To change your Ohio LLC's name, you file Form 611 with the Ohio Secretary of State. The fee is $50, and you can file online through Ohio Business Central or by mail. Regular processing takes about three to seven business days.

Changing the name doesn't touch anything else about your LLC. Your EIN, formation date and statutory agent stay exactly the same unless you update them on purpose.

What does change is where the new name appears. It goes on your Articles of Organization, your operating agreement and every account tied to the business.

Quick Summary

• Check name availability before you file. A name that isn't distinguishable on the state's records gets your amendment rejected.
• Get member approval first. Your operating agreement decides who has to sign off before the state will accept the change.
• Add mail time to your plan. Regular processing already runs three to seven business days once the state receives your form.

Ohio LLC Name Change Quick Reference

Here's every number and address you need for an Ohio LLC name change in one place. Check it before you file, since it covers the form, the fee, the addresses and the reservation and correction options that come up later on this page.

How to change your Ohio LLC name

These three steps take you from a new name idea to an approved amendment on file with the state. If you want the process other states follow, see our guide to changing an LLC name in any state.

Step 1: Confirm the new name is available

Before you file anything, search the Ohio Secretary of State's business name database [1] for your new name. Ohio rejects a name that isn't distinguishable from one already on file, so a quick search now saves you a rejected filing later.

Your new name must include an LLC identifier such as "limited liability company," "L.L.C.," "LLC," "limited," or "ltd." Skip a restricted word like "bank" or "university" unless your company has the specific approval to use it.

If you're not ready to file the amendment yet, you can hold the name with Form 534B. It costs $39 to reserve and keeps the name off-limits to everyone else for 180 days.

Step 2: Get member approval

Call a members' meeting and put the name change to a vote. Most operating agreements set the bar at majority approval, though yours might require unanimous consent, so check the amendment or voting section before you schedule anything.

If you run a single-member LLC, you're the only vote that matters. Write a short resolution approving the new name and keep it with your company records. You won't file it with the state, but it documents that you followed your own operating agreement.

Step 3: File the Certificate of Amendment or Restatement

File Form 611, the Certificate of Amendment or Restatement, once your name is cleared and your members have signed off. You can submit it online through Ohio Business Central or print the form and mail it in.

The fee is $50, and checks or money orders go to "Ohio Secretary of State."

Mail your form to P.O. Box 1329, Columbus, OH 43216 for regular processing, or P.O. Box 1390 for expedited service.

You can also drop it off in person at the Client Service Center, 22 North Fourth Street in Columbus. Ohio doesn't accept this filing by fax.

Regular filings take about three to seven business days. Paying an extra $100 by mail or in person gets you two business day processing instead.

Walk-in customers get faster options: $200 for one business day, or $300 for four-hour service if the form arrives by 1 p.m.

Once your amendment is processed, the state returns the approval certificate to the address you listed on your filing for your records.

After your name change is approved: what to update

Once the state approves your Certificate of Amendment or Restatement, a handful of updates keep everything else in sync with your new name.

1. Operating agreement: Amend it to show the new name and keep the update with your own company records.
2. IRS: You don't need a new EIN. Update your business name with the IRS [2] by marking the name-change box on your next Form 1065 if you're taxed as a partnership, or by mailing a signed notice to the IRS office where you file if you're a single-member LLC.
3. State tax accounts: Update your business name on any Ohio tax accounts tied to the LLC.
4. Licenses and permits: Reissue or update any state or local license that lists the old name.
5. Bank and contracts: Tell your bank, update signature cards and revise contracts that name the LLC directly.
6. Statutory agent: If you're also changing your registered agent in Ohio, handle that filing separately from the name change.
7. Clients and vendors: Send a short notice so invoices, contracts and correspondence match your new legal name.

Common mistakes

• Filing without a distinguishability check: Ohio checks your new name against every active name on file. A quick web search on your own can still miss a conflict the state's database would catch.
• Mailing to the wrong P.O. box: Regular and expedited filings go to different addresses. Sending an expedited form to the regular box adds days instead of saving them.
• Dropping the required identifier: A new name still needs "LLC," "L.L.C.," "limited," or a similar identifier. Leaving it off during a rebrand is an easy way to get the filing bounced.
• Skipping documented member approval: Even a single-member LLC should keep a signed resolution on file. Without one, there's no record that the change followed the operating agreement.

Alternatives to a formal name change

1. DBA / trade name

If you just want a different public-facing name without changing your LLC's legal name, register a trade name instead. File Form 534A, Name Registration, with the Ohio Secretary of State for $39.

Ohio handles this filing at the state level rather than through a county office. It doesn't replace your LLC's legal name on file with the state.

Your Articles of Organization still show the original name, and the trade name just gives you another name to operate under.

2. Certificate of Correction

If your original filing has a typo or error rather than a name you actually want to change, file Form 612 instead. It costs $50 and fixes mistakes in a document you already filed with the state.

A Certificate of Correction can't set a delayed effective date and isn't meant for a deliberate rebrand. If you're changing the name on purpose, Form 611 is still the right form.

FAQs

References:

1. https://www.ohiosos.gov/businesses/information-on-starting-and-maintaining-a-business/guide-to-name-availability/
2. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/business-name-change