North Dakota § 47-25-03 - Trade name - Nature

§ 47-25-03. Trade name - Nature

1. A trade name: a. Must be expressed in letters or characters used in the English language as those letters or characters appear in the American standard code for information interchange (ASCII) table. b. May not contain the word "company", "corporation", "incorporated", "limited", "limited liability company", "limited partnership", "limited liability partnership", "limited liability limited partnership", or an abbreviation of any of those words unless the owner of the trade name is a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited liability limited partnership as indicated by the words used in the name. c. Must be distinguishable in the records of the secretary of state from a name reserved or registered with the secretary of state unless there is filed with the registration a written consent from the holder of the indistinguishable name to use the proposed name and filing fee of ten dollars, whether domestic or foreign, including: (1) A corporate name; (2) A limited liability company name; (3) Any other trade name; (4) A fictitious partnership name; (5) A limited partnership name; (6) A limited liability partnership name; (7) A limited liability limited partnership name; or (8) A trademark or service mark. d. That is a franchise must be accompanied by a written consent from the franchiser. 2. The secretary of state shall determine whether a trade name is distinguishable in the secretary of state's records from another trade name for purposes of this chapter and may adopt rules reasonable or necessary for making these determinations.