Keeping the name when you buy in Montana
Can I keep the seller's business name when I buy their business?
The name follows the paperwork you choose
The seller's name comes with the deal only when the purchase paperwork carries it, and the route decides how it travels.
An entity purchase keeps the registered name attached to the company you bought, because the company is the thing that changed hands. An asset purchase keeps the name only if the agreement says so. It then registers as an assumed business name — a trade name under which the business is conducted and presented to the public.
The Secretary of State's own description of an assumed business name is the useful one. It is a trade name or fictitious business name, and it is not the legal name of the person who owns the business.
Montana describes an assumed business name as a trade name or fictitious business name under which a business is conducted and presented to the public. — Montana Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
Registering an assumed business name
Buying the assets and keeping the name means a $20 filing, and the fee sheet prices the whole life of the registration.
Registration is $20. Renewal of the registration is $20. Amending the registration is $20. Reserving a name before you commit is $10. Cancelling the registration carries no fee at all.
A name must be distinguishable on the state's record from every other registered name — assumed names, corporate names, LLC names and trademarks alike. The name search comes before the $20, not after it.
$20Registering an assumed business name in Montana costs $20, with renewal at $20, amendment at $20 and cancellation at no fee. — Montana Secretary of State business fee sheet, retrieved 2026-09-29
A Montana assumed business name must be distinguishable on the record from registered assumed names, corporate names, LLC names, trademarks and service marks. — Montana Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
When the name is the entity's registered name
An entity purchase keeps the registered name the easy way: nothing is filed for the interest transfer, so nothing touches the name.
The company keeps its registered name, its standing and its record. The new ownership surfaces at the next annual report, due April 15, and the report fee is waived when the filing lands by the due date.
The one name-adjacent filing that an entity buyer commonly wants is the registered agent. A Statement of Change for the registered office, the agent or both files with the Secretary of State at no fee. Moving the agent to the new owner's address after closing costs nothing but the typing.
$0A Statement of Change for a Montana LLC's registered office or agent files with the Secretary of State at no fee. — Montana Secretary of State business fee sheet, retrieved 2026-09-29
$0 by April 15A Montana LLC annual report filed by April 15 carries no fee; the $35 charge applies only after the due date. — Montana Secretary of State business fee sheet, retrieved 2026-09-29
Checking the name is the seller's to sell
A name the seller never owned is a name you cannot buy, and Montana's records let you check that before the deposit.
The Secretary of State's business search shows registered names and their owners. The trademark search on the same portal shows marks registered at the state level, and the structures page notes that a service mark is registered on the same form as a trademark.
What the state search does not show is what the seller actually operates under. A trade name in daily use but never registered is a gap, not a transfer. The $20 registration on your side of the closing is what makes it real, and the search is what tells you whether it conflicts with someone else's.
The Montana Secretary of State registers trademarks and service marks, with service marks filed on the same form as trademarks. — Montana Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
The name on the license is a separate filing
Where the trade is licensed, the name on the paperwork and the license under it are two different records, and a purchase changes one without touching the other.
A salon is the working example. The new owner applies for a new salon or shop license when ownership changes by more than 50 percent, at $125 plus a $150 inspection fee, whatever happens to the name. The assumed business name registration is its own $20 filing on its own calendar.
Build both into the closing list rather than assuming either covers the other. The license transfer guide covers the license side, and the cost breakdown keeps both numbers in one table.
$125 plus $150A new Montana salon or shop license, required when ownership changes by more than 50 percent, costs $125 plus a $150 inspection fee, separately from any business name filing. — Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Does the business name transfer automatically in an asset purchase?
No. The name moves only if the purchase agreement includes it, and then you register it as an assumed business name at $20 in Montana.
Does buying the LLC keep the name for me?
Yes. The registered name belongs to the company, and an entity purchase takes the company with its name, standing and record attached.
How do I check the name is not already taken?
Search the Secretary of State's business search for registered names and its trademark search for marks. An assumed name must be distinguishable from every registered name, corporate name and mark on the record.
Is a business name reservation worth it before closing?
It can be. A name reservation costs $10 and holds the name on the state's record while the purchase closes, which matters when the name is the point of the deal.