What's at the End of Your Business Name Besides INC or LLC?

Corporation

If you are forming a for-profit corporation, your name must contain the word “corporation,” “incorporated,” or “limited,” or an abbreviation of one or more of those words (such as Corp., Inc., or Ltd.), or the word “company” or the abbreviation “Co.” (Minn. Stat. § 302A.115, subd. 1(b), available at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/302A.115). The statute does not set out a fixed, closed list of accepted spellings; it requires one of those root words, or an abbreviation of one of them.

There is one catch on the “company”/“Co.” option: you cannot use it if it is immediately preceded by the word “and” or the character “&.” So “Smith & Co.” and “Smith and Company” do not satisfy the designation requirement, because the statute permits “company” or “Co.” only “if that word or abbreviation is not immediately preceded by the word ‘and’ or the character ‘&’” (Minn. Stat. § 302A.115, subd. 1(b)).

Professional Corporation

If your firm is a professional corporation, it is governed by the Minnesota Professional Firms Act, which is what sections 319B.01 to 319B.12 may be cited as (Minn. Stat. § 319B.01, available at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/319B.01). Your corporation’s name must end with one of the following designations (Minn. Stat. § 319B.05, subd. 2, available at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/319B.05):

Professional Corporation
Professional Service Corporation
Service Corporation
Professional Association
Chartered
Limited
P.C.
P.S.C.
S.C.
P.A.
Ltd.

A permitted abbreviation may include or omit the periods, so PC, PSC, SC, PA, and Ltd are equally acceptable (Minn. Stat. § 319B.05, subd. 2). The statute speaks only to periods, not to spacing, so the safest practice is to render the abbreviation tightly, as “P.A.” or “PA” rather than a spaced-out form such as “P. A.” or “P. S. C.”

Public Benefit Corporation

If you are forming a public benefit corporation (governed under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 304A), the name must comply with the requirements of section 302A.115 except for subdivision 1, paragraph (b) (Minn. Stat. § 304A.101, subd. 2). Paragraph (b) is the general root-word/designator requirement (corporation, incorporated, limited, or an abbreviation, or company/Co.), so that requirement does not apply to a public benefit corporation. The remaining section 302A.115 requirements (English-language characters, no improper-purpose words, and distinguishability from existing names) still apply.

In place of the carved-out root-word requirement, a public benefit corporation must contain the GBC or SBC designation:

A general benefit corporation must use one of these:

General Benefit Corporation
GBC

A specific benefit corporation must use one of these:

Specific Benefit Corporation
SBC

Note that the GBC/SBC designation stands in place of the root-word requirement, which is carved out for public benefit corporations. Because the root-word requirement of section 302A.115, subdivision 1(b), does not apply, a name such as “Acme GBC” is sufficient on its own: the GBC abbreviation is the required designation, and no additional “corporation,” “Inc.,” or “Ltd.” root word is needed. Spelling it out as “Acme General Benefit Corporation” also works (and happens to contain “corporation”), but the root word is not what makes it compliant. The other section 302A.115 requirements (English-language, no improper-purpose words, distinguishability) still apply in addition to the GBC/SBC designation.

Limited Liability Company

If you are forming an LLC, your name must contain the words “limited liability company” or the abbreviation “LLC” (Minn. Stat. § 322C.0108, subd. 1, available at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/322C.0108). For an ordinary (non-professional) LLC, those are the only two designations the statute recognizes; a professional-firm LLC instead uses the section 319B.05 endings, as covered below.

The governing law here is Chapter 322C, the Minnesota Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, which governs all Minnesota LLCs (available at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/322C.0108). The statute lists “limited liability company” and “LLC” as the recognized designations; it does not separately address punctuation, so the safest practice is to file the abbreviation as “LLC.” (The period-containing form “L.L.C.” is commonly accepted as well, and a spaced form like “L. L. C.” is best avoided.) (A professional firm organized as an LLC follows Minn. Stat. § 319B.05 instead, covered below.) Your LLC name also must not contain the word “corporation” or “incorporated,” or the abbreviation of either word (Minn. Stat. § 322C.0108, subd. 1).

Professional Limited Liability Company

If your firm is a professional limited liability company, it is governed by the Minnesota Professional Firms Act, under which a Minnesota firm that is a limited liability company organized under chapter 322C can elect professional-firm status by including the required statement in its organizational document (Minn. Stat. § 319B.03, subd. 2, available at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/319B.03). The firm’s status as a chapter 322C LLC is its generally applicable governing law (Minn. Stat. § 319B.02, subd. 8, available at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/319B.02). Your LLC’s name must end with one of the following designations (Minn. Stat. § 319B.05, subd. 2(2), available at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/319B.05):

Professional Limited Liability Company
Limited Liability Company
P.L.L.C.
P.L.C.
L.L.C.

A permitted abbreviation may include or omit the periods, so PLLC, PLC, and LLC are equally acceptable (Minn. Stat. § 319B.05, subd. 2). As with a professional corporation, the statute speaks only to periods, not to spacing, so render the abbreviation tightly, as “P.L.L.C.” or “PLLC” rather than a spaced-out form such as “P. L. L. C.”

Other Entity Types

This list does not cover the following types of business registrations (so consult with an attorney):

• Assumed Name
• Cooperative
• Cooperative Association
• Limited Liability Partnership
• Limited Partnership
• Nonprofit Corporation